My Husband's Martial Law

"There shall be no Coriander bought in this household again, EVER"

Coriander, aka cilantro, is not a common ingredient in my kitchen. I do use it as a flavoring in the rare times when I cook green fava beans with meat in a nice garlicky yoghurt sauce (fool bi laban). I also use it for salsa and some mexican dishes, but it is definitely not an essential part of my culinary experience. However, being completely FORBIDDEN from buying it makes me uncomfortable. I'm freaking out that my already shrinking menu will lose yet another item (because I find fool bi laban tasteless without it) and the dreadful question of what will I cook for tomorrow will become an even tougher decision.

 I love cooking but I hate having to make up my mind on the meal that will please everyone.

If I leave it to Zaid, we'd be eating mlookhieh every single day. If one kid at the nursery is having mlookhieh for lunch, I can be sure that Zaid would be sharing his lunch, and that my cooking  will come back in an unopened tupperware.

If I leave it to Raya, I'd be rolling vine leaves every day, a luxury my time can't afford, but luckily my mom covers up for  my deficiencies and cooks both meals for them.

My husband is pretty flexible with food, just as long as it's not yesterday's leftovers, or not flavored with coriander.

"Flavoring, Salam, you said you needed it for flavoring, but this thing tastes of nothing but coriander!"

Then he ate yesterday's leftover fettucini.

To be fair,the yoghurt did turn a little green after I chopped in all that coriander, so that's an official apology for yesterday's lunch Honey.

December 2006