Serene travels back to her home country of Lebanon once very 3-5 years. It is difficult for her to get back home because of her busy schedule and the distance between Florida and Lebanon. It is even more difficult for her other family members to be in Lebanon the same time as Serene. However, this special occasion occurs every so often, and is an event that Serene never forgets.
The Dinner:
When Serene was younger, she would not appreciate the food and the occasion. She would complain and woul be impatient. Now however, she helps her grandmother prepare the food. There are some very interesting dishes that Serene and her family cook and create for this occasion.
First, there is kibbeh. It is basically cracked wheat with a lot of ground meat inside of it. The meat is mixed with onions and spices and is torpedo shaped. First, Serene morphs the wheat into a torpedo shape, then creates the ball and stuffs it inside of the wheat. Her grandma and her make a lot of them. They take half of the Kibbeh and put it into a new dish, lebben. Lebben is described as being similar to a yogurt, and is filled with kibbeh.
Another notable dish is tabbouleh. It is made of tomatoes, chopped parsley, olive oil, mint, onion and also uses a ‘bulgur’ (a type of wheat). Serene really enjoys this dish. She helps her grandma cook it. After they cook it, they take it into the living room, because the kitchen is too small. Serene and her grandma also make a chicken and rice dish. Serene enjoys this dish with mango juice and water. On the side of this dish, there is hummus and chickpeas. Also, her grandma squeezes her own orange juice, which Serene dislikes, as she doesn’t like the taste of pulp.
Some other dishes that are prepared for this meal are stuffed grape leaves. In order to make these, Serene lays the leaves out for a long time, then her grandma makes a mixture of rice, tomatoes and onions. Then she uses that mixture and puts them on the leaves. Then, she wraps them into long tubes, so they look sort of like an egg roll.
Serene gets really full during the dinner, as there is a lot of food. After the dinner, there is a lot of food left. In fact, Serene says that the left over food could last for up to a week.
Serene’s Thoughts Towards The Dinner:
Serene describes the dinner as really loud because of all the adults talking. Sometimes, when it gets too loud, Serene goes to her room or plays with her cousins. She also says that it is a daunting task to look after all her younger cousins and keep them entertained/make them stop fighting while they are all under the same roof. She also can be a bit worried that she won't be able to keep the conversation going with her family as she has not seen them in a while. She also does not like cleaning up after everyone that goes home since her cousins probably threw food around and stained the carpets. However, Serene describes the dinner as a whole as ‘happy’ and ‘fun’, and always looks forward to the next one.
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