Puppy Chow Arm

Casie was out of town for work all week so it was just the boys running the place.  The second evening she was gone I had to open a new bag of dog food.

Jackson is a little obsessed with food.  He acts like he hasn't eaten in days every time we feed him, and he always frantically looks for more food as soon as he finishes eating.  To help minimize the amount of time he obsessively looks for food we got an airtight, 5-gallon container that we dump the entire bag into.  As I opened the bag and poured it into the container I realized I left the scoop at the bottom of the container.

I could have just found a new scoop and waited until we got to the bottom of the container in a few weeks to get the scoop back, but that's not how we do things when it's just Jackson and me running the place.  We cook frozen food and eat it in the living room on disposable dish ware, and we find the dog food scoop no matter how ridiculous it seems.

So, as Jackson anxiously paced behind me trying to figure out why he wasn't eating his precious food, I dug my hand into the food and began fishing around for the scoop.  As far as I was concerned Jackson wasn't eating until I found the scoop.  That meant Jackson agreed with me and thought that finding his scoop was almost more important than the actual food.  It was his only hope of not starving, which as soon as he heard me say "eat" he was sure could happen at any moment.

By the time I found his scoop the food was past my elbow, halfway to my armpit.  It was like digging for a toy at the bottom of a cereal box.  The prize wasn't as exciting as anything I ever found as a kid, but Jackson was thrilled.  Then the rest of the night he licked my arm with so much enthusiasm that I thought he might try taking a bite.

Chocolate Army

I'm an avid collector of Superman comics, action figures, posters, books, and statues. Being deployed for just under seven months I am beginning to go through some major action figure withdrawal.

Lately I've been looking for something to focus my collecting energies on. The answer, chocolate bunnies. The chow hall had them for Easter and the few days that followed. I took two bunnies at each meal (sometimes three). I have no desire to eat the bunnies, just collect them.

What's the fun in having a collection if you can't share it with others?

Without further ado, my "limited edition" chocolate army!

*Las Vegas sign sold separately.

Kubba

The title is referring to the Mosul cuisine, Kubba (arabic: كبه). This week Sam, my linguist, placed an order for some food from outside the wire. It is a little more complicated than having a pizza delivered, but well worth it for a little taste of the Iraqi culture.

Since he was born in the area he gave me the scoop. The northern areas of Iraq are famous for some of the best kinds of wheat. From wheat they get a certain substance known as "borghul", which is wheat boiled, pealed and crushed. From this "borghul" "Kubba" is made.

Borghul is mixed with minced meat and hammered well. This it is flattened and pieces stuffed with meat and filled with nuts, sultanas, spices, parsley and onion. They are formed in shape of flat platters or round balls, then boiled and ready to serve. It can be made from beef or lamb. Today we ate beef because lamb is more expensive.

"Kubba" is ancient. It is mentioned in Assyrian and Sumerian writings. Scholars of these languages say it is can record that king Ashur Nsssir Bal II , once gave a banquet and "Kubba" was included in the menu. Be that as it may, "Kubba" today is at top of Mosulli foods. Until recently it was confined to the Mosulite families of Baghdad, but it has now become a popular dish in Baghdad and other cities.

I know what your thinking, it looks pretty plain. Sam suggested eating it with BBQ sauce (or ketchup), lettuce, and tomato (like below).

It was delicious. With my second Iraqi food experience I am beginning to see a pattern. Overly simplified, they eat a lot of food centered around bread and that look similar to quesadillas. :-)

Did you notice the Diet Coke can in the first picture? It is called Coca-Cola Light.

Eatin' Good in the Neighborhood

Lately I've been on a french toast kick for breakfast and it got me thinking. I've been eating french toast for two weeks now and I maybe getting spoiled. I mean where else can you get the selection of food available to me for 180 days straight? (and for free?)

For breakfast I get to choose from 10 different cereals, french toast, "real" blueberry pancakes, regular pancakes, waffles, omelets, eggs, burritos, sausage, bacon, ham, oatmeal, grits, fresh fruit, donuts, danishes, muffins, and a huge selection of juices.

For lunch I get to choose from grilled cheese, cheese burgers, lunch meat, egg rolls, salad, fruit, all types of soda, soup, baked potato bar, and hot meals (like chicken dumplings, chicken nuggets, meat loaf, etc). Oh and there is ice cream, pies, cake, and cookies for desert.

For dinner I get to choose from all the selections at lunch, plus stir fry.

There are many things you miss while being away from home, but hunger is not one of them in Iraq. But, some Pizza Hut sure sounds good though. :-)

Does anyone know Turkish?

I think I won something. Today at lunch when I opened my potato chips a small cardboard piece fell out. I kept the bag and went to a website they had listed. It definitely looks like I found something. I have the yellow piece.

It brings up an interesting question. Where does the food for the military come from? I know now that the chips are from Turkey. The chow hall has soda cans in English and Arabic. It makes you wonder where everything comes from.

I finally win something and you probably have to be Turkish to redeem the prize. Even if it is only 0,35 (what does that even mean?). Maybe you have to earn points, who knows. What do you guys think?

Food Network

Being deployed to a different country is much like being in the United States. You don't experience the culture, contrary to what you think. An Army post is set up to make you feel more comfortable, mimic life in the United States.

There are rare occasions were I get a taste of Iraqi life. When I mention taste I am talking about their food. I work with a Iraqi-born, US citizens on a daily basis and through them I have met many new Iraqi friends. They definitely take care of us "soldiers". About once a week, I don't know how they do it, they provide my office a plate of Iraqi food from off outside the wire, like the one below.

This plate contained something called Iraqi Pizza (on the right side of plate), lamb meat, bread, and toppings of tomatoes and onions with basil. I never had lamb meat and it is actually quite good. The "Pizza" is kind of like a quesadilla, but without cheese. It contains lamb meat and a creamy sauce. You can eat it as is or you can wrap it around some "toppings" and eat kind of like a taco. The lamb meat can be eaten as is or put into the bread. The bread is awesome. It is always fresh and is very filling.

My once-a-week Iraqi meal is just enough to break the monotony of the chow hall. Thank goodness for my food network.