So I definitely slept in today, potentially impeding my body's ability to "adjust" to being 7 hours ahead. Regardless of jetlag I've never been good at going to sleep and with next Monday being the first day of AUC's orientation I'm not sure Egypt will be much different than the US...getting out of bed is always the worst part of the day. Luckily sleeping in was great! But my new apartment was very much sans-food and I didn't want to risk wandering around like a headless chicken (like yesterday) hoping for the odd cafe to be open before sundown. The memory of yesterday's empty belly forced me out of the apartment and into the neighborhood to look for groceries.
I discovered this HUGE western-style megamart called Spinney's. Its size and bright fluorescent lights beckoned me in. I was quickly lost amid a bizarre agglomeration of Arabic and English, neither being particularly helpful. I found an abandoned basket and started to look around. In retrospect, I should have made a grocery list but I didn't (and still don't) know what is and isn't available here in Egypt. I probably spent 3 hours in the store making rounds of the same isles over and over again. The produce section was overwhelming but my spidey-senses reminded me to be careful of unpackaged fruits and veggies since the water used to wash them (Egyptian tap water) is high in bacteria and can upset most Western stomachs. Preferring to avoid busting out my Immodium tablets I resigned myself to purchasing only packaged garlic, onions, and tomatoes. The meat and seafood markets had a decidedly unpleasant smell and undefinable food products. I will probably brave it next visit because my body craves protein. I assumed ground meat products would be easy to find (and versatile) but I had no such luck. I ended up purchasing a frozen bag of raw hamburger patties as a consolation prize. All in all, I ended up with frozen meat patties, fig spread, tomatoes, garlic, onion, beef cubes, kidney beans, and chickpeas. I don't know what the fig spread was purchased for but it was cheap - way cheaper than in the States where you usually see it only in fancy cheese shops - so I bought it anyways.
On the way home I had yet another unpleasant encounter with a cat. I am a cat person, always have been and probably always will be. Yet the cats in Egypt are thin, starving, and feral. Above all else, they're everywhere. It's hard to go a few hours without hearing a really nasty cat fight or seeing a cat sitting somewhere. My cat-lover self has approached many an animal only to have it screech angrily. It's quite sad to see. I have yet to see a dog at all and based upon the feral cats, I'm glad. I decided my dinner today would be beef and kidney bean chili. Inspired by 2am Chili and the odd mixture of ingredients I bought home I set to work. Luckily I have my travel spice kit (seriously, I have a kit for on-the-go spices I keep with me at all times) so I wasn't in short supply. The stove gave me issues; I've never had to turn gas on or light a stove before so that was a first. I also didn't really enjoy how the stovetop didn't have variable settings - all I could figure out was lit or unlit (unfortunately for me this required me to accidentally blow out the stove multiple times). Fastforward 3 hours and I have chili!
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| Arabic Chil :D |
I was able to get a really rich and smoky flavor from the cumin, chili powder, paprika, and my secret ingredient - a random pepper from the market! About 15 minutes into cooking I realized I didn't have a spice so I walked down the street to an outdoor market. I found a small and lime green chili (completly unidentifiable to me) and decided to buy it. I was once again greeted with the extreme kindness of the Egyptian people when the shopkeeper just waved me away and smiled. I took my free chili pepper home and proceeded to clean and taste it. WOW it was hot. It really gave the chili depth and that, combined with tomatoes, onions, garlic, tomato paste, and dark brown sugar, tasted great! I was really surprised. So my first meal in Egypt = success (: Plus I have leftovers for two more meals. I hope my next escapade into the grocery store will yield a more organized shopping basket. I was lucky this time!
