I can't quite put my finger on it. There seems to be more skin showing these days. Is it me? Am I imagining this? I'm talking about expats of course.
When I arrived in Salalah in 2012, many Dhofari women totally covered their faces with the long end of their shaylas. You couldn't see a dang thing. I still see this occasionally, but not as often. Yes, the niqab is still de rigueur (and they certainly make it look good), but the completely veiled face is not so evident. I tried this veiling myself a few times. The anonymity is a bit comforting. I certainly still do it if I'm wearing a hijab and there is a sandstorm going on. Practical!
That isn't what I'm talking about. I see quite a few women in short shorts and short sleeve tops now. Even, gasp, tank tops.Three years ago, you knew exactly who the few expat women in butt shorts were. They were talked about, and tut tuts were clucked. People remarked about how so and so was at Lulus in her tiny clothes and how the locals were following her around in a happy daze. The shame! The Oasis and hotels were the only places it was acceptable to bare a lot of skin and relax. Even the tourists getting a look at our funky little city had the courtesy to drape a shawl around their arms.
Not so much now. Tank tops, thigh bearing shorts, tight clothes and cleavages; it seems many don't care that they are living and working in a conservative part of an Islamic country. Yeah...Muscat is kind of fast and loose, but this isn't Muscat is it?
I sound like the church lady. I think there is a new wave of workers here that can't be bothered to give a crap what people think. They dress as they would in their own country and so be it. Omanis are incredibly courteous people, despite some people's individual experiences. Jibalis especially so. They may appear to glance past you, if you are out in your small clothes, but it registers. It registers. There is a conservative backlash happening in this country that will end up biting us all in the keester if we aren't more careful. Making gin in your bathtub sound appealing does it?
I think there is a way to wear clothing that is light and comfortable and still look decent. I see my friends do it all the time. No, they don't all wear long sleeves or look like they've been in purdah half their lives. They just look...respectable. And for locals, respectable is no problem. At the end of the day, we are not Omanis, and they don't expect us to look like one.
You know who I'm talking about too. Uh huh.
When I arrived in Salalah in 2012, many Dhofari women totally covered their faces with the long end of their shaylas. You couldn't see a dang thing. I still see this occasionally, but not as often. Yes, the niqab is still de rigueur (and they certainly make it look good), but the completely veiled face is not so evident. I tried this veiling myself a few times. The anonymity is a bit comforting. I certainly still do it if I'm wearing a hijab and there is a sandstorm going on. Practical!
That isn't what I'm talking about. I see quite a few women in short shorts and short sleeve tops now. Even, gasp, tank tops.Three years ago, you knew exactly who the few expat women in butt shorts were. They were talked about, and tut tuts were clucked. People remarked about how so and so was at Lulus in her tiny clothes and how the locals were following her around in a happy daze. The shame! The Oasis and hotels were the only places it was acceptable to bare a lot of skin and relax. Even the tourists getting a look at our funky little city had the courtesy to drape a shawl around their arms.
Not so much now. Tank tops, thigh bearing shorts, tight clothes and cleavages; it seems many don't care that they are living and working in a conservative part of an Islamic country. Yeah...Muscat is kind of fast and loose, but this isn't Muscat is it?
I sound like the church lady. I think there is a new wave of workers here that can't be bothered to give a crap what people think. They dress as they would in their own country and so be it. Omanis are incredibly courteous people, despite some people's individual experiences. Jibalis especially so. They may appear to glance past you, if you are out in your small clothes, but it registers. It registers. There is a conservative backlash happening in this country that will end up biting us all in the keester if we aren't more careful. Making gin in your bathtub sound appealing does it?
I think there is a way to wear clothing that is light and comfortable and still look decent. I see my friends do it all the time. No, they don't all wear long sleeves or look like they've been in purdah half their lives. They just look...respectable. And for locals, respectable is no problem. At the end of the day, we are not Omanis, and they don't expect us to look like one.
You know who I'm talking about too. Uh huh.
Stock photo taken at Hafa souk. My kind of girl. And no, I don't find this attire "depressing."
Your friendly Church Lady.
Dhofari stylin.
As for the cake, it was a disaster. I wanted a blueberry cake. I was craving one wicked bad. So I picked up a package of frozen blueberries and went to work. I've used frozen blueberries before with no problems. This time my bundt cake oozed with goo on the top. I think this recipe would have worked had I baked the cake 10 more minutes (I was anxious about it burning) and waited until the cake was cool to pop it out of the pan. I also think this particular recipe doesn't lend itself to frozen blueberries the way a heavier pound cake does. This recipe is from A Spicy Perspective.
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose Gold Medal Flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk (or milk with a teaspoon of white vinegar)
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 1 pound fresh blueberries
Cream the butter and sugar on high. Personally I think this is too much sugar, but I didn't experiment with less. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy. Blend in the vanilla and zest of lemons. Sift the dry ingredients together and add to butter mix, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in blueberries.
Spoon into a well greased (every nook and cranny) and floured bundt pan and bake at 325/160 for about 60 minutes. Cool completely before inverting to a wire rack. I don't care what the spicy blog lady says about how this is perfect every time. It's going to be touch and go.
You can glaze with:
3 T. milk
1 cup powdered sugar
You can also top with toasted almonds. I didn't bother with any of this because the cake was a hot mess.
Her cake. From Pinterest.
My cake. Points for honesty ok?
This is a blueberry cake last time I made it. I didn't worry about burning cause the oven back in America isn't a piece of crap. Just sayin.
I hacked off the blueberry goo and ate some of the butter cake that survived. It's pretty tasty. I still despaired.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my lecture of the day. I am on a tear lately between the drivers going into Saada and the wave of legs at the mall. Maybe I'm imagining the whole thing. Meh.
If you are still with me, here is my recipe for North African style beef stew. I steamed some Turkish bulgar for our starch. It is a bit spicy, but dang good. You need to go buy a pressure cooker. Really. Life altering apparatus. This recipe is genuinely mine.
The list of spices is daunting, but easily available.
Felicia's North African Fusion Stew
1 kilo, or 2 pounds of stew beef, cubed
1 large onion, rough chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
a handful of cilantro, chopped
2 stalks of green onion, sliced
1/2 t ground coriander
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t white pepper
1 t cumin
1 t ground ginger
1 t tumeric
1 t paprika
3 sachets of tomato paste (a 6 oz jar for Americanos)
4 cups of hot water and a cube of beef bouillion (or beef broth)
olive oil
Sear the beef with a little oil in your pressure cooker. Remove. Add a bit more olive oil and saute the onions and garlic. Dump in all the spices and give it a stir. Add the cilantro and green onions. Put your meat in and stir it up. Add the tomato paste and beef broth or water and bouillion.
Bring the pressure cooker up to whistling on high. Reduce heat to medium and cook 20 minutes. Let the cooker come down normally. Serve with rice or couscous or french bread.
Very freakin yummy.
I have a coffee flavored birthday cake to make for a friend later this week. Wish me luck. I will need it, clearly.
Love,
Felicia El Aid
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