I hope you've been following the "Escape from Snack Jail" site that chronicles my efforts to clean up my infamous, glass-walled Snack Jail -- home to uneaten, old, scary, and odd snacks. Not everything is worthy of a post on this site, so I've been sharing quick pics and notes about that release program on Tumblr. Everyone's getting off with "time served!" But eating it takes time and focus, so it's a slow process.
I released a particularly special friend yesterday -- these Cheesy Cheese Pringles came back with us from our trip to Egypt ages ago. I can't tell where they were actually made, as most of the writing on the package is Arabic, but we picked them up in Cairo before flying home. They've held up really well.
The flavor is pretty basic cheese, but with a sort of hidden mystery note -- almost yeasty or what I imagine the background of marmite might be (side note: when will I remember to try marmite?!). In the English ingredients list I see buttermilk powder and onion powder, which I think contribute to this slightly "thick" cheesiness.
Speaking of the ingredients, anyone know what "nature-identical cheese flavour" would be? The incomplete explanation given in parentheses is, "composed of cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese out of non-animal enzymes." Sounds a bit iffy to me.
Still, I approve of Cheesy Cheese! What's your favorite international Pringles flavor?
I've been meaning to get this post up for about a year and a half! It's the final day's food highlights from our trip to Egypt. And it's nothing so complicated that it should have taken this long.
1. We bought an nut-topped ice cream from a shop down the street from our hotel...
2. We had a great mango smoothie from the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Zamalek, where we bought our wireless card...
We walked around the tentmakers' market and actually didn't see any other tourists there. That was a nice change of pace after the overcrowded Khan el-Khalili market. We even paid a local college student (who, though he didn't ask for money, probably wished to make a few bucks and practice his English) a little money to be our guide. I was suspicious of his sales pitch, which started as soon as we got out of our cab, but it actually turned out to be a great way to spend the afternoon. Dan got to take some pictures inside one of the mosques while I (a woman, and not allowed to enter through the front of the building) sat outside and watched passing children peek at me surreptitiously. We both saw a lot of amazing architecture.
3. On the street, as we walked, a fruit vendor handed me a banana. Our guide said, as I tried to refuse it, "Oh no, it is a gift! You'll insult him if you don't take it." So I took it home and ate it in our hotel room. It looked like a banana -- that's it. But it tasted better than U.S. supermarket bananas. The fruit in Egypt really is superb.
4. Our final dinner was served that evening, on the veranda of a fancy hotel on Zamalek, overlooking the Nile. There, we saw a local soccer star and enjoyed amazing food. I'll have to check my notes to see if I have the name of this hotel written down. I'll update here if I do. Once again, I could have made a meal of the appetizers alone. I really just wanted bowls and bowls of the garlic spread. The night grew dark as our little grill flamed. Everything was perfect.
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Day seven at last! My recounting of our trip to Egypt is now, sadly, complete. Thanks to Adam and Omar, our thoughtful and well-connected hosts, we had an incredible time. Truly, I'd say we didn't eat a bad meal while there -- and we suffered no gastrointestinal distress (no small feat for some international destinations)!
Ah, Cairo. I will always dream of your baby eggplants, garlic dips, and tangerine juice. I hope to return someday.
(Touk, featuring skinned camel carcasses; photo by Dan)
On Day Six of our Egypt trip, we hooked up with Casual Cairo Detours, a private tour company that had been recommended to me. Proprietor Debbie Senters suggested we try an off-the-beaten-path trip for two (with guide and driver) up the Alexandria Green Road (the Agricultural Road) into a nearby Nile Delta village and orange grove, which sounded unusual and fun. We decided to go for it!
(photo by Dan)
1. The day started with another hotel buffet breakfast, of course, featuring various things, including Dan's masterfully spiced plate of ful.
(Touk; photo by Dan)
In the village of Touk, our driver, Tarek, stopped to buy eggs. We happened to be parked in the butchery district, and were surrounded by carcasses (marked in red ink for some governmental reason) and knives. Dan got out to take some pictures, for which he was eventually chastised. When Tarek got back to the car to translate (Tarek is from Touk), he told us that the man yelling at Dan was upset because things were dirty and he was embarrased that Dan would be taking pictures of dirty things. But our purpose wasn't to embarrass the people of Egypt or Touk, of course. We just thought everything looked cool.
We stopped in Touk to transfer our party of four to sidecar motorcycle taxi. You might be surprised at the number of people who can fit on and in one of these things! The man pictured here is our taxi driver (not Tarek, our tour driver).
I really enjoyed the open-air ride through the orange grove (and local cemetery).
(Dan; our guide, Jim; and Tarek)
(photo by Dan)
Eventually, we dismounted from our taxi and walked down one of the orange grove rows. The smell of citrus in the air, even at the end of the busy season, was incredible. Tarek carried a cooler and gave us a guided tour (the grove we were in belongs to his family). He talked to us about the farm life, the village, methods of irrigation, and more.
2. We stopped outside of a guard hut (shown above) and had a picnic snack of fresh-picked fruit, juices and water.
(canal in the grove; not used for irrigation)
Tarek was so nice -- he picked 2-3 different kinds of oranges for us to try, and when I mentioned how much I had enjoyed my taste of Omar's tangerine juice at Arabesque, he even found one of the last tangerines growing nearby for me to eat.
Tarek, Jim, and the taxi driver insisted Dan try driving the motorcycle taxi. I was glad to skip this initiation.
After we left the grove, we drove to a nearby restaurant for lunch, passing several "charcoal factories."
While our food was being prepared at Baraka, a newly opened restaurant owned by Debbie's sister's driver (or something like that!), we sat outside by a river and watched the birds. I had a very strong cup of mint shai. I liked Dan's canned peach drink (with pieces of fruit in it) better.
3. Baraka (location unknown; outside Touk and Cairo) -- Jim, our guide, who is an American (if I remember correctly) who has lived in Egypt for years, is a vegetarian. A vegetarian can eat quite well in Egypt, as the meals all come with many breads, dips, and vegetable dishes, but now that meat is more affordable in Egypt (Jim told us), Egyptians eat a lot of meat and don't understand why people would choose not to. It can be difficult to make an Egyptian host feel he or she has fed you well if you opt out of the meat, apparently. Eventually, though, we were able to get across that Jim would enjoy the mezzes and the rest of us would partake in the mystery meats.
The mixed grill and kofta plate was served garnished with potato chips (cheese? BBQ?). Jim was given his own small plate of chips, once the waiters understood he wouldn't be eating the meat. This is the meal at which I think I might have eaten camel, as I read that it is sometimes served in this fashion. But I asked no questions.
We were seated near the grill on the restaurant's patio. It was fun to watch the food being prepared, and lovely to smell.
After eating, Tarek drove us back into Cairo.The whole tour was a gorgeous start to a day that was only half over.
4. Later that afternoon, on Adam's recommendation, Dan and I walked a few blocks from our hotel to buy some cheesecake from "Pumpkin," a cake store. It wasn't particularly special. I think it's a chain establishment. But the cakes looked nice.
(photo by Dan)
That night, Adam and Omar took us to Khan el Khalili market, a famous draw for tourists in Cairo. We didn't buy much. It almost felt like cheating to have two native speakers of Egyptian Arabic with us, but I'm glad we couldn't be taken advantage of by the shop owners.
They recommended the hibiscus drink. It was amazing - halfway between juice and tea. They also recommended I order a shrimp sandwich (tiny shrimps stuffed in a pita with a tangy sauce), which was out of sight.
6. We ended Day Six on the outskirts of the market, where Adam suggested we try fatir, an Egyptian pancake served savory or sweet. He hadn't been wrong so far. Needing dessert, Dan and I split a large, sweet pancake. It was sort of crepe-like and covered in powdered sugar. Decadent food for a decadent setting. I was pretty happy, as you might well imagine.
I still haven't finished my run-down of our Egypt trip this summer. I owe y'all a few more posts. Here's one.
While in Egypt, we took a day trip to Alexandria and visited that city's famous library. Strangely enough, I found myself in the cookbook section while wandering around in there!
1. Hotel Breakfast - savory pastries, juice, grapefruit, mystery dessert.
(photo by Dan)
2. We ate cookies on the train.
(photo by Dan)
I touched the Mediterranean Sea!
Our cabbie spoke just enough English to get us to Abou Ashraf, which Adam had recommended as the best place to get an early dinner of fresh fish.
The tables were in a sort of alley between several buildings.
This (above) is all food we didn't order. It comes with the meal.
(photo by Dan)
(photo by Dan)
3. Abou Ashraf - Oh my. Dan and I ate soft-shell crab, fish, and shrimp (all fresh and picked out by us from the iced displays before being cooked and brought to our table). They were accompanied by many mezzes -- breads, spreads, salads, eggplant, and more.
We had a sort of frightening adventure after this meal, as it turned out not only that there are two train stations -- only one of which features trains going to Cairo -- and not many cab drivers who speak much English in Alexandria, but the trains back to Cairo were completely sold out that night. Luckily, we hooked up with a Chinese-Canadian family (they spoke Chinese and English fluently) who let us tag along as they tenaciously discovered a cab driver who would take all five of us to the bus depot for a bargain price. There, we just managed (1 minute to spare!) to get on a bus to Cairo so that we could return to our hotel for the night. Yikes!!
p.s. One more adventure to recount - I was a leetle confused while in the bathroom in the Alexandria library. I think the hose that sprayed (clean) water all over the wall when I tried to flush the toilet was some sort of hand-held bidet nozzle. I never did figure out how to flush.
