FOOD!

Hello tout le monde. I am terribly sorry for being so lax with my blog, but it wasn't my fault I promise. A lot has happened which I have wanted to write about, but I didn't get pictures of all of it so I wanted to wait until the people who did take pictures put them on Facebook, which they still have not. However, the meal I just had was so lovely that I just had to tell all.

The food here comes in masses. Mama Zein cooks a massive meal most mornings which we sit down and eat at about 2 in the afternoon and then after that I've been told to eat what I like, when I like which usually means me eating more of the same meal at dinner, because there is usually enough to keep us going for days on end.

The Jordanians / Arabs in general I think are really eager to feed you. It is there way of being welcoming. So several times a day I get food thrust at me with the accompanying 'eat!' Today I got up to get some kitchen roll, because I was making a tad of a mess and Elias says 'eat' and quite unintentionally I whipped round; 'I am eating!' I didn't mean to be so blunt, but sometimes you just can't fit any more down your gullet.

I have found myself eating some great things and some things which I have to force down my throat. They have this pudding which is basically cinnamon gloop with nuts. I'm not a massive fan of nuts and gloop, I'm afraid, isn't the texture of any appetising food. Yet I take it and eat when ever it is given to me, because it is just impolite not to and I no Mama Zein makes them herself and I don;t have the heart to say I don't like it.

However when the food is good, the food is really really good! One of the best meals I've had is a dish called mansaf which is made with rice and laban, which is a yoghurt/oil thing, and meat or chicken. It goes in a big dish in the middle and everyone grabs at it with their hands using a bit of bread as a vehicle. Today we had a fantastic dish that was basically stuffed tomatoes and peppers with an amazing sauce made from the insides of the tomatoes and chilli and other things. Never have a tasted more flavourful tomatoes! I seriously need to learn how to make these things.

Other meals have included stuffed corgettes, stuffed aubergine (yes there are a lot of stuffed vegetables) maglobi, which means upside down and is rice and meat (yes most meals include rice and meat as the made bit). Also one day Mama Zein cooked us what tasted like kofta and chips. It was amazing, enough said.

Over all I am loving the food and when I come back to England I am determined to be able to make it all so I can feed you all of these wonderful dishes.

Oh an of course I have tried the McDonalds and the KFC just to make sure it is the same as in the UK.