Dubai Life: Phoebe the huntress

You guyyyyyyyys!  Remember those lizards I told you about that like to come inside our house at night?  Well we're pretty sure Phoebe just ATE ONE.  Yeah, I'm serious.  She gobbled it up like it ain't no thang.

WHAT THE HELL.

And for once, Steve and I had kinda-sorta the same reaction.

Me:

Steve:

We didn't end up in quite the same spot, but we at least both started out grossly shocked.  

And now I can't help but wonder if this is the economical and Dubai-worthy answer to my reptilian woes.  Could I deal with Phoebe eating lizards on a semi-regular basis?

Not likely.

Whatcha Eatin?

In one of my super-round-about thought musings the other day, I was pondering about how we choose to spend our time, and what that says about each of us.  Specifically, I was thinking about Steven and my internet usage and how what we read/learn/lookup speaks volumes about who we are as people, what we like, and what our thought processes are.

For him, it's rather simple (or so I tell myself) - he's information-hungry.  He loves the fact that there is a device so small, and so handy, that he can ask it ANYTHING and get an answer in just a few seconds.  And not even one answer but hundreds of thousands of answers.  Whatever he wants to know and learn is right there and that opportunity is just too awesome to leave alone.  And so, sometimes my husband spends hours and hours sitting in the same spot reading and reading and reading about topics like new technological advances, constitutional law (yeah, that surprised me the first dozen times I asked him what he was reading), strength and fitness, Economics, a large assortment of historical events, and all things audio.  Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are put off by his voracious appetite for information, and even poor Phoebe sometimes sticks her face in front of his phone/ipad to tell him it's been long enough.  But as the person who lives with him, who shares this conjoined life with him, I appreciate this thirst and have been impressed by his ability to not only retain it, but also to apply it to better our everyday life.  There have been countless times where his thorough research skills have netted us a better deal, a better product, or a better life choice.  And yes, he schools me all the time on things I don't know or get wrong and I hate it and it's great to have someone who can mentally challenge me in that way.

I, on the other hand, probably spend 50% of my internet time reading about food and spying on people via their blogs.  Who uses their time better?

ME.  Duh.

Aaaand moving right along, this brings me to the real point of this post.  WHAT ARE YOU ALL COOKING AND EATING?  Is there something I should be trying but haven't?  Everyone tell meeeeeeee.

These are my recent endeavors, with links to the places I learned them from:

Image courtesy of Smart Cooky

Homemade Date Syrup
I just made my first batch tonight and I have super high hopes.  I've been buying dates from the grocery store (it's the Middle East and they're everywhere) and usually scarf them down like candy.  But when I can control myself, I also like to blend them into coffee, protein shakes, breakfast quinoa, etc.  I've been kind of obsessed with dates since last year when we had date milk at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.
Date syrup recipe here

Image courtesy of Thirsty for Tea

Assorted Onigirazu
I've often seen it described as a rice sandwich, but I think the best description I've heard so far is from Steven's coworker when he called it "a giant sushi."  Close enough.  I make these at least once or twice a week for Steve's lunch and fill it with fresh rice and leftovers from dinner.  So far I've tried filling them with fried eggs, tonkatsu, sliced ribeye, bulgogi, chile-lime hammour, and lots of different curries. It all works!
Onigirazu recipe here
Tips: 1) warm rice works best, and 2) the tighter the onigirazu, the easier the eatin'.

Simple Stuffing
There's a sandwich shop in Nevada called Capriotti's that makes a Thanksgiving sandwich that we adore called "The Bobby."  This week I've been making a homemade version for Steve's lunch.  I use brined and grilled turkey breasts, plain ol' canned cranberry sauce, and homemade stuffing.  (Normally, I would just buy Stovetop, but I can't since it's Dubai.)  However, this recipe is super easy and well worth the small amount of effort.  In fact, it's probably my favorite stuffing ever.
Simple Stuffing recipe here

At some point, I will probably share some of my own recipes (or at least my own customizations of other people's recipes) but for now I'm intimidated by the photography process.  Our house has SO MUCH natural light and every photograph I take turns out hazy and strange and I'm just too self-critical to share them.  I'm still trying to learn how to control light and until I'm semi-sorta-kinda a little better at it, I'm gonna share other people's photographs instead.

But really, give me new ideas on what to cook/eat!

Lately: Internet Inspiration

Last night, Steven sent me this video on Instagram.  It's my favorite thing on the internet right now.

A video posted by Play Me Records (@playmerecords) on Aug 19, 2016 at 4:08pm PDT

He knows me so well.

Travel: London, United Kingdom - Food and Drink

Or is it more proper to say England?  I know the difference between them, but I'm never sure which is correct when referring only to London itself...

But side-stepping my geographical reference woes, London was a great time but it's hard to describe it cohesively.  Partly because it was just over a month ago, but mostly because London is so massive.  We had 7 full days in London and I don't think we even scratched the surface (this time anyway).

To be truthful, most of our trip centered around beer, food, and coffee (and in that order).  

CRAFT BEER

Craft beer is something we can't easily get in Dubai so it's become a new part of our travel journey.  We're definitely amateurs in this space but enjoy it nonetheless.  And since we don't spend much time researching craft breweries around the world (or at all, really) we used the list from Craft Beer London to help guide us.  Also, Steven logs our beers using a social app called Untappd, which allows our beer-inclined friends to see what we're drinking too.  The app has a little trouble with the time difference and that we're logging for two people (it warns you to stop drinking so much HA!), but it's still fun.

And instead of posting a bunch of pictures of beer (because I'm looking through the photos now and they're super boring), I'll just share one gif that encapsulates them all.  Sven took these at Hack & Hop while we enjoyed some Italian beers on the windowsill. 

FOOD

There was so much fantastic food that it's impossible to share it all.  So I'll just highlight the very best - the ones I'm still salivating about several days weeks later. 

BAO Soho - there's almost always a wait and it's a tad confusing because the queue is across the street and takes no names.  You just stand in the line (the back is the north end) and wait until you're signaled in.  But ohhhhh man, it's worth it.  The portions are small but beautiful and full of flavor.  We shared 6 dishes but probably could have eaten 10, seriously.

La Fromagerie - I loved everything in this place.  Really, everything.  It's full of cheese, cured meats, beautiful produce, fresh dairy (including homemade yogurt), naturally leavened bread, and beautiful glassware.  We came here for breakfast TWICE because it was so good and I longingly perused the shop and wished we could take it all home.

The Borough Market - I love having diverse options at mealtimes, and in this category the market definitely wins. None of it was astoundingly good like the two above, but it was still tasty and the variety alone wins points.  There are so many different options to choose from, and for about £35 we shared: a pork sandwich with cracklins (the entire pork was roasting on a spit in front of us, it was awesome), 1 cold brewed Columbian coffee, a steak and ale pie, 1/2 a dozen oysters (two of which were so big we couldn't eat them in one bite), 2 craft beers, salt & pepper chili squid, and a scoop of strawberry goat cheese ice cream.  And of course, there were lots of fresh produce stalls that made me wish we'd rented an Airbnb with kitchen instead of a hotel room.  Next time, I'll know better.

Mushrooms galore

And the Bloody Mary's from Dishoom were the best I've ever had.  They're not exactly food so they don't really fit in this category, but they were mealy so I still feel okay about my lazy organization.  The food from Dishoom was also good, but the Bloodies were out of this world.

COFFEE

I can't even recall all the coffee places we tried, there was at least one (if not two) every single day of the trip.  But one stands out.

Kaffeine in Fitzrovia - our favorite of all the placed we'd tried.  We had a cold brew (excellent), a macchiato, a flat white, cappuccino, long black, citron press (puckery lemonade) and Moroccan whisky (mint tea).  We also enjoyed their food selection and had the prosciutto, brie and fig sandwich, Portuguese tart, and carrot cake. 

Yes, I realize the only photo I have from the best coffee place is not coffee.

Lately: International Wine Dialing

So I may have had one too many glasses of wine last night.  And instead of going to sleep at 10:00pm like my responsible husband, I may have called tons of people in my family. Apparently, this move has taught me all kinds of new things. 

Like how to use all those international cell phone minutes.  
*sigh*

A recap of the last 24(ish) hours:

7PM - Wine with dinner:

10:00PM - when Sven decided to go to bed and I decided to stay downstairs

11:00PM to 1AM - when I called Jinny (bonus:Esther!), Sarah, my Mom, my Dad, Sue & Ben (x3)

4:30AM - how I felt when Sven got up for work

10AM - when I finally crawled out of bed and remembered all my calls

5PM - now

Dubai Life: Lizards in the House

Once every few weeks, we'll spot a small lizard inside the house at night.  They squeeze in through the teeny-tiny cracks the doorway corners, and I think they're trying to escape the scorching heat outside. 

Sven isn't too bothered by them and Phoebe doesn't even notice they're there (most observant dog of the year).  I, however, do not like them.

I don't mind as much when they're outside though.  They like to crawl up the stucco sides of our house at night, and I find it creepily cool.  But the other night, Phoebe kicked up some grass and threw a small lizard ON TOP OF MY FOOT.  It rolled around for a couple seconds before I lifted my heel so it could slide off and run away.  I was super impressed with my calm, Sven-like reaction but my internal reaction was a different story.

But it's fine, I'm fine.  Aside from the fact that I can't stop thinking about it.  Every time Phoebe brushes past my foot I suddenly think it's another lizard.  But of course, it isn't.  I'm just crazy.

However, I no longer stand in, on, or by the grass when throwing the ball at night.

my new outfit

Booked: Goa, India

In September, there is a 3-day Muslim holiday called "Eid Al Adha" (Festival of the Sacrifice).  And because holidays are fairly generous in the UAE we got the whole week off!

So we booked another trip.  This time we're headed to Goa, India.  

Dubai Life: Everyday Adventure

When people back home find out that we've moved to Dubai, one of the first things they usually say is "Wow! What an adventure!"  Which of course, was exactly what we thought when we decided to come here.  But really, I had no idea what that actually meant.  

And now, every day/week I feel like I am living that statement.  The travel opportunities are fantastic, but the *real* adventure of moving over here seems to be rooted in living with so much unfamiliarity and unpredictability.  There are so many instances where our previous experience/common knowledge simply does not apply.  And so we have to start over and learn everything again, one task at a time.  It pushes us beyond our comfort zones, teaches us new things about each other/ourselves/everyone else, provides fresh lessons on humility, and is a huge exercise in patience.  But most of all, it's made me more grateful.  As Em from one of my favorite blogs (Today's Letters) often says, "Gratitude makes everything enough."

I couldn't agree with her more. 

So, because I'm feeling all thankful and gushy, here's a short list of what I'm grateful for lately:

Sven got a second opinion on his car from the Volvo dealer, and they fixed it for $54 instead of the many thousands we were quoted by the first mechanic.  

After 6 days of no running water, the water pump has finally been replaced!  While I am oddly proud of us for hanging in there, let's just say I am really happy it's back on.  I won't take running water for granted again, like ever.

This guy, a million times over.  In 17 years he's only ever been extraordinarily kind to me.  Right now, this minute - he came all the way downstairs to deal with a spider that is 2 feet away from me.  I'm so grateful that he still likes me and that we still got it.