On Saturday, Geoff, Matthew and I decided that we would do a little referral celebrating by eating Ethiopian (well, Matthew ate a club sandwich, cause he's just not into spicy food...yet). We propped the pictures of our two newest children up on the table with us, and in that way, we enjoyed our first meal together as a family. The food was delicious, but I'd have to say that our moods were even better!
When an owner of the restaurant came over to take our order (and later, to show us how to eat properly!) we showed her our pictures and I asked how to pronounce our daughter's name...which turned out to be considerably different than the way we'd initially been told. That woman was wonderful. In addition to bringing us a pot of steaming chai tea, her compliments, she also told me that I should not worry about how to cook Ethiopian food...because she is going to help me! And not only will she help me learn to cook Ethiopian food, but she will supply me with small quantities of injera and spices as I need them. How lovely was that??!!
It made me wonder if she would ever be open to offering an occasional cooking class for those of us in the area who are interested in learning to cook Ethiopian food? That's 'food' for thought for sure.
I love Doro Wat...it's my favourite dish. For those who don't know what this is (and that would been me until a year ago!), Doro Wat is one of the better known foods in Ethiopia and is often referred to as that nation's national dish. It's like a spicy chicken stew served, of course, with injera. When we left, my lips were burning from the spices, but I figure that if I learn to make it myself, I can adjust the spiciness a little bit.
Anyway, we had a lovely and relaxing time there, and we left with our bellies full of delicious and fragrant food. It was the perfect celebration!
Mmm, yummy, and celebratory! Matthew might like the Ethiopian we get here - I've always suspected they tone down the dishes for non-Ethiopians (although I believe it is still quite authentic - lots of Ethiopian folk in there when we go), because only one of the 8 or so items on the platter is actually spicy. But it's all SOOO delicious. I am quite partial to the various lentils and the carrot/cabbage dish. And the kale-type dish. And then everything else that complements it so nicely! Mmm...still don't know the names of anything, although I have been trying to figure it all out. (We do have another Ethiopian place in town, which definitely caters more to the home crowd, and spares no spice...also good, but I do have to go slower)!
ReplyDeleteSmiling at reading of the celebration. Loved that you were eating with the pictures of your kids...hope you took pictures of it!
ReplyDeleteMmmm....doro wat...so good!
ReplyDeleteI love Doro Wat... I made a wonderful one last month. I should do another one to celebrate our referral. It was not so difficult just very long to do.
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