Monday, May 19, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Rest'o
Last night some of us decided to treat ourselves to a fancy restaurant because we needed a break from regular Tunisian food. We went to Rest'o, which serves international modern cuisine. It used to be owned by Alain Ducaisse, but now it is run by the Tunisian chefs who worked under him, thought you can still buy his cookbook at the restaurant. Our guidebook rated it one of the top five places to eat in Tunisia.
The restaurant located is in Villa Didon, an expensive hotel in Carthage with great views (except when we were there).
To start off we were given the normal Tunisian harissa and olive oil with tuna. Our plate also had a creamy carrot spread very similar to the one at "Its Only Natural" near Wesleyan.
Next I shared a Daurade ceviche and carmelized onions, both in a raspberry vinaigrette. It was pretty delicious and slightly briny which ended up working to balance the sweetness of the raspberries. Maybe ceviche is always briny, but I had never had it before. It came with some kind of whipped mayonnaise which was also really good, thought I couldn't really see how it worked with the fish. I just put the breadsticks in it.
Next came a smoked steaklet of duck with salad. The duck had a great smoky flavor, but the lettuce which I guess was the salad part of the dish could have used a light dressing, or at least some salt.
My entree was Mentholated steamed sea bass with nori and vegetables three ways. The fish below is not sea bass. I am not sure if this is a translation problem or if sea bass means something else outside of the U.S. It was cooked perfectly, though I think mentholated meant steaming it with a few mint leaves, which really did not add much flavor. The fish was stuffed with overcooked chunks of salmon. The restaurant was out of nori, but did not inform us of this until I asked where it was, and the vegetables three ways were good, but I am not sure if they really were three ways. While I wouldn't order it again it was good to have a break from fish that tastes fishy and that you have to debone yourself.
For dessert we had "The Darkest Of Dark" which was a chocolate cake filled with a warm pudding, chocolate tort and chocolate sorbet. The sorbet was probably the best part, but it was slightly too cold when it was served to us so we had to wait to eat it. (well we should have waited)
We also had a fruit torte with orange sorbet. The torte was tasty but nothing special, but the orange sorbet was very refreshing and a great way to end the meal.
Altogether it was a good meal, and I would definitely go back but might stick with appetizers and dessert. Also I learned that its not that easy to take pictures of food, especially with low lighting.
The restaurant located is in Villa Didon, an expensive hotel in Carthage with great views (except when we were there).
To start off we were given the normal Tunisian harissa and olive oil with tuna. Our plate also had a creamy carrot spread very similar to the one at "Its Only Natural" near Wesleyan.
Next I shared a Daurade ceviche and carmelized onions, both in a raspberry vinaigrette. It was pretty delicious and slightly briny which ended up working to balance the sweetness of the raspberries. Maybe ceviche is always briny, but I had never had it before. It came with some kind of whipped mayonnaise which was also really good, thought I couldn't really see how it worked with the fish. I just put the breadsticks in it.
Next came a smoked steaklet of duck with salad. The duck had a great smoky flavor, but the lettuce which I guess was the salad part of the dish could have used a light dressing, or at least some salt.
My entree was Mentholated steamed sea bass with nori and vegetables three ways. The fish below is not sea bass. I am not sure if this is a translation problem or if sea bass means something else outside of the U.S. It was cooked perfectly, though I think mentholated meant steaming it with a few mint leaves, which really did not add much flavor. The fish was stuffed with overcooked chunks of salmon. The restaurant was out of nori, but did not inform us of this until I asked where it was, and the vegetables three ways were good, but I am not sure if they really were three ways. While I wouldn't order it again it was good to have a break from fish that tastes fishy and that you have to debone yourself.
For dessert we had "The Darkest Of Dark" which was a chocolate cake filled with a warm pudding, chocolate tort and chocolate sorbet. The sorbet was probably the best part, but it was slightly too cold when it was served to us so we had to wait to eat it. (well we should have waited)
We also had a fruit torte with orange sorbet. The torte was tasty but nothing special, but the orange sorbet was very refreshing and a great way to end the meal.
Altogether it was a good meal, and I would definitely go back but might stick with appetizers and dessert. Also I learned that its not that easy to take pictures of food, especially with low lighting.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Excursion Day
So two weeks ago we had all of our programming canceled for the week, and squeezed into one day.
As part of this, we went to the "Kosher" restaurant, which Mounir, our director, had tried to make me excited about since the day we arrived in Tunisia.
When we got there I checked out the menu and noticed was that the restaurant served shrimp and octopus. When I informed Mounir that these are not kosher, he told me that the restaurant was kosher, and that he would have the owner explain. A few minutes later, he informed me that the meat was kosher, and that the restaurant specialized in Jewish specialties. I was surprised to find out that shrimp kebabs are a Jewish Tunisian specialty. The owner then came over to say hi, and informed me that the restaurant was not kosher, only the meat. I asked him why he bought kosher meat, since most people would not consider it kosher after being cooked in a non kosher kitchen. He informed me that they had a separate grill for the kosher meat.
While this theoretically seems somewhat reasonable, I know that there are probably no Tunisian Jews, let alone many Jews in the rest of the world, who do not eat non kosher meat but would eat at this restaurant. And of this small population, my guess is that almost none of them have visited Tunisia.
Its always good to know that some Tunisians had me in mind when creating their restaurants.
Mounir had pre ordered for us as he does for many meals: Fish and Couscous!
Also, we went to a book fair, and I got this cool brochure from the Saudi Arabian booth about how the trinity doesn't make sense.
As part of this, we went to the "Kosher" restaurant, which Mounir, our director, had tried to make me excited about since the day we arrived in Tunisia.
When we got there I checked out the menu and noticed was that the restaurant served shrimp and octopus. When I informed Mounir that these are not kosher, he told me that the restaurant was kosher, and that he would have the owner explain. A few minutes later, he informed me that the meat was kosher, and that the restaurant specialized in Jewish specialties. I was surprised to find out that shrimp kebabs are a Jewish Tunisian specialty. The owner then came over to say hi, and informed me that the restaurant was not kosher, only the meat. I asked him why he bought kosher meat, since most people would not consider it kosher after being cooked in a non kosher kitchen. He informed me that they had a separate grill for the kosher meat.
While this theoretically seems somewhat reasonable, I know that there are probably no Tunisian Jews, let alone many Jews in the rest of the world, who do not eat non kosher meat but would eat at this restaurant. And of this small population, my guess is that almost none of them have visited Tunisia.
Its always good to know that some Tunisians had me in mind when creating their restaurants.
Mounir had pre ordered for us as he does for many meals: Fish and Couscous!
Also, we went to a book fair, and I got this cool brochure from the Saudi Arabian booth about how the trinity doesn't make sense.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Strawberries and Bouillon
So not much has been going on. We have started our research project period, and I am in the stage where I have contacted everyone and now I'm just waiting to meet them. In the meantime there isn't much to do except make strawberry sorbet and chocolate strawberry brownies. (you can get 4lbs of strawberries for $2.50. I think i've mentioned before how cheap they are, but I'm still impressed)
On Friday I went with a few people to a Cameroonian cultural show. It was really cool, lots of different dances, and also a fashion show. Unfortunately I forgot my camera. They also had a few skits which were in French so I didn't understand them, but supposedly someone did a really good impression of the Cameroonian president.
Afterwards we went back to someone's house to get ready for the afterparty. It was kinda interesting to see how little connection the Cameroonian students seem to have to Tunisians. One of them almost kicked me out of the apartment because he thought I was Tunisian. I got to try Bouillon, which is beefskin stew that people from Cameroon supposedly eat when they are going to go drinking. Some searching on the internet lead me to believe that actually Bouillon refers to any kind of soup. It was kind of strange, and very spicy, and I ended up vomiting most of it up later. My friend had been warned that it would make her sick, but did not pass on this information.
I also got to try some Cameroonian whiskey which someone had brought to Tunisia.
You bite the pouch open and then pour it into your beer. And yes, it is called "Gold Bond" Whiskey.
On Friday I went with a few people to a Cameroonian cultural show. It was really cool, lots of different dances, and also a fashion show. Unfortunately I forgot my camera. They also had a few skits which were in French so I didn't understand them, but supposedly someone did a really good impression of the Cameroonian president.
Afterwards we went back to someone's house to get ready for the afterparty. It was kinda interesting to see how little connection the Cameroonian students seem to have to Tunisians. One of them almost kicked me out of the apartment because he thought I was Tunisian. I got to try Bouillon, which is beefskin stew that people from Cameroon supposedly eat when they are going to go drinking. Some searching on the internet lead me to believe that actually Bouillon refers to any kind of soup. It was kind of strange, and very spicy, and I ended up vomiting most of it up later. My friend had been warned that it would make her sick, but did not pass on this information.
I also got to try some Cameroonian whiskey which someone had brought to Tunisia.
You bite the pouch open and then pour it into your beer. And yes, it is called "Gold Bond" Whiskey.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Happy Passover (Tunisian kosher for passover recipe at the end)
So I just got back from Djerba, where I had gone for the seders. Djerdba has had a Jewish community for around 2500 years. Today, there are around 900 Jews remaining, and they all live in one community. There are 11 synagogues still in use on the island. They have their own school system, some people use only this, while others study religious subjects there and go to the government public schools for secular education.
The family I spent my time with switched between going to two shuls, one for morning services and one for evening. I think this is the first time I went to morning and evening services for both days of chag and shabbat.
The two synagogues I went to had similar layouts.
The seating is interesting, because since it extends to all four sides, in order to get a torah out of the ark you need to take off your shoes and stand on the cushions.
There were no women at the service. The first night my friend who came with me was offered to come to services, so I assumed that there would be a women's section. It ends up this meant sitting in the courtyard while we went inside.
On average there were around 15 people for morning services, and 30 in the evening. The service was pretty regular, not so much singing except for parts of hallel. Before the torah service, a man gets up and auctions off the aliyot, which I thought was kind of strange. They went for around a dinar a piece, and people usually do not outbid eachother. If there are any that are not bidded for they they are given out, so I got to have an aliyah on two of the days. After your aliyah, you have to go around and shake everyone's hand.
While I was there I saw a student's Hebrew workbook. Besides learning print and script letters, they also learn another kind which I had never seen before, which I guess is what they used in the times when they weren't allowed to write in Hebrew and so that non Jews wouldn't understand. Today I think there are few if any problems of anti Judaism on the island, and people feel comfortable walking around with kipot on.
Since there is no kosher alcohol available in Tunisia, many families make their own. The family I stayed with made two kinds, sweet and not sweet. It did not really taste like wine, and my friend who came with me informed me that it tasted like a very strong port. For the seders they mix it with a little bit of water for the four cups, and even still it is quite intense. My family also made their own Boukha, which tastes like Arak. For each of the four cups, the wine had to completely fill the glass, and you had to drink the entire thing at once.
Djerba has its own matza factories, and also imports matza from France. The Djerban matza is similar to shmura matza, except harder and thicker. My jaw hurt the next day from eating it. It tastes similar to Ak-Mak crackers. Most other kosher for passover food is imported from Israel, which was nice, since it meant I got to have Bisli and Doritos.
Being in Tunisia, where people already have dinner late, we started the first seder at 9:30 and the second at 10. For both seders they had the whole family over, which consisted of the parents, two sons, their wives and children, one daughter and her husband and child, and three more daughters who were not yet married.
The seder plate was a huge basket, which was necessary since the shank bone itself would have taken up our entire seder plate. Instead of using horseradish, Tunisians use romaine lettuce and endive. They dip their parsley in lemon juice instead of salt water. Then, they take balls of what looked like different fruits and nuts and dissolved them in the lemon juice to make haroset, which tasted more like salad dressing. There was no egg on the seder plate.
Before the seder began, one of the sons brought out a scale which I soon found out was to make sure you eat the right amounts of everything. It ends up in order to fulfill the mitzvah, you need to each quite a lot of matza, and a large salad's worth of maror. I was basically full before the meal began.
For Magid we went around the table reading the different sections, except for a few which are reserved for the head of the family. During Ha Lachma, the father picked up the seder basket and walked around with it above everyone's head. It was then repeated so that someone could hold it over his. He was also the only person to remove wine during his cup during the plagues, except instead of dipping his finger he poured it into a clay pot on the floor, and then refilled it. There was little discussion about the different parts of the seder.
The Afikomen was only symbolically hidden, and was brought back to the table without any drama after the meal.
On the second night, it is their tradition for magid to recite the entire seder in Hebrew and Arabic. They also do "who knows one" in Arabic, and what I thought is really cool, is that they use the same tune and representations of numbers as the Ladino version of the song. Maybe the song was translated when Jews came from Spain.
We ended the first seder at 2 and the second at 3:30.
The meals for the entire weekend focused around lamb, and I wouldn't be surprised if they purchased an entire lamb for the chag. On the second day they had a probably the largest meal, which was a huge lamb barbecue, which was seperated into different courses by part of the lamb. We started with the liver, then moved onto ribs, then brain, and then chunks of pure fat. The meal finished by eating the Shank bone from the seder plate. We ate the intestines and stomach the night before.
The grill they used looked like the top of a brick chimney on wheels. They put coals in the bottom and once it gets hot put skewers of meat inside vertically so they are leaning against the sides.
Being in the Jewish quarter was like being in Jerusalem. There were no cars and everything was closed, and the streets were full of people walking around or sitting and taking on the sides of houses. There were young guys walking around with the normal Tunisian tight pants and shirts and lots of gel, except they were also wearing Kipot.
One thing we ate as an appetizer were meat and potato balls. Here is how to make them:
You Need
Potatoes, cooked and mashed, maybe with a bit of margarine, salt and pepper
leftover cooked meat (we used lamb)
hard boiled eggs
uncooked eggs
matza meal
First cut the meat into very small bite sized pieces and cut the hard boiled egg into strips. next, beat the uncooked eggs in a bowl. Wet your hands, and take a small handful of the mashed potatoes and flatten it out in your hand. place a piece of meat and hard boiled egg in the center and fold the potato over it. Roll into and oval shape. Roll this around in a bowl of matza meal, and then dip it into the egg. Deep fry until golden brown.
The family I spent my time with switched between going to two shuls, one for morning services and one for evening. I think this is the first time I went to morning and evening services for both days of chag and shabbat.
The two synagogues I went to had similar layouts.
The seating is interesting, because since it extends to all four sides, in order to get a torah out of the ark you need to take off your shoes and stand on the cushions.There were no women at the service. The first night my friend who came with me was offered to come to services, so I assumed that there would be a women's section. It ends up this meant sitting in the courtyard while we went inside.
On average there were around 15 people for morning services, and 30 in the evening. The service was pretty regular, not so much singing except for parts of hallel. Before the torah service, a man gets up and auctions off the aliyot, which I thought was kind of strange. They went for around a dinar a piece, and people usually do not outbid eachother. If there are any that are not bidded for they they are given out, so I got to have an aliyah on two of the days. After your aliyah, you have to go around and shake everyone's hand.
While I was there I saw a student's Hebrew workbook. Besides learning print and script letters, they also learn another kind which I had never seen before, which I guess is what they used in the times when they weren't allowed to write in Hebrew and so that non Jews wouldn't understand. Today I think there are few if any problems of anti Judaism on the island, and people feel comfortable walking around with kipot on.
Since there is no kosher alcohol available in Tunisia, many families make their own. The family I stayed with made two kinds, sweet and not sweet. It did not really taste like wine, and my friend who came with me informed me that it tasted like a very strong port. For the seders they mix it with a little bit of water for the four cups, and even still it is quite intense. My family also made their own Boukha, which tastes like Arak. For each of the four cups, the wine had to completely fill the glass, and you had to drink the entire thing at once.
Djerba has its own matza factories, and also imports matza from France. The Djerban matza is similar to shmura matza, except harder and thicker. My jaw hurt the next day from eating it. It tastes similar to Ak-Mak crackers. Most other kosher for passover food is imported from Israel, which was nice, since it meant I got to have Bisli and Doritos.
Being in Tunisia, where people already have dinner late, we started the first seder at 9:30 and the second at 10. For both seders they had the whole family over, which consisted of the parents, two sons, their wives and children, one daughter and her husband and child, and three more daughters who were not yet married.
The seder plate was a huge basket, which was necessary since the shank bone itself would have taken up our entire seder plate. Instead of using horseradish, Tunisians use romaine lettuce and endive. They dip their parsley in lemon juice instead of salt water. Then, they take balls of what looked like different fruits and nuts and dissolved them in the lemon juice to make haroset, which tasted more like salad dressing. There was no egg on the seder plate.
Before the seder began, one of the sons brought out a scale which I soon found out was to make sure you eat the right amounts of everything. It ends up in order to fulfill the mitzvah, you need to each quite a lot of matza, and a large salad's worth of maror. I was basically full before the meal began.
For Magid we went around the table reading the different sections, except for a few which are reserved for the head of the family. During Ha Lachma, the father picked up the seder basket and walked around with it above everyone's head. It was then repeated so that someone could hold it over his. He was also the only person to remove wine during his cup during the plagues, except instead of dipping his finger he poured it into a clay pot on the floor, and then refilled it. There was little discussion about the different parts of the seder.
The Afikomen was only symbolically hidden, and was brought back to the table without any drama after the meal.
On the second night, it is their tradition for magid to recite the entire seder in Hebrew and Arabic. They also do "who knows one" in Arabic, and what I thought is really cool, is that they use the same tune and representations of numbers as the Ladino version of the song. Maybe the song was translated when Jews came from Spain.
We ended the first seder at 2 and the second at 3:30.
The meals for the entire weekend focused around lamb, and I wouldn't be surprised if they purchased an entire lamb for the chag. On the second day they had a probably the largest meal, which was a huge lamb barbecue, which was seperated into different courses by part of the lamb. We started with the liver, then moved onto ribs, then brain, and then chunks of pure fat. The meal finished by eating the Shank bone from the seder plate. We ate the intestines and stomach the night before.
The grill they used looked like the top of a brick chimney on wheels. They put coals in the bottom and once it gets hot put skewers of meat inside vertically so they are leaning against the sides.
Being in the Jewish quarter was like being in Jerusalem. There were no cars and everything was closed, and the streets were full of people walking around or sitting and taking on the sides of houses. There were young guys walking around with the normal Tunisian tight pants and shirts and lots of gel, except they were also wearing Kipot.
One thing we ate as an appetizer were meat and potato balls. Here is how to make them:
You Need
Potatoes, cooked and mashed, maybe with a bit of margarine, salt and pepper
leftover cooked meat (we used lamb)
hard boiled eggs
uncooked eggs
matza meal
First cut the meat into very small bite sized pieces and cut the hard boiled egg into strips. next, beat the uncooked eggs in a bowl. Wet your hands, and take a small handful of the mashed potatoes and flatten it out in your hand. place a piece of meat and hard boiled egg in the center and fold the potato over it. Roll into and oval shape. Roll this around in a bowl of matza meal, and then dip it into the egg. Deep fry until golden brown.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Its Hot
It finally broke into the 80's this week, yet many Tunisians still wear coats because "its still winter"
Also, no stores are allowed to sell you liquor on Fridays unless you have a foreign passport.
Also, no stores are allowed to sell you liquor on Fridays unless you have a foreign passport.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tunisian Cooking Lesson 2: Brik
Brik is kinda like a fried bureka, and it is awesome.
You will need:
chopped parsley
cheese, I think a shredded mozzarella will work (not fresh)
canned tuna (some people use shrimp or just leave out this ingredient altogether)
an egg, 1 per brik
oil
a lemon
and brik dough, which looks like this:
I did a little bit of research and it looks like it might be available in the US under the name Warka, malsouka, or feuilles de brick.
You can also buy them from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/Feuilles-Brick-Dough-10-sheets/dp/B0001217R2/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=gourmet-food&qid=1204408409&sr=8-1
Or try to make your own, which is supposedly very hard.
Or you can use spring roll wrappers, which are supposedly close enough. Phyllo dough will not work since it is too brittle.
Anyway, you first want to wilt the parsley in a pan with a bit of olive oil. Take it off of the burner and put in the canned tuna and mozzarella cheese, and a pinch of salt and pepper. I would say there should probably be equal amounts of parsley and cheese, and slightly less tuna.
Then take the brik sheet and fold in the sides so that it forms a square which is around 5"x5". Fold this in half to form a triangle
Unfold it back into a square, and put in 1-2 tablespoons of the parsley mixture. Then crack an egg directly on top of it, and fold it back into a triangle. Immediately place the brik in a pan of hot oil (you're not deep frying) for around half a minute or less on each side. The trick is to cook the white of the egg, but to keep the yolk runny.
Serve immediately with lemon juice squeezed on top. You know you are a true Tunisian when you can eat it with without letting the yolk fall out.
You will need:
chopped parsley
cheese, I think a shredded mozzarella will work (not fresh)
canned tuna (some people use shrimp or just leave out this ingredient altogether)
an egg, 1 per brik
oil
a lemon
and brik dough, which looks like this:
I did a little bit of research and it looks like it might be available in the US under the name Warka, malsouka, or feuilles de brick. You can also buy them from Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/Feuilles-Brick-Dough-10-sheets/dp/B0001217R2/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=gourmet-food&qid=1204408409&sr=8-1
Or try to make your own, which is supposedly very hard.
Or you can use spring roll wrappers, which are supposedly close enough. Phyllo dough will not work since it is too brittle.
Anyway, you first want to wilt the parsley in a pan with a bit of olive oil. Take it off of the burner and put in the canned tuna and mozzarella cheese, and a pinch of salt and pepper. I would say there should probably be equal amounts of parsley and cheese, and slightly less tuna.
Then take the brik sheet and fold in the sides so that it forms a square which is around 5"x5". Fold this in half to form a triangle
Unfold it back into a square, and put in 1-2 tablespoons of the parsley mixture. Then crack an egg directly on top of it, and fold it back into a triangle. Immediately place the brik in a pan of hot oil (you're not deep frying) for around half a minute or less on each side. The trick is to cook the white of the egg, but to keep the yolk runny.
Serve immediately with lemon juice squeezed on top. You know you are a true Tunisian when you can eat it with without letting the yolk fall out.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The North
Roman Marble QuarryOur trip to the north of Tunisia was pretty fun. There are a lot of Roman ruins in Tunisia. A lot. I think I saw more Roman ruins in the past week than I saw when I was in Italy. There are also lots of amazing mosaics which are in really good condition.
Mausoleum in HaidraWhat's great (or maybe bad) about archaeological sites in Tunisia is that you are basically free to wander and climb around on the ruins. Many mosaics, like the one below, look like they belong in a museum or below a glass cover.
Instead, you can walk on top of them, and even steal pieces. (which I of course did not do, or at least not from the ones still in good condition)Speaking of Romans, the picture below is of Jugurtha's table.
Its a mountain that looks like it had the top of it cut off. There's a pretty breathtaking view from the top, and also more ruins including some cool underground caverns. Yay. This is the site where Jugurtha, a Berber leader, had his stronghold to defend against the invading Romans. Seems kinda familiar, no?
This is Mechoui, which is grilled lamb on the side of the highway. Its served with a bit of salt and lemon. It costs around 11 dinar for a kilo of meat, and is delicious. kinda wish we had this instead of McDonalds back in the US.
Bay In Tabarka
Tefillin from Synagogue in Le Kef, which no longer has a Jewish community, but the state renovated the building and keeps it pretty good condition.On another note, due to the lack of copyright laws in Tunisia, or maybe the lack of enforcement, I think it is almost impossible to buy a CD or DVD in this country which is not pirated. I found this great place where you can get how ever many movies, tv shows, or songs that can fit on 1 dvd for 1.50. Also, the store has be designed to look like its a gift shop from Jurassic Park and also has leopard skin couches. Unfortunately a lot of the newer movies and shows are dubbed in French, since no one actually uses Arabic in this country (many restaurants do not even have menus available in Arabic). Because of this I've started watching American movies in French, but only really bad ones where it doesn't matter that I miss half the dialog.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Cause we all knew all I really wanted was a food blog
So I decided that the next logical step after making bagels was donuts, and here they are:
My host brother Karim having a go at frying
Completed Pumpkin Maple Donuts
Also I got a Tunisian haircut (well a normal haircut with lots of gel)
Yesterday I went to shul for Purim. Around 30 people showed up, no women, except for one young girl. All the kids under 10 were wearing costumes, but no one older. The service and Megilla reading was pretty average, but afterwards they sang this song about all of the characters in the story which was pretty cool. We finished mincha earlier than expected so the person who I assume was the rabbi gave a short drash about mishloach manot, or at least I think that was what it was about. It was hard to understand the sermon since it was in a mix of Arabic, French and Hebrew. What I found interesting though was that everyone in the congregation felt comfortable interrupting him to ask questions or make comment, which happened pretty frequently.
I was surprised to see that the Jewish community was active enough that it attracted people of all ages. I was expecting a bunch of old men. On the other hand, I could see that there was a fear of antisemitism as we were leaving, and everyone removed their kippot. Or at least I assume that this is why they removed them, I didn't ask anyone.
Yesterday was also the prophets birthday, which meant that most places were closed that and that families get together to have a special meal. Unfortunately all of mine besides my host brother were in Italy, but my maid made me a bowl of one of the traditional puddings since she knew I was disappointed. They also were selling prepared Zgougou, the main traditional pudding for the holiday, at the supermarket so I got some there. Pretty delicious.
Tomorrow we head out on our second excursion, this time to the north.
Here is a fun game I learned called "The Libyan"
One person sits or stands with their eyes closed, and someone else hits them. The person with their eyes closed then has to guess who it was. I'm not sure if the hitter or the hittee is supposed to be the Libyan.
My host brother Karim having a go at frying
Completed Pumpkin Maple Donuts
Also I got a Tunisian haircut (well a normal haircut with lots of gel)
Yesterday I went to shul for Purim. Around 30 people showed up, no women, except for one young girl. All the kids under 10 were wearing costumes, but no one older. The service and Megilla reading was pretty average, but afterwards they sang this song about all of the characters in the story which was pretty cool. We finished mincha earlier than expected so the person who I assume was the rabbi gave a short drash about mishloach manot, or at least I think that was what it was about. It was hard to understand the sermon since it was in a mix of Arabic, French and Hebrew. What I found interesting though was that everyone in the congregation felt comfortable interrupting him to ask questions or make comment, which happened pretty frequently.
I was surprised to see that the Jewish community was active enough that it attracted people of all ages. I was expecting a bunch of old men. On the other hand, I could see that there was a fear of antisemitism as we were leaving, and everyone removed their kippot. Or at least I assume that this is why they removed them, I didn't ask anyone.
Yesterday was also the prophets birthday, which meant that most places were closed that and that families get together to have a special meal. Unfortunately all of mine besides my host brother were in Italy, but my maid made me a bowl of one of the traditional puddings since she knew I was disappointed. They also were selling prepared Zgougou, the main traditional pudding for the holiday, at the supermarket so I got some there. Pretty delicious.
Tomorrow we head out on our second excursion, this time to the north.
Here is a fun game I learned called "The Libyan"
One person sits or stands with their eyes closed, and someone else hits them. The person with their eyes closed then has to guess who it was. I'm not sure if the hitter or the hittee is supposed to be the Libyan.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Yay Tunisisan Arabic
In Tunisian Arabic, all you have to do to switch to future is add the word "besh" to the present tense.
Best tense ever!
Also I made Bagels
Don't be surprised if Tunisians coming to the U.S. think that bagels are called "Khobz New York" or New York Bread.
The recipe I used can be found here:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/09/bronx-worthy-bagels/
Best tense ever!
Also I made Bagels
Don't be surprised if Tunisians coming to the U.S. think that bagels are called "Khobz New York" or New York Bread.
The recipe I used can be found here:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/09/bronx-worthy-bagels/
Monday, March 10, 2008
In Case You're Curious
Here is where I live in Tunis. Its the house across the street to the right of the empty lot. The lot is no longer empty. If you want, you can follow the larger curving street above to the right to see where a bunch of good restaurants are, or, take it to the roundabout and then go south to see my bus route into the city.
View Larger Map
Also, sorry about the low quality videos of the game. I was warned against bringing my camera, and had to use my host brother's phone.
View Larger Map
Also, sorry about the low quality videos of the game. I was warned against bringing my camera, and had to use my host brother's phone.
Here's my next blog entry. I realize its a bit long, so if you are not going to read it all, I recommend going to read about the soccer game which was pretty fun.
So somehow the class portion of the program is almost over. I have my Arabic final this thursday, which is pretty disappointing since we are still here for 2 more months.
In other news a couple of exciting things have happened in the past week:
First off, we had a lecture about Tunisians in France, which was pretty interesting, but even better was that the lecturer knew about a few good restaurants for us to try out.
I went with a couple of friends to an amazing fish restaurant in the tractor parts district of Tunis.
We got there at 1:45pm and the place was still packed. The owner's name was Kamel, and every seemed to know him and were constantly calling him to bring them more bread or other stuff. At first it was unclear how to get a seat, since there was no waiting list but at the same time there seemed to be a way of getting acknowledged by the waiters. After standing around for around 20 minutes I heard someone say in Arabic something like "give the tourists a seat," and we were put at a table with a Tunisian who hadn't yet finished eating. The food was pretty good, but unfortunately I forgot I had my camera until after the meal, so here is a picture of the skeleton of Laura's Loup de Mer.
After lunch we walked around the uniform district in order to find bright orange jumpsuits for our Arabic class. I learned the word for jumpsuit in French, which is Combinazon. I will post a picture once they are decorated.
On Sunday I went to the soccer match between Esperance Tunis, and Etoile Sousse, which I guess is a pretty big rivalry, but not as intense as the game in two weeks between the two Tunis based teams. We were not able to get tickets at the box office, and had to buy them at 4x the usual price (and by buy I mean I gave my money to my Tunisian friend and walked away so that they would not see me and charge us extra). Thankfully, even at 4x price, the tickets were only 17dinar.
The majority of the stadium is not reserved seating, and since we had the virage seats, which are the cheapest, we had to arrive 3 hours before the game started. Luckily we found three people who preferred the virage to their slightly nicer seats since its more rowdy, and were able to upgrade for free.
The fans here put American fans to shame. Everyone is wearing their teams uniform, or if not the shirt of another football team which happens to have similar colors. People started singing and chanting around an hour and a half before the game starts. Most of the chants have pretty similar message and are directed at the fans for the other team. Here were some of them (translated)
"Go fuck your mother"
"your mother is a bitch"
"Sousse's mother needs (or has, it was unclear) a penis"
and my favorite
"we are going to beat you up, we're ready to go to Guantanamo"
The fans for each team are seated in separate areas, which are separated by a large metal fence. For this game this was not enough, and there was a section of seats left empty which had around 30 riot police with shields and batons. There were also little clumps of police around the field for the protection of the players and other officials.
Here's a movie of some chanting and big banners before the match began.
The game itself was not so exciting because Esperance, the team I was supposed to be supporting, played pretty horribly. Most of the action was happening in the stands. The Virage section, where I was originally supposed to be sitting, did not sit down for the entire game. They were continuously jumping and chanting, no matter how badly Esperance was doing. I think I saw at least 10 or 15 people carried out on stretchers, or being pulled out by the police. This was partially because they were throwing water bottles and pieces of cardboard, as well as the actual seats at the field.
If you look at this video you will see a line of police wearing helmets and carrying shields of to the left. This is because the virage section decided it would be a good idea to light up flares and throw them at the police.
On an unrelated note, I thought it was funny that instead of selling beer, there are people walking around with kettles selling tea and coffee for 50cents a cup.
Also, I saw a total of 4 girls in the entire stadium.
After the game we had to get away from the stadium as soon as possible, because I was warned that otherwise we might get beaten or kicked by the police.
So somehow the class portion of the program is almost over. I have my Arabic final this thursday, which is pretty disappointing since we are still here for 2 more months.
In other news a couple of exciting things have happened in the past week:
First off, we had a lecture about Tunisians in France, which was pretty interesting, but even better was that the lecturer knew about a few good restaurants for us to try out.
I went with a couple of friends to an amazing fish restaurant in the tractor parts district of Tunis.
We got there at 1:45pm and the place was still packed. The owner's name was Kamel, and every seemed to know him and were constantly calling him to bring them more bread or other stuff. At first it was unclear how to get a seat, since there was no waiting list but at the same time there seemed to be a way of getting acknowledged by the waiters. After standing around for around 20 minutes I heard someone say in Arabic something like "give the tourists a seat," and we were put at a table with a Tunisian who hadn't yet finished eating. The food was pretty good, but unfortunately I forgot I had my camera until after the meal, so here is a picture of the skeleton of Laura's Loup de Mer.
After lunch we walked around the uniform district in order to find bright orange jumpsuits for our Arabic class. I learned the word for jumpsuit in French, which is Combinazon. I will post a picture once they are decorated.
On Sunday I went to the soccer match between Esperance Tunis, and Etoile Sousse, which I guess is a pretty big rivalry, but not as intense as the game in two weeks between the two Tunis based teams. We were not able to get tickets at the box office, and had to buy them at 4x the usual price (and by buy I mean I gave my money to my Tunisian friend and walked away so that they would not see me and charge us extra). Thankfully, even at 4x price, the tickets were only 17dinar.
The majority of the stadium is not reserved seating, and since we had the virage seats, which are the cheapest, we had to arrive 3 hours before the game started. Luckily we found three people who preferred the virage to their slightly nicer seats since its more rowdy, and were able to upgrade for free.
The fans here put American fans to shame. Everyone is wearing their teams uniform, or if not the shirt of another football team which happens to have similar colors. People started singing and chanting around an hour and a half before the game starts. Most of the chants have pretty similar message and are directed at the fans for the other team. Here were some of them (translated)
"Go fuck your mother"
"your mother is a bitch"
"Sousse's mother needs (or has, it was unclear) a penis"
and my favorite
"we are going to beat you up, we're ready to go to Guantanamo"
The fans for each team are seated in separate areas, which are separated by a large metal fence. For this game this was not enough, and there was a section of seats left empty which had around 30 riot police with shields and batons. There were also little clumps of police around the field for the protection of the players and other officials.
Here's a movie of some chanting and big banners before the match began.
The game itself was not so exciting because Esperance, the team I was supposed to be supporting, played pretty horribly. Most of the action was happening in the stands. The Virage section, where I was originally supposed to be sitting, did not sit down for the entire game. They were continuously jumping and chanting, no matter how badly Esperance was doing. I think I saw at least 10 or 15 people carried out on stretchers, or being pulled out by the police. This was partially because they were throwing water bottles and pieces of cardboard, as well as the actual seats at the field.
If you look at this video you will see a line of police wearing helmets and carrying shields of to the left. This is because the virage section decided it would be a good idea to light up flares and throw them at the police.
On an unrelated note, I thought it was funny that instead of selling beer, there are people walking around with kettles selling tea and coffee for 50cents a cup.
Also, I saw a total of 4 girls in the entire stadium.
After the game we had to get away from the stadium as soon as possible, because I was warned that otherwise we might get beaten or kicked by the police.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Be Jealous
An Oasis in the Desert
Tatooine
The Synagogue in Djerba
View From Our Hotel (yes, it was warm enough to go swimming)
People From the Group
Friday, February 22, 2008
Ena Mhajer Khatat
So this week I learned that your mouth can get tired and sore from trying to pronounce words. In Arabic, there are three letters that make a sound like th in "this." Each is said in a slightly different part of the mouth, and are supposedly very distinct. As of now they all sound pretty much the same to me.
Besides pronunciation, Tunisian Arabic is going well, and I can even create sentences like "Ena Nikra Al Hawet," or "I am studying fishmongery."
I feel like I am slowly becoming a member of the family, and last night they even let me cook dinner. I was informed by my host dad that "it is good I am a contributer to the family, unlike Karim (my host brother) who just takes." Since I'm still an outsider, I still have everything explained to me, from what the call to prayer is every time it comes on, to why since the traffic is bad on one street we are taking another. I also get a play by play translation of every argument that occurs in the house.
Tonight I am going with my host brother and some of his friends to "Above and Beyond," who is supposedly the best trance DJ group in the world. I'm kinda excited, and have been trying really hard to enjoy trance music, so we'll see how it goes.
Tomorrow I am going to the south and the Sahara for the week with my group, so I will probably have something more interesting to post after we come back.
Besides pronunciation, Tunisian Arabic is going well, and I can even create sentences like "Ena Nikra Al Hawet," or "I am studying fishmongery."
I feel like I am slowly becoming a member of the family, and last night they even let me cook dinner. I was informed by my host dad that "it is good I am a contributer to the family, unlike Karim (my host brother) who just takes." Since I'm still an outsider, I still have everything explained to me, from what the call to prayer is every time it comes on, to why since the traffic is bad on one street we are taking another. I also get a play by play translation of every argument that occurs in the house.
Tonight I am going with my host brother and some of his friends to "Above and Beyond," who is supposedly the best trance DJ group in the world. I'm kinda excited, and have been trying really hard to enjoy trance music, so we'll see how it goes.
Tomorrow I am going to the south and the Sahara for the week with my group, so I will probably have something more interesting to post after we come back.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Tunisian Couscous With Fish
Couscous with fish seems to be one of the most popular traditional Tunisian dishes. Today, Nijet, our maid, showed me how to make it.
First, take a pot and add:
olive oil
3 or 4 shallots, chopped coarsely
2 or 3 tablespoons of tomato paste
Some yellow spice for which you can substitute saffron
Black pepper
Another unknown spice, I tasted it and was able to make out some red pepper and maybe coriander, but I don't know what else.
bring to a simmer for like 10 minutes, and then add
a handful of chickpeas
3 or 4 coarsely chopped carrots
2 peeled potatoes chopped into large chunks
A few large chunks of some orange winter squash, also peeled
Add enough water to cover everything and let simmer for around 20 minutes
In the meantime, we took an unknown bean which kinda looked like a lima bean, but I think its something else, added some lemon juice to them, and put them in a separate pot with water to boil. All I can tell you about the bean is that it turns brown when it is cooked.
Next, take some whole white fish (I don't know what kind exactly, maybe you can figure out from the picture), and rub them with
Cumin
Fresh crushed garlic
And Sea salt
The couscous itself we put in a pan with some olive oil and a bit of tap water, and let the water get absorbed.
We then added enough water to our vegetable so that the pot was around half full, and put the couscous in a steamer over the pot, and let it steam uncovered for around 10 minutes.
After that, we took some of the broth from the vegetables, and added it to the fish in a pot, just enough to cover them, and brought that pot to a simmer until the fish was cooked. We then put the steamer with couscous back over the vegetables, adding salt and pepper.
Once the fish was cooked, and the couscous partially cooked, we put the couscous in a bowl, and added a few tablespoons of butter, and a couple of cups of broth from both the fish pot and the vegetable pot. The green beans should still be cooking, and start to be shriveled and brown.
Once the couscous has absorbed the broth, add the beans in with the other vegetables.
To serve, put the couscous in a bowl, pour the vegetables with their broth over it, and top with a piece of fish. This dish is usually served with fermented milk, which is kind of like a thick unsweetened yogurt drink.
Enjoy
Hopefully I'll post more recipes in the future
Thursday, February 14, 2008
I Have Internet
So the internet has been down at my house since my host father stopped paying the bills, but he knows someone who works for the company and now we have temporary internet access.
It was in the mid 70's the other day, so I went with some other people in the group to the beach after class. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera so I don't have any pictures. It was really nice though, and the water was warm enough that we could get our feet wet.
I think that I can accurately say that Tunisia has the worst drivers in the world. Every time I get into a car I fear for my life. There are very few stop signs, so people just go and hope that no one is coming from the other direction. Most of the lane lines have faded, so people move around in order to get where they're going as fast as possible, never using their blinkers. My host mother likes to do this thing where she stays in the middle of the road, so that no one can pass her, and so that as cars in front of her slow down she can swerve into whichever lane seems to be going faster. Also, Tunisian believe that seat belts are only necessary on the highway. And drunk driving doesn't seem to be looked down upon. When I was at my host brother's friend's house, someone else there downed an entire bottle of wine and then drove home. When I asked him if he could drive he said, "after the second bottle, I have to think about it."
Tunisian have the highest rate of deaths per accident.
Everyone here listens to trance music, and teenagers are really into Tektonic dancing, which is kinda strange, you should watch a video on youtube. I can't suggest a link since youtube is blocked here. I might go with my host brother to an Above and Beyond concert, who I guess is a really popular trance DJ.
I'm making challah for dinner tomorrow.
My family owns some olive groves and makes their own olive oil, here is a picture with Najet, our maid:
In Tunisia, trains will start moving even if the doors are still open, meaning that kids like to hang outside while the train is going.
It was in the mid 70's the other day, so I went with some other people in the group to the beach after class. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera so I don't have any pictures. It was really nice though, and the water was warm enough that we could get our feet wet.
I think that I can accurately say that Tunisia has the worst drivers in the world. Every time I get into a car I fear for my life. There are very few stop signs, so people just go and hope that no one is coming from the other direction. Most of the lane lines have faded, so people move around in order to get where they're going as fast as possible, never using their blinkers. My host mother likes to do this thing where she stays in the middle of the road, so that no one can pass her, and so that as cars in front of her slow down she can swerve into whichever lane seems to be going faster. Also, Tunisian believe that seat belts are only necessary on the highway. And drunk driving doesn't seem to be looked down upon. When I was at my host brother's friend's house, someone else there downed an entire bottle of wine and then drove home. When I asked him if he could drive he said, "after the second bottle, I have to think about it."
Tunisian have the highest rate of deaths per accident.
Everyone here listens to trance music, and teenagers are really into Tektonic dancing, which is kinda strange, you should watch a video on youtube. I can't suggest a link since youtube is blocked here. I might go with my host brother to an Above and Beyond concert, who I guess is a really popular trance DJ.
I'm making challah for dinner tomorrow.
My family owns some olive groves and makes their own olive oil, here is a picture with Najet, our maid:
In Tunisia, trains will start moving even if the doors are still open, meaning that kids like to hang outside while the train is going.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Shabbat Shalom
I moved in with my host family today. The house is beautiful and pretty new, with marble floors. The family has a maid which does all of the cleaning and most of the cooking. She only speaks Arabic, which is nice because it will force me to learn.
My Room
Tunisian food is ridiculously cheap. We went to get sandwiches today for lunch, and the most expensive one on the menu was 2 dinar, or $1.75
a cup of coffee or tea at a coffee shop will cost you around 300millim, or $.25
Arabic lessons are going well so far. Its been really helpful knowing Hebrew in terms of remembering the words. One thing that I found particularly interesting, is that unlike in Hebrew where when referring to mixed sexes you use the male, here, the male is barely used in everyday conversation, and everyone is referred to using female pronouns.
My Room
Tunisian food is ridiculously cheap. We went to get sandwiches today for lunch, and the most expensive one on the menu was 2 dinar, or $1.75
a cup of coffee or tea at a coffee shop will cost you around 300millim, or $.25
Arabic lessons are going well so far. Its been really helpful knowing Hebrew in terms of remembering the words. One thing that I found particularly interesting, is that unlike in Hebrew where when referring to mixed sexes you use the male, here, the male is barely used in everyday conversation, and everyone is referred to using female pronouns.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
no picture yet
I met my family yesterday. They seem really awesome. My dad is an engineer who works for tunisian air, and before that he designed amusement parks. My mom is a bank manager. I also have a 21 year old brother who is studying some kind of computer data something and is really into clubbing and trance music. They seem really friendly and liberal, and the father told me that I should point out to him everything thats wrong with the country before I leave. I move in with them on friday, so more on that later.
Tunisian pizza is really good, possibly since its so close to Italy.
We also had our second survival Tunisian class where we were all given names, mine's Halil.
Tunisian pizza is really good, possibly since its so close to Italy.
We also had our second survival Tunisian class where we were all given names, mine's Halil.
Monday, February 4, 2008
I'm in Tunisia
and google switched all of the links on my blog to Arabic, so I had to click on each one hoping I was clicking on new post. Thankfully I got it on the 4th try.
I have nothing exciting really to report yet, except that the weather is really nice and I'm exhausted since I watched transformers on the flight instead of sleeping. Also, I had quail for the first time, which was kinda exciting.
Tomorrow we go to the US embassy to find out how to not get killed, and then we get to meet our host families.
I have nothing exciting really to report yet, except that the weather is really nice and I'm exhausted since I watched transformers on the flight instead of sleeping. Also, I had quail for the first time, which was kinda exciting.
Tomorrow we go to the US embassy to find out how to not get killed, and then we get to meet our host families.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
I have a blog
Yay. I'm not leaving for another 12 days, but I had nothing to do today at work so I thought I'd make a blog. Hopefully I'll continue to update it once I actually leave the country, but no guarantees.
Until then I might just post random ramblings if anyone is interested in hearing about my preparations for going abroad or whatever else I feel like writing.
For example; today I was reading about the writers strike on wikipedia and learned "The current strike has lasted 11 weeks and 2 days, as of January 23, 2008," which means that theres some guy who every day goes back to this page to change the date. I wish I had such a good use for my time.
Until then I might just post random ramblings if anyone is interested in hearing about my preparations for going abroad or whatever else I feel like writing.
For example; today I was reading about the writers strike on wikipedia and learned "The current strike has lasted 11 weeks and 2 days, as of January 23, 2008," which means that theres some guy who every day goes back to this page to change the date. I wish I had such a good use for my time.
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