When I started this blog, it was my intention to keep it solely dedicated to food, to culture, and the vivid tapestry of the Levant region. It is not a political blog at all.
This is still my intent. It is not a political blog, and the following is not a political post.
It is merely my musings as I tried to work out my feelings about Ramadan, Eid, and maybe a bit of survivor’s guilt. How is it that I get to go about my day, undertaking in such banal activities as grocery shopping, driving my kids to the pool, and tending my small home garden, when there are those in other parts of the world who would see these activities as a luxury, merely because they happen to live somewhere else?
The image below happened to come across my news feed on Facebook yesterday (the last day of Ramadan), with the caption as shown underneath.
اقترب العيد،،،،،،،،،
The caption reads, “Eid is almost here”. It caused a rain of tears, and I had to cry them out. I had to write them out.
Here are my thoughts:
Words cannot express the mixed feelings I have about Eid tomorrow. I am going to take my children to buy their new Eid clothes as soon as the little one wakes up from her nap.
I almost wish Ramadan were twice as long this year, so maybe there could be some of it not marred by the death and injury of children, but rather would have been about spiritual growth and worship.
I was so looking forward to Ramadan. I wanted it to be a month of spiritual inventory and reorganization. Instead, I feel like this year I was merely ‘not eating in the day time’. I did not get the spiritual nourishment that I wanted to get, because my body was being consumed by the grief for strangers – people I don’t know, but who look and talk like me, who have a culture like mine, but only had the bad luck to be born in Gaza.
And yet…. and yet, I feel guilty for even feeling that. Someone who just went through the siege would have every right to tell me to sit down and shut the hell up about spiritual edification, when I had a stable roof over me and a solid floor under me. When I didn’t have to wonder which room in the house would be the safest to herd my family into. When I didn’t face shortages of bread, and had fresh, clean water for drinking, bathing, washing, and wasting. When I wouldn’t have to wonder how, yet again, my family would be able to rebuild – and wonder, why bother, when it is all going to be destroyed sometime again. When I wouldn’t still be taking inventory of my family and friends, who made it, who didn’t, who came out in one piece, who came out broken.
I wish that little girl in the drawing below, representative of so many, were able to wear her new Eid dress and new Eid shoes tomorrow. :'(:'(
اقترب العيد،،،،،،،،، The Eid is coming
Two notes –
1. I first wrote this quickly, and there are several things I could and would change now as I look at it with fresh eyes, but I decided to leave it as rough as it is, because that is where I was when I wrote it yesterday.
2. I will not tolerate any negative comments towards anyone. If you want to leave some comments of love or wishing eternal peace for those babies, you are welcome to do so. However, anything political, or wishing ill-will will not be published on my blog. This is only about those beautiful children, please allow them to have their moment to be memorialized.
If you are a vegetarian, there are plenty of good quality protein sources for the end of a long day of fast.
Some good non-meat sources of protein include:
Quinoa
Greek yogurt
Legumes, including lentils, chickpeas, and
Nuts and seeds (and their butters and milks) – sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts
Chia seeds
Tofu
Eggs
Avocados
A sample vegetarian iftar menu could look something like this:
Soup: Lentil Soup with Vermicelli Noodles
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1-2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon madras curry powder (optional)
1 cup lentils
4-5 cups stock or water + 1 bouillon cube
1/2 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup angel hair noodles
lemon wedges (optional)
Heat oil in small pot. Add garlic and onions, and saute for 2 minutes. Add spices and saute another minute. Add lentils and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low-medium, and simmer for about 30 minutes. The lentils should be completely soft. If you would like to puree the soup, you would want to do that at this point, before adding the noodles.
Toast the noodles in a nonstick frying pan for about 3 minutes, until golden.
Add to soup, and bring soup to a boil. Allow to boil for 5 minutes (adding a cup of hot water or stock if the soup needs to be thinned out).
Optional – a squeeze of lemon juice into each bowl, if desired.
This is sample Ramadan menu #3. Some people don’t like to break their fast with full meals. This menu is for those who prefer lighter fare. Certainly, no matter which type of meal someone eats, it is preferable to leave the table with a bit of space left in your stomach, so that you are not uncomfortable all night long.
Sunday, June 29 marked the start of Ramadan for Muslims worldwide. This year’s Ramadan will consist of the longest days in many years. It is for that reason that it is helpful to have a clear plan of what to break your fast on.
Ideally, you would want to start off with one or two dates, a glass of water, and a small bowl of soup. This is to ease your stomach back into the business of digestion and rehydration. It is necessary to have some good sources of quality protein for fuel, and fruits or vegetables for fiber and nutrients. It is preferable to eat small portions of whatever is in front of you, as the worst thing you can do is to bombard your stomach with a heavy meal after a long fast.
I will post more in detail in the coming days and weeks, but to start off the month, here is a
