knafeh

I have been meaning to write about sweets for a while, since they are everywhere, everyday, all the time.  Whatever calorie reduction has occurred in my diet as a result of alcohol-free socializing,  it has been more than made up for in the constant intake of sugary drinks, tasty snacks and a wild array of sweets - from junky chocolate bars and twinkies to delicious stacks of honey-soaked pastries and chocolates filled with nuts and dates.

But there's one sweet treat here that generates more excitement and anticipation than all the others: knafeh.    So it deserves some attention.

Knafeh gets ordered for the office or extended family or school class when some momentous occasion has transpired: graduation day, the birth of a baby, a milestone anniversary.  When the wife of one of the guys on our team, Saddam, had a baby recently, knafeh was ordered.  When the team submitted a final report after more than a year of hard work this past Tuesday, knafeh was ordered.  Our little celebration was scheduled for 1:00pm and by 12:45,  staff were milling around the meeting area, keenly awaiting the treat.

I had never seen it before moving here. I am told that knafeh originates in Nablus, in the west bank, but has spread throughout the arab levant - from Egypt to Lebanon.  And it is hard to describe. It involves softened nabulsi sheep's cheese, wrapped in a crispy semolina pastry, soaked in a rose-scented sugary syrup and garnished with crushed pistachio nuts.  It seems like something that only gets cooked in large quantities, so that might explain why it is so closely associated in people's minds with celebrations.  I can tell you this: you eat a piece, you are full for the rest of the day.  It serves as lunch and desert in one fell swoop.  

Knafeh aside,  I can't leave the topic of sweets without sharing a photo of a chocolate pudding brand that shows up occasionally in the corner store here.  The picture speaks for itself.