Ladies Who Lunch

I was a little bit nervous about lunch in Andon, first because it was gender-segregated and I would be separated from Ahmad, but second because I didn't want to get sick! Luckily, I had a lovely time and so did my stomach!

All of the women headed next door to the neighbour's house, while the men stayed in the original house we were visiting. A long plastic table cloth (soffreh) was layed out and set with the obligatory fresh herbs (sabzeh).



It was a bit chilly but it was nice to eat al fresco. 


 The ladies were served gormeh sabzeh (which can be made vegetarian/vegan, but usually contains meat).  It's an Iranian stew served over rice.  With so many guests to serve, the rice is cooked in a huge pot that's brought right to the dining area:

(Notice that shoes are removed before you sit on the carpet to eat.)

Our hostess found out that I was vegetarian and went to the trouble of making me a separate dish, kookoo sabzi, (centre, below) which is one of my favourites (actually is there any vegetarian Iranian food that's not my favourite??).  It's a delicious spinach and herb-filled kind of frittata, but it's lighter than the traditional frittata or omelet.


My drink here is a freshly-mixed mint and yogurt drink called dough (pronounced doog).  Previously, I had only seen bottled dough in Iranian grocery stores but I didn't care for it as it's very sour.  This drink was fresh and light, a perfect accompaniment to a sunny outdoor lunch.

Where's Waldo in the Village of Andon?

This was my outfit for the trip:

The women are more conservative and religious in the villages, in general, so of course I stuck out like a sore thumb amidst all the black chadors (the black sheet, essentially, that the women wrap around themselves).  It wasn't really a problem, as I was still dressed acceptably in my long manteau (trench coat) and hijab.  Luckily, my sister-in-law gave me a more subdued hijab, as I had only brought brightly coloured ones, which would be inappropriate to wear outside during the holy days of Moharrem.

Even the young girls were wearing hijabs, even though it's only required at age 9:

This girl has a winnie the pooh hijab!

Here's me with some young teens in the village:

Spot the foreigner!

A lot of the women still wore the black chadors inside the house too:

The woman second from the left, who was our hostess, is wearing a house chador which is made of lighter fabric.  Often when women visit another home the hostess will offer one of these house chadors to wear instead of the heavier black chador. 

I even tried one on for fun:

After a little while visiting, the women wanted me to go in another room with them where they were more relaxed. 

They brought out cheetos (regular and crunchy), which they called by name....

(The father operates a convenience store out of part of his house). 

Then they showed me wedding photos and videos of a couple of recent family weddings, which seems to be a common occurrence in these women-only groups.  In the photos the women are unrecognizable because of all the heavy makeup.  They wear Western style dresses with lots of skin showing in the female-only section of the party.

The women were very friendly and eager to try to communicate even though some couldn't speak any English.

As we were leaving, our hostess asked me if in America they say "Death to Iran" like they say "Death to America" in Iran.  That was pretty funny!