Crossing the Prairie

So I’ve been feeling guilty, because despite my love of cooking, I haven’t cooked my children a single Ethiopian dish in the last seven months. Not a one. BAD MOMMY! I don’t know what my hang-up is - maybe I’m a little intimidated, because it’s so very different from anything else I cook. Maybe I’m nervous that the kids will know I’m a fraud, and not like it. Anyway, yesterday, we took the kids to an Ethiopian restaurant in Fort Collins - Nyala Ethiopian Restaurant.

One thing that struck me when I was in Ethiopia was the smells. Everything smells so strong there - the air smells like cooking fires and spices and the coffee that everyone roasts just before grinding and drinking it. It hits you like a wall the second you step off the plane - it’s breath-taking, and one of my favorite memories of the trip. Ethiopian cuisine is full of very strong spices, sort of like, but also completely unlike, Indian curry. You can read another post about Ethiopian food here.

I opened the door to the restaurant, and was suddenly back there. It was enough to make my eyes tear up, as the memories came flooding back. I can remember those spices on the skin of my children, when it came out of their pores and made them smell so spicy and foreign. It was in their clothes, their hair. I remember thinking how strange and sterile Germany would seem to them, devoid of all that. I was overwhelmed. And Danny was so excited, he could barely sit still. Actually, he couldn’t sit still - he barely ate his food, he was so busy running around the nearly empty restaurant. He kept telling me, “Smells like MY Ethiopia!!”

Danny was THIS EXCITED.

We ended up being there for nearly three hours. The waitress was also the cook and the owner, so things moved a little slowly, but the kids were fascinated and well fed, and so happy to be there. I’m happy to report that all three of my kids (whoo hoo!! Even Rome!!) love injera and lentils, and Danny ate some of everything, including my “fasting food” - a very generous serving of three different vegetable dishes. What he couldnt’ bring himself to eat at the restaurant, he polished off at home later that night, and needed to be reassured more than once that we could go back and get more another day.

The boys pretending to eat from a mesob - we actually ate at a table. Not as authentic, but more practical with kids.

Setting for a traditional coffee ceremony. We saw this many times in Ethiopia.

Popcorn is a traditional snack in Ethiopia. Another food my kids all love!

Last night, Danny was as happy as I’ve seen him in ages. Note to self: THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. The child needs to eat the food he grew up with. Duh.