Wednesday, July 27, 2005
DSL and Pigless Sausages
We were finally able after two weeks of waiting, to install our DSL. After having three different people come to the apartment to inspect the lines inside, outside and upside down, they finally figured out that the problem was within the company. It wasn't US!! It's nice. Now people can't blame me for tying up the phone line for an hour every day when they desperately want to call me once a month. (Funny how people expect you to wait by the phone for them.) The DSL is a Gift from God, however. I have downloaded more songs today than ever in the life of my computer, and probably altogether in less time than it took previously to download one song. I am, however, still trying to figure out how to get rid of the "Security settings prohibit running ActiveX controls..." thingy that keeps popping up whenever I open my e-mail. I have added the site to my trusted sites settings and have checked all the appropriate ActiveX boxes in the Internet Options window, but to no avail. Ah, me...I will simply have to put up with the six pop-up "alert" signs each time I open the mail, delete an e-mail, go to the junk mail folder, delete junk mail, etc.
On to the recipe moment.
I have chosen for today's entree, Batatas. (Potatoes). We don't often use the sausages listed in the ingredients, as they are optional. I think they will be difficult to find here, but we might be able to find them in our Middle Eastern market. They are called "Sogo' " (There is a glottal stop at the end of this word), and they are not made of piggies. I assume they are beef, but they could be vegetarian, I don't really know. Maybe I don't want to know, but I like them all the same.
On to the recipe moment.
I have chosen for today's entree, Batatas. (Potatoes). We don't often use the sausages listed in the ingredients, as they are optional. I think they will be difficult to find here, but we might be able to find them in our Middle Eastern market. They are called "Sogo' " (There is a glottal stop at the end of this word), and they are not made of piggies. I assume they are beef, but they could be vegetarian, I don't really know. Maybe I don't want to know, but I like them all the same.Batatas
Apx 15 Sogo' (sausages)
3-4 large potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 onion, diced
1 or 2 large cloves garlic
1 large green onion, chopped
1 carrot, shredded
about 4 small tomatoes, pureed (or shredded in a food processor through the shredder)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 cup water
Place onion and green onion in pan. Sprinkle carrot on top. Shred 3 tomatoes next and add them. Slice garlic into mix. Add salt, pepper and cumin and mix all together. Add potato slices and mix. Place sausages on top and mix in. Slice remaining tomato thinly and place over the top. Add one cup of water. Bake in 350* oven till potatoes are tender. (I didn't write down a time period).
In Egypt, I didn't use a timer, therefore, I kept an eagle eye on everything in the oven or on the stove. It was done when it was done. This is the reason for not having given a time period. I suppose potatoes usually take about 30-40 minutes, but that is only a guess. Oven times usually change according to region anyhow. It would also not be considered sacrilegious for those of the Christian, (or non religious) faiths, to substitute simple pork sausages with this dish. (My memory of pork is still strong, and I believe this would actually make a wonderful pork dish...although I don't eat it myself.)
This recipe was given to me in a mixture of Arabic and French when I first arrived in Egypt. The time I spent in the kitchen with Karim's stepmother, Angele, who's bangles tinkled madly whenever she moved, were fondly humorous moments that will be cherished. She didn't speak a smidgen of English and I didn't speak anything else. I learned a lot of kitchen Arabic this way. I learned that the stove is called "butagas", the oven "forn". I can tell you most of the names of vegetables and certain kitchen utensils, and how to purchase these things at the grocery, but I can't talk about politics. (Is that cheering I hear in the background?) As much as I hated the kitchen we had in Alex, I still miss the glow of cooking with Angele. (I am actually a good cook who hates cooking...oh, the truth hurts...). Regardless of all the wonderful memories I have of Angele, (and all the memories I have of that icky kitchen in Smouha), it is my genuine opinion that I cook much better and far faster when I have utensils and appliances that I am familiar with. Tonight I made "Basella" (Kosa without the Kosa...Basella are peas) and rice, leftover fajitas and salad in half the time it would have taken me in Alex. My husband is happier for the regular meals created without prompting and I am much more content with the reduced kitchen time.
