Culture Shock

In North Africa, table manners go out the window! If you do everything opposite than we do here, you will be on track. First, we ate everything with our hands! One big dish is served to a table of about 7 people. It is called "Tajine" and looks like a big dish with a teepee on top. Everyone imagines it cut into a pie and you take from your own piece. There are a few techniques to master, some involving bread and others rolling up the food into a ball and flicking it into your mouth. Since everyone's hands are in the same plate, it is important that everyone's hands be clean!! They pass around a dish to wash your hands or alcohol hand sanitizer also does the trick! It is looked down upon to touch your fingers to your mouth because your hand is going back into the communal plate. It is also looked down upon to reach into someone else's piece.  They have this weird left hand, right hand theory there. Your left hand is used to do "dirty work", like personal cleansing things. Your right hand is for eating, exchanging money, shaking hands, and anything else involving others. This was hard for Cole to get used to since he is left handed! I also read that it was customary to burp after a meal, but I never witnessed this "good table manner". All of this was very awkward at first, especially not having silverware, napkins, or your own plate. But, it only took one meal to get used to! Eating like this was super fun and a culture shock! But, i'll be honest, I was looking forward to a fork on the airplane!

Tajine

The food was absolutely wonderful. We had lots of veggies, cous-cous and oranges. Like in most countries, to keep us from getting sick, everything we ate had to be cooked or able to peel. Needless to say, I was craving a raw salad when I came home. Here is what I made. You can find the recipe here. 

Quinoa Caprese Salad

I also made these lemon pies for my Bible Study this week. I made 2- one from scratch and the other using ready-made ingredients - to see which one I liked better. They are both refreshing summer desserts. The votes are in and the totally homemade pie was definitely the favorite. I guess it is worth the extra time!!

The favorite is Southern Living's Zesty Lemon Pie. The smooth and light texture, homemade graham crust, and freshly whipped cream made this one so yummy!

The next is Southern Living's Lemonade Pie. A bit tangier and crisp taste than the first, this one uses frozen lemonade concentrate and cream cheese to make the filling. It is much faster to make because you use a pre-made crust and cool whip, and it is also non-bake which saves time!

They are both pies I will keep in my recipe book and make again!