1st night of Ramadan

First night of Ramadan and we had the always super yummy lentil soup, salad (fattoush), and rice & chicken (with almonds and

raisins). Yum, yum, yummy! Later on, we have some

family come over and had some Arabic coffee (not to

be confused with Turkish coffee) and Atayef/Qataieyf-

a yummy pancake with nuts/cinnamon inside (or

sweet cheese) with sugar water on top.

Otherwise, the day was pretty uneventful- I worked

from home and gave my baby sweet potatoes for

the first time (I don't think she's a fan of them). I always find it takes a few days to really get in the

'swing' of things- maybe by this weekend. But, I'm not doing much for Ramadan this year, so it's

different than normal for me anyways...

On a more fun note- I LOVE the TV shows during Ramadan. It's very much like all the special

shows during Christmas time in the U.S. In particular, I like Bab al Hara (the neighborhood door-

a reference to Damascus, Syria and the different neighborhoods which almost function like

separate administrative zones) and Tash Ma Tash - a Saudi satire show. Also, there seems to be

a "Tonight Show"-esqe show this year in Egypt with this women who gives a comedic monologue

and then has a guest on the show! Certainly something new for me!

Top Chef Masters

I love the Top Chef series (and Project Runway, of course!!!) and Bravo TV in the US is currently running a Top Chef Master session before they start with the next regular Top Chef session.

I love this series because they consistently get GREAT contestants and GREAT judges! I almost never watch the Food Network shows because their quality is so low compared to Bravo's Top Chef series. They have Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Gael Greene, Anthony Bourdain and then great chefs - many which I never heard of, but now want to eat at their restaurants!!!

Each week so far, we have seen a group of 'masters' compete with some classic Top Chef competitions that really challenge them with time limits and other restrictions. They are now down to having the winner for each of those episodes compete against each other for the final prize of being the "Top Chef master." Plus, they get $100,000 for the charity of their choice. The winner for each episode gets $10,000 for their charity of choice. Gooo charities! :)

So far, my absolutely favorite chefs (based off their foods, of course) are Anita Lo and Hubert Keller. Both are SOOOOO talented and so confident and unassuming with their food. In the last episode they took on each other's signature dish and I agree that Anita's dish looked better, but I don't think Hubert did a bad job either. My surprise like (just cause I wasn't too sure about him in the first episode) is Rick Bayless. Also, he was studying anthropology until he took up cooking - how cool is that?!

If you can, check out Top Chef Masters or at least their restaurants. If you go- please let me know how you liked their food!