The Desert For Breakfast

A precocious girl accompanies a zany alchemist for an eccentric breakfast in the desert.

 “This? This is what we’re eating?”

It's the middle of a desert.

A man and a little girl stand gazing at the barren vastness.

The question was asked by perplexed Ana. 12 years of skepticism, sandy blonde pigtails, and a blue sundress draped with a white scarf.

A tall, wiry man—known only as Dode—nodded. He wears steampunk goggles, a long white coat and a wide grin on his face.

“Yes! You’ll love it!”

Ana groans as Dode starts shoveling sand into a burlap sack. One of four.

Ana reluctantly helps him.

***

The wide clear blue sky charms the early morn as they drag bloated burlap sacks back to the camp site.

Fat burlap sacks fall on the hard brown ground. Dode stacks the final one next to the others. They’re all stacked next to a grinder. It looks like a manual coffee grinder but 2 sizes bigger.

The camp site is reminiscent of historical ruins: broken towers, cracked bricks and vases – dull and dusty, a couple palm trees, bushes, mats and a tent. Junk items strewn about and a fireplace.

It’s like a little rustic magic oasis, all basic and humble materials.

Ana sits, panting next to a vase of water.

A shadow casts over her.

“Are you ready?” Dode asks, with his ever-present excited grin.

“Ready? For what?”

“Sand sorting of course!”

Ana just stares.

Dode continues, “You don’t expect all this sand to be of the quality we need for an magnificent breakfast!”

“And how do we… sort… this sand?” Ana asks.

He bends closer to her, right in her face, and says under his breath, “Come. See.”

Later, they’re standing in front of mounds of sand laid out across a tarp. The empty burlap sacks are off to the side.

Ana is rubbing her little 12-year-old fingers on her temples like she’s 40 dealing with a hyper energetic child.

For the first time, Dode acts like he notices her mood…

... By laughing at her.

“You need not be so down at everything, little Ana.”

She looks up at him stiffly.

He continues, “It really is an enjoyable process. I’m just happy to have all this sand.”

Minutes later, they’re both hunched over piles of sand, sweeping through it with sieves attached to long sticks. Ana struggles and grunts as she rage rams the stick through the sand.

Dode laughs.

When they’re done, there are two heaps.

“So, this is the bad bunch,” Dode says, pointing to the smaller of the two heaps, “And this batch, this is the exquisite quality we shall be using.” He says, gesturing to the larger batch.

“What?!” Ana storms toward him, “They look exactly the same!” She throws up her hands in incredulity.

“Hehheh, they sure are not!” He picks up a single grain of sand, pulls a cylindrical tool out of his hand. It’s a magnifier. They both stare through it at a grain of sand. It’s dazzling.

“See that?”

“Yeh…”

“Watch this.”

He picks up another grain of sand, this time from the reject pile. They both stare through the magnifier. It’s just a regular grain of sand.

“It’s not dazzling!” Ana says.

“That’s right. These dandy sweepers sort the sand by energy, it picks out the dazzlers from the not so bright.”

Ana is stunned into silence. Her face slowly relaxes into resolve.

***

They stand in front of a barrel of sand and a big grinder fastened to a long, very short table. The type for sitting on the ground cross-legged.

“So here we are! This is the best part. This is where you truly are going to understand. Why I am happy... for sand.”

He turns to her, with widened shimmering eyes.

“Ready?”

Ana slowly nods.

It happens so quickly: he scoops sand from the barrel into the grinder and, in puffs of smoke and sparks, trays, dishes, and plates of food slide down onto the table in a delicious breakfast buffet.

There are large, decorative trays of silver, copper, and wood boasting a wide variety of breads.

Soft white bread, thin flatbread (lavash), flatbread peppered with herbs (za'atar Man’oushe). 

Small ceramic bowls holding spice mixtures and blends of herbs and toasted sesame seeds, and a coarse blend of dried sour berries (sumac). Tangy sumac and herb blend and other spices on Navajo flatbread. Pita bread to be dipped first in bowl of olive oil and then in spices.

The trays are on beautiful traditional towels with intricate motifs.

Shiny trays on top of small fabrics and towels marked with geometric symbols. Copper, gold, silver, green, brown, clay, porcelain, ceramics, zamac.

Round, wavy, rectangular, square, rigid-- with intricate patterns and captivating artistry.

Many plates with different dishes.

 

Stacks of vanilla pancakes, bowls with boiled potatoes, boiled eggs, Falafel balls, more breads—flaky ones, whole wheat,  crackers, topped with seeds, nuts, and herbs. Samoon, barbari, sangak, naan, khubz, manakeesh.

Variety of small dishes holding creams, jams, and dips.

Cocoa cream, sarshir clotted cream. Carrot jam, sour cherry jam, quince jam, honey, honeycombs, sweet tahini paste, kaymak sour whipped cream spread, butter, hummus, fava bean dips (Ful Mudammas), and citrus jams (Balang jam).

A host of cheeses. Feta, cream cheese, sheep milk cheese (Lighvan), curd cheese, string cheese (chechil), chicken and beef baloney, dry beef sausage (sujuk), thick and creamy yogurt-cheese-like dip (Labneh), yogurts topped with grapes, figs, and mint leaves. 

Platters of veggies. Cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, dressings, garden cress, arugula.

Bowls of dried fruit and nuts, including pistachios, hazelnuts, pecans, and more, roasted, salted, smoked, sweetened, and raw.

Fresh olives, variety of fruits including fresh Apricots and Pomegranate.

Porridges and soups, like rice milk porridge, and bean stew with simmering tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices and gently poached eggs.

Cakes and confectionaries, sweet pastries, made with nut butters and flours, biscuits.

Finally, out came the hot beverages, coffees and teas.

Ornate tea pots similar to traditional Arabic dallah designs, and traditional Turkish ibrik designs. Shiny copper and silver.

They hold herbal teas, dark and light coffees, and aromatic coffee drinks simmered with spices like cardamom and saffron.

Copper pitchers and jugs of juices were the last items to come out of the grinder sliding down to its place on the table. Carafes with decorative motifs and vases.

Juices of all kinds. Carrot juice, fresh pomegranate juice, mint-lemon, apricot, apricot-peach, carob juice, tamarind-dates, date syrup-rose water, and more.

As the barrel is emptied, with nothing but a few grains of sand remaining, Ana picks a single grain up.

One tiny grain of sand.

Dode stands proudly watching the marvelous breakfast spread.

Mideast magic breakfast buffet short long table with mats to sit on.  soft rays of sunlight shine on it small white butterflies flutter about it dazzles in the soft sun streaks.

“It’s the little things that count,” he says.

Ana watches the grain of sand in her hand, then lowers it down admiring the vast spread, and grins in wonder.

“The little things you should be happy for.” Dode says.

Later

They feast with four more people dressed in head wraps and long loose robes. Camels sit about saddled on the camp site.

Ana sits next to Dode.

She is now fully animated and excited.

“So, what task do we have to do next?”

Dode smiles at her as they continue to eat.

 

The End.