Advanced Milk Tasting

by Cindy

My dad came to visit recently and he's a big fan of milk.  I thought I would give him a chance to taste all of the different types of milk we have.  I did the same for my brother a few months back but since then, I've found that we have many more options!  See if you can figure any of these out:

Streaky Rashers

by Cindy

Without the aid of a photo or Wikipedia, do you know what streaky rashers are?

Hint: For us, it is something that we love and is hard to come by in our country.

Answer: (British) Bacon!

Wedding Bells and San Fran

by Cindy

During our most recent break, Jeff and I traveled back to America for a dear friend’s wedding and a few days in San Fran.  We flew directly from Dubai to San Fran, 16 hours, and then drove on to Yosemite Park.  We were fortunate to spend one night on the way to Yosemite in San Jose to catch up with Bethany, an old friend from Lubbock.  We spent four days in Yosemite and got all four seasons while there – warm, rainy, cold and snowy.  It was great to be in the mountains, to see snow and to sit by a fireplace for a while.

Here are some pics from Yosemite:

Jeff’s parents joined us for our time in San Fran:

Taxi Drivers

by Cindy

You never know what you are going to get with our taxi drivers.  Some speak English, some hardly at all.  Some will “chat you up” others not so much.  Last week I got a really chatty driver that proved most entertaining.  He picked me up from our campus and I asked him to take me to a restaurant so I could join Jeff and my family for dinner.  We chatted about anything and everything!!!  

• He did give me one good piece of information on why it can be hard to get a taxi from our campus. Apparently the campus security guards only let older drivers onto the campus so if a younger taxi driver shows up, they make him wait outside of the campus gates.  Very useful information!
• He showed me pictures of his 13 grandchildren, pointing out one who he thinks is "too white."
• He pulled over onto the side of the highway to share some of his sweets with me.  He keeps them under his driver's seat.  It really was a lovely gesture.

We had a couple of extended conversations which were funny and random:

Taxi Driver (TD): My lady, how old are you?

Me: 39

TD: Three-nine is too much. You look 25, max 32 (In other words, no way that I’m older than 32.)

Me: Nope, I was born in one-nine-seven-two, just like the year when you arrived in the UAE.  He had previously explained to me that he arrived in one-nine-seven-two to drive his taxi.  He had been married right before he moved here.  His wife lasted four days here and she didn’t like it so she moved back to India where she’s been ever since.  That’s not uncommon here at all. He then gave me three guesses to guess his age and I tried 60, 62 and 66.  I think he told me he was 76 but I'm really not sure.

TD: What is your name?

Me; Cynthia

TD: Are you married?

Me: Yes

TD: What is his name?

ME: Jeffrey

TD: What is his mother’s name?

Me: Thinking that’s a weird question - Nancy

TD: What is your mother's name?

Me: Libby

...and that was the end of that, no idea why he wanted to know our mother's names...

TD: How old is your man?

Me: 37

TD: How long have you been married?

Me: 11 years

TD: How many children?

Me: None

TD: 11 years and no children? That is a problem. tsk.tsk.tsk.

Me: We don't want kids.

TD: Completely ignoring my comment. What's wrong?  Do you bleed?  How often do you bleed?  This is a problem.

Me: Surely he's not asking what I think he's asking.  What?

TD: Bleed - you know, does your blood come every month, or is it different?  This is a problem.

Me: I'm healthy.

TD: Oh! Jeffrey.  Please give me Jeffrey's phone number and I will call him.  I have a pill for him.  He takes it once a day, not three times a day.  Take it each morning with food but without milk or tea.  After one hour you can have tea and after two hours you can have milk.  Do you understand?  Fix problem.

Me: Yes, after one hour he can have tea and after two hours he can have milk.  Oh my goodness, I'm really having this conversation.

TD: 11 years, tsk.tsk.tsk.  The pill is only 5 AED ($1.50) so no problem.  After one month, your belly will grow.

He again asked me about my bleeding and we repeated this part of the conversation for the remainder of the drive, he wanted to be sure that I understood what it would take to make my belly grow.

When we arrived at my destination, I gave him a generous tip because he was so entertaining.  He was kind enough to tell me I had paid him too much money and tried to give some back.  I figured the least I could do was pay him for giving me blog material!  

Tunisian Sweets

by Cindy

My neighbor and I are quickly developing a pattern - "Friday sweet exchange."  You see, every Friday I bake cookies for Jeff and lately I started sharing some with my neighbor. I text her each week and tell her I'm coming over with a few cookies.  Then later in the week, she texts me back with something from her kitchen.  She's from Tunisia so we get different kinds of desserts (a.k.a. sweets) from her.  Here is a pic of the latest batch:

The ones on the left remind me of Pecan Sandies, especially the texture.  They taste like a sweet shortbread cookie.  The donut looking ones are filled with date paste and the ones with sesame seeds on top are like Fig Newtons but are filled with dates - Date Newtons?  They are all really good.

My neighbor's mother is here for three months since she's about to have her baby.  I'm hoping for some really good, homemade food over the next few months!

VeggieTales for Muslims

Most of our American readers will have heard about the controversy surrounding the "All-American Muslim" TV program.  You may not, however, have heard of the comic book series, "The 99."  It's about a team of superheroes whose special abilities are based on the 99 names of Allah.

Here's a little explanation - in Islam, there are said to be 99 names of Allah - names like Merciful, Strong, Faithful, Generous, Wise, and so forth.  Each of the characters in the comic series have a power based on one of these 99 names.  The comic book characters never explicitly mention their religion, so the series is promoted as a way to appeal to "universal virtues" of faithfulness, kindness, generosity, etc.

The comic series is now being made into a television series.  You can watch the trailer here - it's about 7 minutes long.  Check it out and see what you think.