Today, the focus of this blog and the accompanying podcast will be the foods of the Middle East, but before we begin, I should comment on an event you may have seen in the news.

At about 3pm today, an oil production facility at Abqaiq (about 45 miles south of Dammam) was attacked by two cars carrying explosives.  The guards of the facility opened fire on the vehicles and prevented them from gaining access to the production facilities.  It appears that this is getting steady news coverage, but if you haven't checked it out yet, try the following links:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/24/saudi.refinery/index.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D14508DD-5D4E-41CD-BB7C-1E27B88A0C56.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4747488.stm

This afternoon, the Aramco officials explained the situation and offered to answer any questions or concerns that we may have had.  As you know, we are on the western coast of Saudi Arabia and this occured on the Eastern coast--and don't forget Saudi Arabia is the size of Western Europe.  Like I said, it appears that protective measures the Saudis took prevented the plan from being carried out to complete success.

Changing Gears...

The Food of the Middle East
First, let it be known that I do not always know what ingredients go into every dish or the exact names, but I will provide pictures and as many names as I can here on the blog as well and take you through a typical dining experience on the podcast today.  Note: There may be variations on spelling because of the nature of tranlitterating Arabic to our alphabet.

Upon receiving a guest in your home...
"greeting"
Arabic coffee with cardamom, sweets with honey, dates, nuts, and chocolates

For appetizers or mezzah...

Flatbread, cheese and meat pastries, vegetables, hummus, babaganush, tehina, yogurt and cucumber dip, grape leaf wraps

For the main course...
, ,
Kebabs-grilled chicken, beef, and kofta (spiced lamb), chicken livers, falafel, rice

For a very special guest, especially the first time in your home...

A whole lamb on a bed of rice w/assorted mezzah

For dessert...

Kinafa and Atayef, fruit, Um Ali, cake, chocolate mouse

I hope this gives you some idea of the Middle Eastern diet.  If you have specific questions about a dish, you might want to check online for ingredients and preparation instruction.

Be sure to listen to the podcast as you look at the pictures, and I will catch you up with my daily activities tomorrow!




# - Kevin Witte - 2/24/06; 4:22:25 PM -
Enclosure: KWitte-num5.m4a -