Food: My favorite subject

We had our first home cooked meal last evening. I know. You think I am cooking here and am becoming some gourmet chef. I really hate to burst your bubble, but it is not happening. I had good intentions and then other things got in the way. Last evening, our fellow Fulbrighter and J's very dear friend, Mohammed Maroof, invited us to his home for dinner. We made our way across Doha in a sandstorm that ended in a rainstorm, but the weather did not deter us. Mohammed's wife IS a gourmet cook, at least a Pakistani gourmet cook. It was wonderful. We must have had 10 different dishes - beef, chicken, salad, beans, sauces, rice, homemade bread. We had not had such a variety since I don't know when. The seasonings were great - tumeric (I believe), garlic, onion, a tomato base in many of the dishes, and "stuff" I had no idea what it was. Mrs. Mahroof speaks only Urdu, so I could not ask her how she made all this- but she could see our pleasure as we ate. She was lucky she did not speak english. I basically deposed her as I made my way through the various dishes and she just smiled and nodded. Kind of like what J. does when he wants me to think he is listening and he is not. So, my new favorite food is Pakistani food. Know any good restaurants in Illinois that serve Pakistani food? My sister and cousin Carole arrive in just a few hours. I may shut down my blog for a while as I play hostess. Actually, the State Department will be relieved that they do not have to monitor this blog for a while.