Day 28 - 15th July - Happy Anniversary

C-Pops has had wicked hay fever pretty much since we have been here. He is susceptible to respiratory probs we think, having had croup twice and a cough every other month. (We have seen the doctor, don't worry. Asthma has not been diagnosed as the doctor thinks if we keep on top of it, it could clear without getting that far). Anyway, he's been wheezing and struggling with his breath after running. So he's back on the liquid Ventolin. He's also had itchy eyes which quickly turned in to allergic conjunctivitis. But he has been a brave boy throughout, barely complaining. He says he doesn't want to go to bed because he'll wake up with his eyes stuck together if he does. Joy.

We're camping near Arisaig in the Scottish Highlands with hubby's family. It's our 11th anniversary today. (It's Steel apparently. I like the modern one though, Jewellery). It's pretty cloudy and cool but hey it's dry!

We've had a lovely breakfast with posh coffee and we're off rockpooling on the nearby beach. It did end up with me 'escorting' my son from the premises as he was carrying out an almighty melt-down. Who says romance is dead?

I thought I’d listen to the radio to catch up with latest music (albeit overplayed chart music no doubt). However in the space of no less than 25 minutes, 2 songs were played. My god, it’s never-ending random chat with DJs and featured presenters (the showbiz correspondent for instance) talking over each other and just not being funny at all. So I now have the iPod on and so far, it’s been Beautiful South and Ashley MacIsaac. Love it.


Grampa's babysitting so we're off to dinner tonight in Arisaig. A table booked at Cafe Rhu.

Post-edit:16/7/11

Our evening was wonderful! We drove and left the car at the cafe. We managed to get a window seat and had a lovely view over the harbour. We had some beautiful wine and some amazing food. It was just gorgeous. The owner is also the chef, he's a South African who I think said has been here 4 years. His mother is Scottish.

So we had scallops, black pudding wonton, Cape malay Bobotie with veg pilaf and sambals, braised beef, chocolate and nutella torte (drooooooooool....) and cheese and bisuits and 2 bottles of 2010 Freedom Cross Pinotage from Franschoek.

We knew that we would walk back (about 2 miles!) and I'm glad we did. We passed the local pub with music floating from within so we had to stop by for a dram and a listen to some traditional live music. And that set us up for the walk back in the darkness.

A lovely day, happy anniversary, hon X

Another first...

Last weekend, the children and I were invited to the birthday party of the sister of one of C’s school friends. It was her first birthday party. I should start off by saying that this is an Omani family and this is the first time I have been to an Omani lady’s house. So I was quite excited.

I was only one of two western expat women there, we were made to feel so welcome and most ladies introduced themselves. Admittedly I introduced myself to the others in my fabulously broken and stuttered Arabic!

I found out during the party that the traditional first birthday party is called a hul-hul (sp?). But on asking the Mum if this was such a party, she said it wasn’t quite the same. 

So this is a plea to OPNO and any other Arabic readers, or those with knowledge of the Islamic culture, please can you tell me what a hul-hul is and what is involved?

It’s funny because with my two children I wanted to have big parties for their first birthdays, with family and friends. The intention was there to never have another big party again until they’re 21!

So anyway, baby H had a magician (hilarious!) and a clown (also made me laugh!). The Mother of H got me doing the facepainting! The children taught me the colours in arabic! And then she gave me her lovely Nikon SLR so I was playing with my camera and hers - I was in my element! (I won’t post any pictures as they are all of the ladies and the children so I’d rather respect their privacy of course).

And then the food! Well, it was all the traditional party food laid on and a huge tray of lamb biryani with the lamb’s head on top. Bit of a shock but if that’s the way it’s done then that’s fine! I went back to the main room and looked for Bear and there she was sitting on the floor with the other Mums and kids. So that was good, that was my excuse to sit on the floor as well. I really felt a part of the day and had a great time. I even ate with my hand without too much mess!

I was looking for a picture of a large biryani and found this one! Brilliant! (it wasn't quite this big at the party!)

On the down side, Omanis’ parties seem to last all day! I say the downside only because I had made other plans that afternoon as I just assumed it would last 2-3 hours! Whereas us Brits especially write on the invitation a set time to start and finish; we can only cope with other friends' children for so long! Plus the parents more often than not tend to (I call it ) 'drop and run', leaving you responsible. Whereas at H's party all the Mums stayed, less stress I imagine for the hostess.

I was expecting to leave by 1pm but it was still in full swing. My children were exhausted so I had to make my excuses at 2pm. H’s Mother would not let me leave until we had eaten some sweets and filled up a foil container full of yummy treats, nuts and cakes to take home. My kids loved the jellies with nuts in. I go mad for the Om Ali...I think it was like Om Ali at the party except it was a much more solid consistency so I could eat it with my fingers.

So a joyful day and a super experience, I know now that I think I can manage if I’m invited again to an Omani house! 

(And OPNO, she's going to do my makeup!)

EBC Day 4

Rest Day in Namche

I bought Hubby a little notebook for him to sketch and note significant sites and thoughts. In it I wrote a couple of quotes from Buddha that I thought were appropriate to the occasion.

"It is better to travel well than to arrive." 

The guide in the itinerary mentions this and says that the journey is important, not the place of stay. Today is their rest day and they can wander as they please! Options include:

- walking to the hill above the village to the National Park HQ to see a stunning view of huge mountains including Mount Everest. The Sherpa cultural centre in the park HQ has an collection of Sherpa mountaineering items and photographs.

- They could go on a trip to Thame village;

- Those who are fit and acclimatising well could take a walk to the Everest View Hotel from where they could see Everest and Ama Dablam.

I’d be quite happy to just watch the people come and go and soak in the culture and the way of life here.

Namche Bazaar:

Namche Bazaar from above:

 

EBC Day 1 + amendment

They are all there safe and sound. The flight from Muscat was delayed a couple of hours, that doesn't sound so bad but the original flight time was 0230 so it was a long night for them. It was only a 3 and a half hour flight and bizarrely the time difference is an hour and three quarters...!

Arrival in Kathmandu (1330 metres)
PLAN: The guys will welcomed by the trek company representative at the airport then transferred to the hotel in Kathmandu where they will be briefed. Arrangements for the distribution of their big items – kit bags, jackets, sleeping bags etc.

He called us on Skype this evening. So far, so good and he loves Kathmandu. He describes it as chaotic and noisy. It's in the midst of a power outage this evening so they were wondering through the city in pitch darkness this evening.

They will have a traditional Nepali welcome dinner accompanied by the trek guide. Traditional Nepali food apparently differs from one culture to the next. It consists mostly of dal bhat and tarkari - translated as Lentils, Rice and Curried vegetable. It is the main staple diet of most Nepali people.

I'll ask him about the food next time we communicate - they have internet in the hotel and a team mobile so I'll try and track him down...not sure how much he can tell me in a text though!

POST EDIT: Things don't always go to plan, bear this in mind when you read these updates! Dinner on their first night? Pizza and beer....suddenly the exoticness and sense of adventure has faded for me! Mrs. Kiwi has updated me saying me that they will have their traditional feast at the end of the trip.

So anyway, I had a quick look at typical Nepali food. I love the sound of it!

Appetisers/Snacks

Chatamari - (Newari) food resembles Pizza or Dosa (south Indian). rice flour flat bread cooked over heat with toppings such as minced meat (with or without some vegetable), egg, sugar or no toppings.

Choyla -(Newari) grilled /roasted spicy meat. usually eaten as appetizer with liquor

Gundruk - dried and fermented green vegetables leaves. when made to soup gives a slightly sour, slightly tangy.

Kwati - (Newari) soup with many beans. a festival speciality

Momo(cha) - (Newari) a dumplings filled with minced meat (usually buffalo in Nepal, Turkey elsewhere), served steamed or fried. very popular appetizer, afternoon snack or evening meal.

Samay Baji - (Newari) beaten rice with roasted meat, smoked fish, boiled-then-fried egg, black soybeans and diced ginger. Samay Baji is an important main course that is prepared on every Newari festival and celebration. Especially prepared for the gods, the preparation and presentation of it is very interesting and is often eaten by mixing all the side dishes with the beaten rice.

Sekuwa - grilled meat usually made from mutton, duck, chicken, buff, wild boar.

Sel - doughnutlike shaped dessert/snack made from rice flour

Sukuti - spicy dried meat roasted over a charcoal fire.

Aloo Tama - Potato made with bamboo shoots.

Tawkhaa - (Newari) Jelly of meat soup served cold.

Wo - (Newari) flour patty made of lentils with or without meat/egg topping. used in ritual or festival or used as snack.

Main Dishes

Aloo Tama - Bamboo shoot and potato.

Dal - lentil soup usually eaten with rice. most popular lentils used as dal in Nepal are black, red and yellow.

Sag - Green Vegetables - Spinach, mustard greens or broad-leaved mustard. A standard accompaniment to plain rice for lunch or dinner.

Masu - meat with spices (curry) and gravy. usually served with rice. Most Nepalese eat chicken, mutton. Some eat buffalo and pork. Almost no one eats cow. Killing cow is prohibited in Nepal

Bhat - steamed rice

Tarkari - any vegetable or group of vegetables in curry, usually broth. Can be made in thousands of ways.

Relishes

Achar - a sour, spice or sweet pickle. can be made in a thousand ways. The most popular are made of ground tomatoes, sliced radish, ground coriander, boiled or diced potatoes.

Sanya Khuna - (Newari) hot, spicy, salty jellytype food made from fish soup.

Desserts

Dahi - Yogurt/Curd

Juju Dhau - popular creamy curd from Bhaktapur. Juju literally means ‘‘king".

Sikarni - curd mixed with dried fruits.

Drinks

Rakshi - liquor (can mean local liquor)

Thon (Newari) or Chhyang (Tibetan) - the milky white beer/liquor made from fermented rice.

Tongba - a popular liquor in the hills, made by pouring hot water into a pot of fermented millet and drunk with a bamboo straw.

Hungry....!!!!!

Tomorrow looks like they'll take a trip to some Buddhist and Hindu sites and then on Day 3 the trek begins... although they have to get to Lukhla airport first!
http://www.himalayas-trekking-pictures.com/lukla-airport.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3bN4c7CfVM

A saunter up a hill, weekend camping, Toad-in-the-hole cake

A saunter up a hill

The Captain is off to Everest Base Camp in April with 3 other guys. So he's been training intensely the last few months. He's been walking and running up a few of the 'hills' nearby and for the first time I went walking with him. Not to his level or speed though! Just a nice husband-and-wife walk... I couldn't help get worried when he put his camel-back on, adjusted his walking boots, set his heart rate monitor and GPS and extended his walking poles...

This is where we were heading...the highest point of course!

Did I mention my neeeeeeeeeew Camera takes black and white photos?!

At the bottom of the steps that appeared randomly halfway up

It was so worth it in the end, the views are always beautiful. I'm glad they still take my breath away.

On the drive back I saw the ruined claybuild watch towers:

Last weekend camping at Sifah beach:

Hubby had made friends with the Omanis that camped next to us. Mohammed on the left of the picture is his new BFF! He gave us loads of fish from their catch and even called hubby on Friday evening asking if he wanted more!

They caught a huge sailfish...it's my favourite fish so I didn't really like to see it there in the boat. BUT this is worth at least 50 OMR to these guys AND it made a good picture.

Once a month I manage to cook a half-decent dinner; February's culinary amazement was Toad in the Hole.  I got a recipe online from Queen Nigella Lawson. She comes to the rescue again. I have never made a good Toad in the Hole...until now. Although it did start to look like a massive cake! Nigella needs to be made a Saint.

An entry on food? On this Blog? Really?

Those of you who know me know that cooking is not a passion, probably far from it to be honest. That’s not fair actually, I will cook. And don’t mind doing a big pot of chilli or Bolognese or stew…something that has everything thrown in together and cooks at the same time. I used to become quite flustered if I was to cook things at different times for different durations at different temperatures. The first time I did a roast dinner was momentous, if somewhat overcooked in places!

Not mine I'm afraid. Bear would love filling these up with gravy and Booker-amounts of mint sauce....mmmm!

My attitude was very much that I will cook so that my family did not go hungry. Taste and presentation were not priorities! But then it was made more difficult when I had two children who are far from fussy and enjoy new tastes. So I had to be more interesting. I think I’m doing a lot better these days and will even rely on a recipe with less than a day’s panicking and planning!

Moving here opened up a new style of cooking that I was actually looking forward to… I saw it as a fresh start and something that I could use a recipe and not feel incompetent and unadventurous (The Captain is the, well, captain of improvisational cuisine. Anything in the cupboards and fridge can be made to taste great at his hands. I’m very lucky he enjoys cooking. Except he’s been working more than ever recently and hasn’t had chance to be in the kitchen…grrrrr….).

One book I managed to get before coming here was Cooking of the Gulf by Tess Mallos. It’s difficult to get hold of, Amazon don’t even have it just now. If you see it, grab a copy as I'm not sure when you may find it again.

On the menu last night was Quwarmah ala dajaj (curried chicken) served with my personal favourite, Muhammar (sweet rice).

I think I might have actually improvised today! Get me! The recipe asked for tomatoes….none ….so I used tomato paste and added a lot more water. As you can see from the picture, it turns out a lot darker and richer looking. I also missed out the chilli and cooked with oil instead of ghee. And I used two of the Loomis that I made over a year ago! It was absolutely lush, if I do say so myself.

Slightly different! (note to self: stop cooking with the recipe book right by the pan).

The Captain is yet to try it as he was working all today, so I’ll await his opinion! My last chilli was a bit ‘metallic’ apparently so we’ll see! (I’ll blame it on him having just got over his flu and so his taste buds were shot…the kids scoffed it all so it couldn’t have been that bad!)

If anyone is interested in the recipe, drop me a line and I’ll scan it over to you. A little easier than typing it all up! It was really delicious, sweet and tangy with a very slight hit from the turmeric and baharat. I omitted the chilli pepper merely for the kids' benefit so it would normally have a kick.

Have I just written enthusiastically about cooking??? Wow….

Edit: This sums up my disorganised approach to cooking - I read ‘tinned tomatoes’on the recipe, I have a look at the recipe after I’ve cooked it and it says 1 cup of tomatoes, chopped and peeled. Where did I get tinned from…? And so I have just discovered fresh tomatoes in the fridge. Typical.

Culinary help required

One of the beauties of living somewhere new is the opportunity to try new things. One of the problems with living somewhere new is that sometimes you have no idea what these new things are.

The other day we were in the supermarket (LuLu's - true, I swear) and I started looking beyond the boring carrots, imported apples and extortionate broccoli. Casting my eyes over the Bitter Gourd, Wallar Pappadi and Banana Pindi I felt I should make more of an effort to branch out from the usual meat and two veg.

But where to start? Take the Snake Guard. Do I peel it, mash it or hang it from the front door as a warning to others? As for the Jackfruit, what the heck do you do with a prickly green medicine ball?

Google was very helpful regarding the aptly named Beli Fruit. "Useful for the treatment of diarrhea as well as constipation. Ripe fruit has a special laxative effect.". Forgive my ignorance, but if I'm a little 'irregular' should I take this or not? Judging the ripeness would appear to be critical. But where do I start with something I've never seen before?

Altogether, I noted the names of 32 fruits and vegetables I either didn't recognise at all, or which looked bizarrely different to their similarly named counterparts available in the UK.

Anyone who can help with hints or tips, please let us know.

It's in your interest. Everyone who comes to visit risks being served something potentially delicious and exciting but which turns out to resemble a cubed sea slug. 

Items of interest include:

Powtta, Tindly, Drum Stick, Suran, Kalam, Banana Flower, Chow Chow, Thibbatu, Mutter, Aravi, Anar, Tamarind (the whole thing, not just the jar of paste!).