cmarchibald
Senior Cook
Well I joined yesterday and managed to jump right into a pile of discussions without finding this forum, first. So please allow me to introduce myself.
I am an American expat living and working in Kuwait, and I will be 33 next month. I have spent half my life overseas. My father was in the US Army and I grew up in Germany and the Pacific. Six years ago I left my life in Atlanta, GA and took a job as a civilian contractor working in Iraq. I worked there for 5.5 years and then left that company in October of last year to move to Kuwait. I now live here and work for a Kuwaiti company.
Thanks to my early exposure to other cultures, I have a deep appreciation for international cuisine. Since living in the Middle East and traveling extensively in Asia, my tastes have changed considerably in the last few years. The 5.5 years I spent in Iraq I wasn't able to cook at all....I lived in a small trailer on a military base and ate all my meals at the dining facility. Since moving to Kuwait I have jumped back into cooking with gusto. Embracing this rediscovered freedom and joy (I LOVE to cook!) has combined with some dietary changes I've made for health reasons. And that's why I came here.
I look up a lot of recipes online and depend heavily on the comments people leave about them, but going to a recipe site doesn't really give you good insight on how to cook and especially how to cook specific things. Some of my dietary restrictions have to do with food allergies, too. And because I am in the Middle East where certain things are illegal (alcohol, pork, etc) and certain things are simply not available (I can only buy one kind of tofu), or certain things are sold in packages with Arabic labeling that I cannot read.....I need lots of help.
So that's me. I've already found people here to be very friendly and very helpful. I'm glad I found this site and I look forward to conversing with you all further.
I am an American expat living and working in Kuwait, and I will be 33 next month. I have spent half my life overseas. My father was in the US Army and I grew up in Germany and the Pacific. Six years ago I left my life in Atlanta, GA and took a job as a civilian contractor working in Iraq. I worked there for 5.5 years and then left that company in October of last year to move to Kuwait. I now live here and work for a Kuwaiti company.
Thanks to my early exposure to other cultures, I have a deep appreciation for international cuisine. Since living in the Middle East and traveling extensively in Asia, my tastes have changed considerably in the last few years. The 5.5 years I spent in Iraq I wasn't able to cook at all....I lived in a small trailer on a military base and ate all my meals at the dining facility. Since moving to Kuwait I have jumped back into cooking with gusto. Embracing this rediscovered freedom and joy (I LOVE to cook!) has combined with some dietary changes I've made for health reasons. And that's why I came here.
I look up a lot of recipes online and depend heavily on the comments people leave about them, but going to a recipe site doesn't really give you good insight on how to cook and especially how to cook specific things. Some of my dietary restrictions have to do with food allergies, too. And because I am in the Middle East where certain things are illegal (alcohol, pork, etc) and certain things are simply not available (I can only buy one kind of tofu), or certain things are sold in packages with Arabic labeling that I cannot read.....I need lots of help.
So that's me. I've already found people here to be very friendly and very helpful. I'm glad I found this site and I look forward to conversing with you all further.
