Behemoth

Can't believe nobody's mentioned my favorite line in that episode: Editor: We're looking for a new food critic. Someone who doesn't immediately poo-poo everything he eats. Homer: No, it usually takes a few hours.

I thought he was very pretty!

I've never heard of a "religious" reason for this. Do you have a reference? Most places I've bought eggs in the ME also happen to sell chickens so there's a lot of stuff flying around. It might just be good common sense.

Thanks Elie and M. Lucia. Elie, I am trying to imagine what you got kicked out for, you seem so mellow. Then again I've gotten kicked out of a few places myself I think I will try to talk our way into AUB somehow -- maybe one of my dad's friends' kids are around and can get us in. Though Byblos is probably the nicer option...then again I will probably be laughed off the property for my midwestern pallor. So AUB alums also have access? That makes things a lot easier.

Dude, I don't know what you people call it in English.

Of course I've read all your posts, Farid. In fact I often print them out and hang them around the house for inspiration Every Arabic-speaking country has it's own dialect, but if I am teaching a non-native speaker how to say something, unless they ask for a specific dialect I will give them the classical pronounciation, since at least it is understood everywhere. News programs and official statements are always read in classical Arabic, but unlike German, say, where "high" German is actually spoken in certain regions, nobody actually speaks classical arabic in coversation, unless they are total prats. It ends up being a little awkward since, for example, when I have colleagues from North Africa, we find classical Arabic so unnatural for conversation that we'd rather struggle along trying to work through our respective dialects. And then we usually switch to English. Of course I could lay some thick North Lebanon accent on the above pronounciations but you don't want people sounding like rubes when they're in Beirut you know. Unless I happen not to like that person...but so far everyone has been pretty nice to me What was the topic again?

The first one. ← *cough* Depends on the derja. Seriously though the first one is fine. ← Is that true? I thought classical Arabic was pronounced the same everywhere, regardless of dialect. How would you pronounce it? Anyway, regardless of dialect, the ' represents the letter 'ayn, so it certainly wouldn't be pronounced the second way.

The first one.

It wasn't gooey inside, it was just bad. I took it back. The guy behind the counter said (and I quote) "Gwaah!!" and gave me my money back.

zaa'tar

Bitter greens and sorrel ravioli from the Babbo cookbook. Nice, the greens keep it from being too heavy. I also made ciabatta loaves, so more radish and butter sandwiches for me Amazing how much my mood improves when I eat a few vegetables...

Glad to oblige, but is the "u" pronounced like the "u" in "hummer," or the "u" in "put"? I've heard it both ways. ← The second one, like "put". The double M is stressed -- you would almost treat it like two words: hum-mus. How do I describe it? You pause for a half second at the first M. Having said that, no Arabic speaker I know of would be annoyed at a mispronounciation. Usually they are just thrilled that someone would bother to try. The main goal is to be understood, so don't stress out about it.

3 glasses of it, simultaneously? ← Gotta come down gently from the breakfast beers Yesterday I went to the farmer's market. So dinner was fresh radish sandwiches with butter and fluer de sel. And then later, a Korean garlic chive pancake. Today's meal will involve sorrel and arugula in some way. Happy.

I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be a blue cheese But it could just have a bad shelf life. Oh well, we'll see what they do when I bring it back.

Here is a photo: (edited to fix photo)

There are very few foods I can't tolerate, but I just don't get the obsession with chocolate. I like it okay, so long as it is quite bitter, and in very small amounts. I get kind of irritated by those ads that make it sound like every woman has a mini orgasm eating the stuff. Personally, I'd rather have a good tart orange. Kris, my husband also hates cheesecake. I like it about as much as I like chocolate, which is to say...meh.

So this new "Gourmet" store just opened in town. They had a Portugese goat cheese which sounded rather nice -- described as "pungent" and "barnyardy". In other words, just my kind of cheese. When I sniffed it in the package I couldn't detect any ammonia smell, so I took it home. Well, when I came home and unwrapped it, it was dried out, yellow, deeply cracked, with little tufts of blue mold growing out the top. It doesn't smell of much at all -- no barnyard, but not much ammonia either. I am fairly certain this is just bad cheese, although it is dated for July. And, well, the store has only been open for a few weeks, I mean how badly could they be storing their stuff? Anyway, I am taking it back tomorrow but wanted to check in with y'all as backup, and on the off chance this is some new and exotic version of goat cheese which happens to grow its own penicillin. I can post a picture, if that helps. Thanks!

I have been able to buy Beiruti brand in a jar at a place in Urbana, so a relatively large middle eastern store in Chicago should carry it. It says "pickled shanklish" but it is just packed in olive oil. As far as best, or fresh, I can't really help. This stuff isn't bad, though it's not the homemade stuff, either.

Definitely BO-18. That place sounds intense! Zinc also sounded good, from what I've read. I wish I still had a connection at AUB. Can you get in if you are not visiting someone? We would like to look around as we are considering trying to have a year there on sabbatical/post doc/whatever sometime in the future. Maybe I will contact potential collegues. Everyone I know has long since graduated, even my "baby" brother's generation! Also, there seems to be a real dearth of public beaches in Beirut. We know people in Tripoli but our days up there will probably be too packed to go. Know of anyplace we can pay to get in nearby without knowing a member? Apart from renting a $200 seaside hotel room, I mean. PS Hey, New York isn't that bad. But it does get stinky in the summer...

I am a disciple of the Drunken Fist kung fu style, myself. Oh no wait, I meant drunken sloth.

I've had good ones, but there isn't much of a point if you don't eat pork. Pork goes well with sweet stuff like fruit, so the BBQ sauce isn't much of a stretch. To be honest, I don't think it goes as well with chicken or beef, even though I guess lots of people use it that way. Especially beef just doesn't work with sweet flavors for me. Nothing sweeter than onions, anyway. IMO a good spicy dry rub is much better in that case! Oh, also American pork is very lean and dries out quickly, so the sauce has that function also.

Thanks! Now get off the computer and enjoy Paris My dad's decided to tag along, so we should be in decent hands most of the time. (I insisted, however, on three nights alone with A in Beirut -- we barely see each other enough as it is, and next year it will be even worse!) Plus we want to investigate this crazy Beirut club scene we keep hearing about, even though we are feeling a little too old for that sort of thing...

Does the meat actually end up being more salty, or just different-tasting? It looks wonderful. Farmer's market opens tomorrow, so I can stand to eat another omelette tonight. If you saw the state of the produce at my local supermarket, you would completely understand. Feh.

It's even worse. In Arabic, there is masculine/feminine for one, two and many. Although, unlike German and French, it is a little easier usually to figure out if something is female or male. BTW, one = singular, many = plural. Is there such a word for two?

I was asked about those language discussions. They are public, if anyone is interested, and they include more links on history of Grüner Veltliner. MaxH, thanks for this -- the pronounciation makes a lot more sense once one knows the origin! (Plus, its a wine I love, so I want to make sure I know how to ask for it if I am in Austria )