Saturday, November 01, 2008

LIBYAN FOOD SUCKS!

For weeks I've had no desire to cook anything. I'm in a rut. I'm still trying to get over the drain of Ramadan. Having kids on all different schedules for school doesn't help either. I hate cooking for seven people. There is always someone that complains about what I make. 

Today I went to the supermarket hoping for inspiration. I didn't find any...  I'm sick of cooking.... I'm tired of Libyan food... 

tomato paste and pasta... yuck... 
tomato paste and couscous... double yuck... 
tomato paste and rice... more yuck... 
I am totally uninspired.... sigh...

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. Now maybe I can go into the kitchen and cook something.

14 comments:

  1. I think this the understatemt of the year, but anyhow.. even libyans try and cook diffrent food for change ..like lebanese , italian or even chinese..so no one would stop you from trying something else..apart from your husband I guess.. and ..viva libyan cusine yummi.. this is what my irish wife said about libyan food by the way ;o) .

    ReplyDelete
  2. how about making a real creamy homemade chicken pot pie with mixed vegetables yummy it gets you away from all the tomato base stuff for a change....or chicken and dumplings, tina

    ReplyDelete
  3. i guess what "sucks" is the routine and lack of imagination to cook daily. i, personally, i love to cook and i cook daily. i'm always trying different things and i guess i never cooked the same meal twice in a month.
    go to foodnetwork.com and you will find a lot of inspirations. or make the food you love the most, or the food that reminds you of good times you had in your life or try your skills out making something you never did.
    i always set a nice table as well. i never had any fried pan or pot on my table, even if only to myself.
    i love to have my meals in a neat way and i do that daily for about 18 years.

    i hope foodnetwork.com can help you out.

    good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I kind of understand, but from my far/cold Canada I must say I would love to get a chance to eat some Libyan food!
    But it is true that any delicious meal, if not varied can make you sick.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ive been ranting at my mum like that for months about boring libyan food, but i guess she cant think of anything better either :(

    and recently its been just 3 tuna sandwiches a day, which is even worse!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love and dearly miss Libyan food. At home (in Libya)we always tried to spice it up with various other foods so the tomatoe didn't get booring. When I moved to the US it was difficult for me to think of meals to cook that didn't have tomatoe paste. If you think about even the italian food has a lot of tomaote, where do you think the Libyans got it from. MMM Anyone want to send me some real tasing tomatoe paste that would be fine with me, the stuff they have here just isn't the same.

    ReplyDelete
  7. lol...my thoughts exactly. I'm here two months now and am tired of racking my brains as to what to cook!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I really like Libyan food, and I think the women are all great cooks. Try using fresh tomatoes instead of canned tomato paste, its a lot better for you. Theres a lot to be said about english cooking. ie bland,bland,bland,
    Have you ever eaten Tripe.!!!!
    That was many years ago, mind and what my mother used to cook, or mashed potatoes and baked beans.!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well if you don’t like the food fine, but calling the Food sucks this is not nice,

    Well I have been to UK several times and I can’t find words to describe how bad the food was over there, but I would never mention that. Our food (Libyan) is nice and you can by your inspiration and creativity to create special healthy meal. Being Nice with your words wont harm you sister .

    ReplyDelete
  10. Tomato puree and onions. That seems to be the base for every meal.
    There's also a serious lack of imagination when it comes to cooking. "sweet and sour chicken" get's a resounding "ewww", even though no one i've talked has tried it.
    You can't get Indian/ Chinese/ (real) Italian food here in Benghazi.
    (I garantee, some awesome libyan man will read Indian food, and say "whating? Indian fooding? Indians eating ratz and snakez.. no! libyan food nice.. like tibikha/ sharba/ dishisha/ sharba/ tibikha/ makaroona/ sharba/ tibikha).
    And for the love of god, why break sphegheti into centimeter long pieces, and cook for 30 minutes plus (instead of the normal 8-12)?
    (by the way: love the blog).

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous sister: for the love of god!!! As a brit, i have to say, BRITISH food is bland, and tasteless.
    BUT! You can go out an get a Indian, Chinese, Arabic/ Kurdish, Japanese meal, in Leicester/ Nottinham/ Leeds etc. Cities alot smaller than benghazi.

    there is variation back in the UK, but here (in Benghazi anway), there is almost none. Even tradiational libyan food like couscous isn't sold in restraunts. Shawerma/ Hamburgers/ crap Kebabs/ Pizza. that's your lot. It's changing recently, but it's still got a long way to go.

    A complete lack of options.
    Yes some food is nice, like Sharmoolah, Zimeeta, and a few other simple dishes that aren't cooked.
    But if it involves heat, then chance are it's Tomato puree and onions. EVERYDAY.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I spent about a year in Libya (not sure how I survived on that food) and when I finally went back to Canada with all the ethnic foods you can imagine available here from all over the world I'm in heaven. I am loving and appreciating my life so much more than before. I would have never thought food can make you so happy (or unhappy). LOL

    ReplyDelete
  13. Why don't you try making Kefta or Birik. I have some recipes that I've made that aren't all tomatoes/rice/couscous and pasta.. But I totally know what you mean... check them out. Let me know what you think!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ND7YNFie3A

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjY6JHw53gU
    http://www.aishafoodista.com/2010/05/may-is-burger-month.html

    http://www.aishafoodista.com/

    http://www.aishafoodista.com/2010/04/my-ultimate-creamy-homemeade-hummus.html


    Hope you enjoy

    ReplyDelete
  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

Guidelines for submitting comments

You can rant, you can rave, you can question. I ask only that you are thoughtful about what you write.

Comments are reviewed by me before publication. I don’t edit comments, but I do reserve the right to delete comments that violate my guidelines.

These are the kinds of comments that I think are not appropriate for publication:

- Defamatory or libelous remarks
- Abusive, harassing, or threatening language
- Obscene, vulgar, or profane language
- Racially, ethnically or religiously offensive words
- Illegal or encourages criminal acts
- Known to be inaccurate or contains a false attribution
- Infringes copyrights, trademarks, publicity or any other rights of others
- Impersonates anyone (actual or fictitious)
- Off-topic or spam
- Solicits funds, goods or services, or advertises



Please submit comments in English.


Thank you

My Link List