Ethiopian Cuisine

Hey everyone!  How are you today?  Well, good news- I got everything accomplished I needed and wanted to do yesterday.  I was home in time to take care of miss Sadie, then I ran to the gym, took my Body Works class, ran back home and got ready for my sister's birthday dinner!

Birthdays are the best!  I guess I was feeling the pressure, because I ran the three miles to and from the gym faster than normal!  3.00m in 29:31!

I "sprinted" the last .15 miles, hence the 8'02" speed you see.  Definitely not that fast normally...

Dinner was absolutely fantastic.  I mentioned yesterday that I'd never had Ethiopian food before, but I have to correct myself!  I actually enjoyed some at one of the Atlanta Underground Markets several months ago.  Once they brought out our food, I immediately recognized the distinctive bread and got really excited.  All of us who tried Ethiopian at the AUM unanimously claimed it was the best dish there (aside from our beloved arepas). 

For those of you wondering, Ethiopian food is really interesting and also quite delicious!  I would highly recommend trying it if you haven't yet.  If you're in the Atlanta area, we went to Bahel.  The cuisine is fairly spicy, but not so much hot-spicy as flavorful spicy.  The dishes are served family style with Injera bread which you use to pick up your food.  No utensils!  Each dish we ordered was a version of Ethiopian "Tibs" which are essentially a meat-based dish with sauce, spices and occasionally vegetables.  We enjoyed the lamb, chicken and beef tibs each with vegetables and a salad in the middle.

Injera Bread close-up!

The salad tasted like it had Italian dressing on it to me, but it went really well with the spices in the meat dishes.  I really enjoyed picking up a bit of meat and a bit of salad and eating them in the same bite.  Our table eventually decided we thought the dishes tasted like a yummy mix between Indian and Mexican food.  If you try it, let me know what you think!  Our consensus?  Delicious!

Not only was it fun to eat with our hands, but the company was, of course, wonderful.  We had a great time chatting and chowing down.  My sister has introduced me to so many new foods (I had never tried Indian food until one of her birthday dinners a few years ago) and I am so appreciative to her for helping me branch out.  Her husband and friends are so much fun to hang out with, so I'm really glad she includes me in her birthday celebrations!

LtoR: Steven (Sister's hubby), Anne (my sister), me and Mostafa

We'll be celebrating again on Saturday since not everyone could make it to a Wednesday night dinner, so I'm looking forward to seeing a bunch of her other friends then. :]

They all went out for dessert after dinner, but I had to head home since it was already 9:30 and they were going to a place about half an hour from where I live.  Cake will be had again Saturday though!

Tonight, I've got an appointment at 6 and then I'll head home and either start making dinner or go for a run.  I haven't decided yet if I want to switch today with Friday for my rest day this week.  I went to the chiropractor this morning, so it was a little hard to get my run in and that all before work.   We'll just see what the evening holds!

I hope you're having a wonderful Thursday!  I'm off to Chipotle to cash in on the free chips & guac coupon they put in my mailbox. ;]

Of possible interest:
How to Eat Like an Olympian

See ya tomorrow!  Friday, hooray!!!