Manaeesh

Every culture has a certain food that everyone just loves and eats. In Lebanon, waking up to the smell of Manaeesh is like waking up to a beautiful scent of a flower. Manaeesh is somewhat of a quesadilla look alike. It is freshly made bread; on top of it comes either fresh cheese, oregano, maybe even some grounded meat. Boy does it get my mouth watery just talking about it. With the oregano manaeesh, people would dip it with the Lebanese yogurt called Labni. After it is dipped in, we grab those fresh marinated olives and take a bite. Can you say wow? Not to mention how amazing it tastes with tea. With the Cheese, a person simply eats it without having to dip it in anything. Same goes with the meat. The cheese is a favorite. I have taken some to many of my friends and they fell in love with it. My friends being Mexican, they said it looked a lot like a cheese quesadilla. However, when the cheese melts in a persons mouth, nothing more need be said.
In the states, my mother usually makes it on occasion. In the last day celebration of the month, Ramadan, my mother wakes up early in the morning just so she can prepare some home made manaeesh for the family. We wake up, have our breakfast, and go to the park to barbeque with family. It has been done every year since I been alive; never has my mother taken a day off. Being Muslim, the religion states that an individual must go to the city Mecca in Saudi Arabia for their pilgrimage. Usually after this pilgrimage is done, we greet those who are coming back with manaeesh on the table and a huge sign outside of the house that says “congratulations” in Arabic. It is very popular to eat it on these two special Islamic occasions. It was said that one of our Great grandparents started this little tradition. For my family as well as the many families in the village of Yaroun it only made sense to eat it on such occasions.

Shy

Do you ever feel stuffed after you eat dinner? Growing up, everyone in the household had to eat dinner at the same time. Sometimes a person gets carried away with the mouth watering food a mother is capable of making. It is traditional in Lebanon to drink tea after dinner. After waiting for the water to boil in a weird shaped metal on the oven, a person gets the bits of fresh Lebanese tea and slightly lays it in the boiling water. Pouring it in little, tiny glass cups with a little bit of sugar, stirring it with a tiny spoon, taking small sips; I have to admit, it does taste good. However, that is not the reason Lebanese people drink it. It is said that tea helps a person digest food faster, making it easier for a person to breathe and not feel stuffed. I personally do not like drinking any hot drink, but I do make an exception just for tea.
After eating dinner, all family members gather up, drink tea, and watch television. It relaxes a person without really thinking about it. In Arabic, this type of tea is called Shy. Seems like any Lebanese family household in the U.S has Shi shipped out from Lebanon just to have their little gatherings and ease their stomachs. Not only do Arabs drink tea after dinner, but they also drink it in the morning. It fits in just fine with pita bread and a type of cheese or yogurt called Labni. The tiny cup they use symbolizes that it came from Lebanon. For some odd reason, it is nearly impossible to find any Arab drinking it from a regular cup. They believe that the stomach only needs a small portion. My mother always tried to convince me that it is better than drinking soda. Some people think otherwise, but it is the tradition that makes generation after generation drink tea after a meal. Tea is also famous in Asia. I know of a few Asian families where all they would drink throught their day was Tea. Although they drink it differently, it is an tradition behind the drinking of tea and how it is good for an individual.