Aisha’s Egypt: French Fry Farmers

Mar1

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Can you carry your plate of french fries
On your head to your dinner table?
A plate full of tasty french fries
Is a “fast” food in some places,
But it’s not so speedy, here in Egypt,
Where guiding a horse and tilling the field
Is the way potatoes make it to the plate.
 

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Can you see yourself clearing the field,
Collecting them one by one,
From the soil into your bucket?
Just imagine your daily life
Working as a french fry farmer –
No one pulls the bag from the freezer
Without someone harvesting potatoes.
 

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;^)

 
 
 
 

It’s spring again, as you can see by the blossoms on our neighbor’s peach trees in the field next to the potatoes!

Spring is when the work starts up again for farmers all over the world. Here in Egypt, I couldn’t help but be amazed by the incredible amount of hard work that goes into potato farming. Plowing up the potatoes with a horse, oh, I think I must never complain again about anything – nothing can be so difficult as this hard work! Watching all this makes me appreciate my food very much, especially my beloved french fries!

Thanks to all of you who have patiently endured my slow progress posting about life in Egypt. Things have been very hectic around the oasis, and came to a head lately with some very bad health troubles for my husband. But he’s pulling through, alhamdulillah thank God, and insha’Allah everything will be fine soon, as I slow down and give him the attention he needs. Your friendship, prayers and positive thoughts are deeply appreciated, and I hope you are all well and seeing the beautiful early signs of spring as life returns to warm our hearts!

β™₯β™₯β™₯
;^)

39 thoughts on “Aisha’s Egypt: French Fry Farmers”

  1. Hi Aisha!

    Sending best wishes and good health to you and your husband. Hope all goes well for you both.

    I love my French fries too! (We call them chips here in Australia). I allow myself fish and chips from my favourite fish and chip shop by the river once a week. I eat them as I watch the sun go down. 😊. Have a wonderful week. Cheers, Maria.

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  2. Hello Aisha, good to read about your oh-so-different life again. We too call them chips and I haven’t had any for ages – like Maria, I love fish and chips and our local chip shop fries them in beef dripping, the old fashioned way, so it has to be a very rare but extremely tasty treat! We live near farms too and here the rain has sometimes meant the whole crop is ruined as the fields are just like sponges full of water. But our farmers have tractors … I do hope your husband recovers fully and that you are able to enjoy life ot the full with him again soon.

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    • Wow, that sounds delish! Thanks for the great comment, yes, the life of a farmer is really precarious, isn’t it – like our health too for that matter, we never know what will happen next, but God willing it all works out fine and the sun shines again, right? Thanks so much for visiting me! β™₯β™₯β™₯;^)

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  4. Potatoes are one of the major crops of the valley where I now live. Even with more mechanized farming, they’re still a pretty labor intensive thing to grow. Sending my good thoughts to you and your husband in your oasis. ❀ ❀

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  7. oh that lovely tale of french fries…. sometimes when taking a packet out of freezer and putting fries in oven, we have no idea how much effort is hidden behind their making. beautiful words aisha, hope you are doing fine πŸ™‚ love xx

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    • Hi Sweet Lala, yes, it’s so true – I was guilty of this, and it was really amazing to find out the reality of how much work goes into making that bag of frozen fries! Love to you too, sweetheart ❀❀❀;^)

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  8. Hello Aisha, how wonderful to see you! ❀ I didn't really think about the work that goes into making those beloved french fries that I have in a bag in my freezer. Those photos and words are certainly telling me to be grateful for the food I have! As you say, it's not so much "fast" food, is it?!

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  11. Yes this is hard back breaking work Aisha, and often we overlook the amount of work that goes into Food and farming, especially in places where they are not automated with modern machines..
    I remember well my Mother telling us how in October they had potato picking week.. which is now Half term holiday.. But in my Mother’s day children would go into the fields and pick potatoes just as your picture shows..

    Sending love your way.. Blessings and Hugs Sue

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  12. Hello stranger!
    Nice to see you here again even for a while my sweet Aisha.Your well-written potato post made me think how ungrateful we are;we take everything for granted and we never think of those who work hard to satisfy our tastebuds … Beautiful expansive views over the potato fields and sweet your neighbours’ peach blossoms.Enjoy great sping moments!Sending Love & Blessings your way πŸ™‚ ❀
    PS:~ The word potato in Greek is foreign-brought,the proper word is (γΡώμηλο ),which is a compound word (earth+apple) ~

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    • Doda! So happy to see you, dearest Doda! Καλό γΡομηλο! Ξ›ΞŸΞ›! Happy spring potatoes, and lovely spring blossoms to you and your family too, I hope you are happy and doing very well! ❀❀❀🌻🌼🌹 ;^)

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  14. I love potatoes and your post is really awesome… πŸ™‚
    * * *
    speakin’ of French fries, I’ve recalled the w-bush & cheney administration with their lies, manipulations and fake wmd: after the opposition of the French Gov (and of 99% of the planet!) to the ILLEGAL invasion and occupation of Iraq, the DC-“smart folks” switched from French fries to… “freedom fries”!!! you do know that since March 2003, almost 200 000 civilians have been killed and Iraq has turned into a total chaos… 😦

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    • Yes, Melanie, sadly I do know this about the fries and the history of Iraq, and honestly I guess the number is much higher. It’s so disgusting what humans are capable of doing to each other… How smart we are… NOT. But pass the salt and vinegar and let’s have some french fries together… Some awesome french foie gras would be even better! ❀❀❀ ;^)

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  15. I love your photographs, they give us a glimpse of a world we don’t see often in Cairo. Great shots!

    I love french fries and was just talking about it over on my blog, about how I always have to start with my french fries before moving onto the burger! I seem to be the only person I know who does this! πŸ˜€

    Hope you are good, take care!

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    • Lol, I always eat my fries first too, they are better when they’re hot! If you wait till the Burger’s gone, the fries will be cold! I just thought everyone knew that, lol! Doin great here in the potato fields, how’s life in masr? Btw, do you know if the Carrefour in maadi is still open? I read on their fb page that it’s closed and cant find out the truth from anywhere online. They are still listed on the online flyers for Carrefour sales. I’m a quart low on carrefour oil and maadi would be convenient for a fillup! Peace and blessings! ❀❀❀;^)

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      • The sign was up last time I passed it, I’m not sure about the rumours. What about calling them? Or calling Maadi City Center, they should know if it’s open or not. I remember calling them once about something I lost there, so they should pick up. Good luck! πŸ™‚

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  16. I hope your husband is much better by now as this post is from quite some time ago! Lovely pictures thank you for sharing, something we take for granted. And I love that you are living in a rural part, as this is a side of Egypt that is more rare to get insider look on πŸ™‚

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