reminiscence & nostalgia- breakfast

''Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is— his good, pleasing and perfect will.''
romans 12 v 2

a snapshot of part of a typical kurdish breakfast.

i love the kurdish breakfast. so simple. usually, it consists of a spread of cheese [paneer] (this time there was mozarella and cheese triangles), yoghurt [mast], fried eggs [helka], and bread [naan, samoon], jam, and sometimes olives [zeitun], honey [henduin], walnut in the shell[druiz], tahini and other stuff. there is always freshly brewed strong sweet black tea.

i've eaten this breakfast at rizgar's house in hawler (Kurdistan), at nakhshin's family in Soran (kurdistan), at Rizgar's brother's house in sulymania (Kurdistan), with baktear's family at their house and also out of the back of their car, with mustafa's family eaten at 'lunchtime', with rashida who is a morroccan lady married to a kurdish guy, with alaa and ahmed who were very proud of their naan (which they bought from the arabic, NOT kurdish, shop).

in kurdistan, rizgar's mum was the first person to get up and prepare all the breakfast. it was like her job to stay there to make sure that everyone in the household had breakfast, whatever time they got up. she would lay it all out dead early in the morning, and make the tea. the tea is the best thing. not sure why, but it's a great start to the morning. rizgar's dad would always go and buy the samoon (bread) , apart from one day a week when it was rizgar's youngest brother's job to go. i went with him. and also once with rizgar's other brother when we were in sulimanyia. i watched the bread being made and ate it straight out of the oven. the ends of the bread is the best part. i learnt to eat bread with honey and walnut it's so nice. bread dipped in yoghurt is also something that i find normal, rather than alien since it doesn't really feature in chinese cuisine.

actually, it always astounds me when i think about how all of these kurdish people manage to keep their culture maintain almost exactly what they did in their own country in a new environment. really, it does. i can go to most households and i'd pretty much know what to expect. i've been reading a bit recently about the kurds, and about how they've had to fight for their culture and identity. may be thats why they hold on so tightly to it. however, it is also interesting how people adapt their food when they're in a different country. many of the kurdish like to use clotted cream to eat with jam and bread, for breakfast. in england, we only ever eat clotted cream and jam with scones for afternoon tea!

reminds me of daniel in a foreign land. he was given all the best things in the land, yet he still asked for simplicity. he relied and trusted in God to guide his path. he did not conform to the ways of the people around him. he was strong.