Eating in Kabul

Saturday through Thursday constitutes the usual work week in Kabul.  Between Saturday and Tuesday, we work at the Ministry where we have marvelous meals that are cooked for our team there in our own kitchen nestled between the offices and the bathrooms!  During my trainings our chef plated each meal–I should say we had two plates each!  Besides a wonderful Persian rice dish including raisens and nuts, there was fried chicken, lamb and beef!  All made in a tiny kitchen at the end of the hall. Back at the Compound we have our own kitchen as well.  Breakfast includes fresh squeezed orange juice, or made to order pomegranite juice, as well as to order eggs, omelettes, pancakes or french toast! Besides the made to order items, brunch on Fridays (Holy Day) includes bacon, sausages and other meats.  While at the Compound (we work from here on Thursdays), lunch was a “full meal deal” with mediterranean salad, fried shrimp, spagetti with meat sauce and two kinds of cheeses as well as cooked vegetables with cinnamon rolls for dessert (danish style so I still think mine are better)!  Dinner is similarly wonderful with two or three kinds of meat, usually a barbeque of some sort (lamb, chicken or beef), salad, vegetables, and dessert.  Last night we had chocolate cake!  With every meal Afghan bread is served which is a kind of foccacia–too dry for me especially when I have so many other wonderful choices.  Today, the cooks added garlic bread with the spagetti fare.  If I don’t gain five pounds, I will be surprised!  My bedroom is adjacent to the kitchen here on the Compound.  The door to my room opens onto the dining rooms which means that I can sneak out in the morning to grab a cup of hot water to make coffee from the VIA I brought.  The hot water is always available.  Tea is the national drink!  I just snapped a picture out my door and caught the cook’s assistant putting out dinner looks like bbq chicken!  Unfortunately, I will be taken out for dinner tonight—hopefully it will be better than the last time I went out where lasagne was served–which cost $10 and was not half as good as the food at the Compound.