Seth getting knocked the frick out

An account of Seth getting beat up by a horse, taken from our friend's blog who is in his cycling club.  I call it his Bike Gang

The Gauntlet

We're fairly used to seeing unusual things during our Friday morning cycling group rides around Cairo, but this morning was a first. One of the 2 loops our group rides regularly takes us through the streets of a village called Mokkatam. There is a market area on the main drag that I have dubbed "The Gauntlet" because you need to have all of your antennae up and ready for anything when you pass through. We've had guys on scooters zoom up along side and pace us for a mile or so, weaving in an out. We've had kids run out, waving their arms and yelling hello, and we've had cars cut us off at intersections. But nothing like today.

This morning, as we approached "The Gauntlet", a man was sitting atop a beautiful horse on the median. We rode by as he was trying to get the horse down on to the road. A few seconds later I heard the unmistakable sound of a horse at full gallop coming up from behind. He tore passed on my right and I thought, "OK, we're showing off...I get it." Then I watched as this man ran his out of control stallion directly into the back of another cyclist 30 feet in front of me. I could not believe what I was seeing. He lined up directly behind the rider and was probably planning to pass him on the right, when a minibus pulled away from the curb closing the gap. The horse plowed right into the back of the cyclist giving him the mother of all pushes and then continued to run right on passed. Unbelievable.

We pulled over to make sure the rider was OK. Miraculously he had not fallen. Just as we continued on with our ride a small group of kids came running out from the side of the road and commenced target practice on my legs with any rock they could find. I've got a nice bruise blooming on the inside of my left knee. I turned and screamed, "NO! Shame!" in Arabic, it was all that came to me at the time. I don't understand why children from some cultures find it fun to throw rocks at innocent passers by. What does this say about their upbringing and what they are taught about respecting and caring for others? Growing up in up-state New York I know we threw a snowball at a car once or twice in the winter, but even that seemed like we were dancing a very fine line and we knew it was wrong. That was a machine. To throw a rock at a person with the intent to harm as a source of entertainment is just crazy to me.

We gave each other a quick look that said, "Let's get the hell out of here." and took off for the end of town. Just as we crossed the last intersection a fruit and vegetable vendor called out, "Welcome to Egypt!" Indeed.

Happy Ethiopian New Year Y'all

Sara invited us to her apartement to celebrate Ethiopian New Year.  We were very grateful and glady accepted the invitation. 

The day started early with Seth and I taking a trip down to good ol' Tahir Square (yea, that Tahir Square) to visit American soil.  We had to go to the US Embassy in Cairo to get some forms notarized for the sale of our house.  Closing on September 30th inshallah.  A friend of ours works there, so he met us outside our apartment and we walked there together.  By walk I mean we walked to the Metro, got on it, got off it and walked to the Embassy.  The Metro wasn't that bad, wasn't the whole adventure I was expecting.  It was pretty normal apart from being all kinds of hot and cramped.  They have women's only cars, but women are not expected to ride in them.  They're free to ride in all the cars, but men can't ride in the women only ones.  I didn't get in the women only car because I didn't know where we were going and didn't want to get seperated from Seth.

I didn't bring my camera on this trip because I knew I couldn't take any pictures of or in the Embassy, so you'll have to make due with the images I found on Google. 

Cairo Metro

Tahir Square was calm and quiet.  Nobody was protesting.  Well, some people were protesting in front of the Embassy.  By protesting I mean they were quietly sitting or sleeping in front of it. I don't know why- could be the whole Isreal vs Egypt thing, could be that they want one of the 9/11 terrorists released because he's old.  Whatever their reason they were not a threat.

Here is another image from Google.  I promise (just to clarify in case any government guys are reading this)...

The Embassy was kinda cool.  We had to wait in line outside for awhile, but it wasn't nearly as bad as non-US Citizens whose line was about 100 deep at 7am.  Once we went inside we were checked twice and sat in the most American waiting room I've seen since March.  It even had central air!  Central air!  Not to mention an actual water fountain!  Water fountain!....but yea, I wasn't going to drink that water even if someone told me it was tapped directly from The Rockies and had nothing to fear. 


We got home, rested and then went to Sara's for dinner.  And oh man was it good.

We took a Taxi so Seth didn't have to fool with driving there. 

Sara's apartment actually made me miss home.  She has a lot of stuff that you'll find at my parent's house or my dad's office.  Ethiopian baskets, paintings and crosses are all over her walls.  I really enjoyed being there and visiting with her and her family.  Sara and her sisters were dressed in traditional Ethiopian linen dresses and they looked beautiful.

Benjamin and Sara, or "Ser"

Sara knew that Seth loves Ethiopian coffee, so she had her sister Gannet prepare a traditional coffee ceremony.  What's a traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony you say?  It's the most awesome thing ever, and if you're into coffee it's super awesome.

Ethiopia's coffee ceremony is an integral part of their social and cultural life. An invitation to attend a coffee ceremony is considered a mark of friendship or respect and is an excellent example of Ethiopian hospitality. Performing the ceremony is almost obligatory in the presence of a visitor, whatever the time of day. Don't be in a hurry though - this special ceremony can take a few hours. So sit back and enjoy because it is most definitely not instant.- link

Benjamin loved the smoke from the incense.  Everyone was careful to make sure he didn't get too close to the burning coals.

Just like we have our traditional dishes in America (turkey on Thanksgiving, Lamb for Easter) Ethiopians have their traditional dishes. Chicken Doro Wat is a stew that consists of onions, a ton of pepper and chicken. That's about it- oh, and boiled eggs go to the guest of honor. It's served over ingera which is a sour tasting spongy bread. It's delicious. Sara made us yogurt in case we found the Doro too spicy.

Table full of Ethiopian dishes for us to try

Getting ready to dig in

Benjamin rocked out to Ethiopian music while we ate

Sara also made Tella which Seth enjoyed

We got home, gave Benjamin a bath, and crashed in bed around 8:30pm.  It was a long, but very interesting day.  We had an amazing time at Sara's house, and were also so grateful she invited us to her home to celebrate her holiday with us.  Thank you Sara and Happy New Year!

Skoo

Benjamin's first day at Nursery (or as he says it "skoo")was September 4th.  He is going part time (3 days/week) to The Irish School here in Maadi.

Big boy backpack and lunch box needed for school

So far so good.  I went with him on his first day and stayed with him the whole time.  He started playing in the garden (outside on the swings and playground for my American peeps) and then at 9 am the classes seperated and he went inside.  He was very excited to be in his classroom.  They have books, puzzles and all kinds of things for him to play with.  We left around 11am and headed back home.  He was asleep in his stroller within 5 minutes of the ride home.

Today was a new phase in the introduction to nursery.  Sara came with me so that the staff would know her in case she needed to drop him off or pick him up.  We only stayed until it looked as though he was comfortable without us.  Benjamin was on the swings.  He couldn't of been more comfortable.  My man loves a swing.

awwww yea, they have cars to play with

On the swing with his teacher.  The girl to his left with the blonde hair has the cutest Irish accent.

I picked him up at 11 am and got the report.  His teacher told me that he cried a lot when he saw that we were gone.  Then he slept- slept!  This is the child that will not sleep if there are a lot of things going on around him.  He woke up, realized he was still at school, and started having a great time.  He was on the swings when I picked him up.  I asked him if he wanted to go, and of course I got a "no".

Playground at Benjamin's school, perfect size too

He stayed all day (9am-2pm) on the third day of his first week.  He did great, had a great time and suprise!  we went to play at Bennett's house because they were back from going to the US. 

Benjamin was sick for the past week, so today (Sept 18) was his first day back.  He did great and had a good day.

My two sick guys taking naps.  Mom took this picture while running a 101 fever...fun weekend for all!

Invention is the mother of necessity

So, Culinary School didn't send me in the depths of the restaurant industry like I thought it would. My parent's hard earned money didn't go to waste though. I'm actually pretty good with looking at what we have and making something edible out of it. It's difficult to do because Benjamin eats what we eat, so I have to make sure what I'm serving is something he will also enjoy.

Here are two things I've made on the fly that have turned into some of our favorites.

Pan Seared Chicken Breast with Spicy Tomato Sauce

4 Chicken Breasts (seasoned with Best Stop Seasoning)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes

1 Onion, diced

3 Garlic pods, diced

1/2 Cup Whole Kalamata Olives, pitted

1/2 Cup Whole Green Olives, pitted

1/4 tsp Crushed Peppers

Add olive oil to sauté pan, heat. Pan sear chicken breast on both sides set aside.

Sauté onion and garlic in pan. Add can of tomatoes, mix in crushed peppers, salt and pepper. Add both kinds of olives.

Place Chicken in an oven safe dish (I have a Pyrex dish that has its own lid), pour tomato sauce over the chicken. Cover the dish

Bake for 350 degrees for 25 minutes. (your oven may be totally rad and you won't need to cook as long.  Here in half-ass assembly land I have to cook it forever)

Serve over Polenta or any kind of Pasta you'd like to make. Penne works really well with this.

So delicious! This 21 month old sends his approval

Beef Stew with Rosemary and Green Beans

Pack of Beef Chunks (seasoned with Best Stop Seasoning)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Flour- never measured it; it's to make a roux with the oil

1/2 cup Onion, diced

3 cloves Garlic, diced

1 cup Water (Chicken Stock would be the best option, but I can't find hit here)

1-2 springs Rosemary (no chopping needed)

1/3 cup Whole Milk or Cream

Brown beef in oil, remove from pan. You may have to add more olive oil at this point. Add flour to make roux. Stir a lot to remove starchy flavor. Add Onion and Garlic. Add Water or Chicken stock. Stir. Add Cream. Add Rosemary.  Add Beef back to sauce once all the ingredients have incorporated.  Cook for 15 minutes.

Serve over, you guessed it, Polenta

To add a little awesome to the Polenta check out this recipe from Pioneer Woman Cooks.

The Green Beans are done the typical way.  Blanch, saute with chopped garlic and serve.  I cut them up and mix it together with Benny's meal.  He's a fan.

Seth commented on how it's great that I'm making everything from scratch now, and I'm honestly loving being able to do that.  There was no way that I'd cook an entire meal from scratch when we were in the US.  That's a heap of dirty pans not to mention getting Benny from daycare, trying to spend some quality time with him before crying,dinner for him, crying, bath, play time, crying then bed time.  We were eating a good number of hot dogs a couple of months ago.