a Geographer's Place

To complete the Traveler-tourist circuit, we had to visit Jerash. While we also wanted to drop into Ajloun, that wasn’t in the cards. There has to be some give and take on a circuit like this, and you also have to account for those unforeseen instances  so very common in fieldwork  (surprise meeting with the government concerning your research, for example). So off to Jerash we went, via a few backroads that afforded us fantastic views of the landscape surrounding Amman. More than a few times there were remarks about how European the physical landscape looked, noting that the barren-of-houses-yet-green-of-agriculture hillsides is actually how Amman proper looked before the population (refugee and immigrant) surges occurred. En route ,  we stopped for coffee (“Hot Strawberry” for me—like hot strawberry milk…yummy!) at a roadside petrol station called “Integrated Market”. True to its name, the place had snacks, drinks, paper towels, dish soap, mops, pliers, frozen foods....

Next to dessert, breakfast is my favorite meal. A good, hearty breakfast always helps me feel charged and ready for the day. While I can eat cold cereal with the best of them, handle a simple toast-and-juice breakfast, and enjoy a “European” breakfast (muesli/granola, plain yogurt, juice, fruit, and cold cuts), it’s the hearty breakfasts that are my favorites. Now, while I enjoy cooking in general, I relish the chance to cook a breakfast, especially for other people. There are few things better than seeing folks with a satisfied tummy in the morning. I’ve been lucky to have some really great recipes handed down through my family: everything from Yorkshire Pudding (yes, we eat it for breakfast—apologies to my UK friends) to buckwheat pancakes. And I usually experiment a bit with the recipes until I discover a “secret ingredient” that enhances the breakfast and makes people say, “There’s something in there…I’m just having a hard time figuring it out…” Why do I like breakfast so much...