Comfort Food For The Soul By Mama Waffa

Nobody is sure how old Mama Waffah is. In the village she grew up in, most women gave birth at home under the watchful gaze of midwives because the nearest hospital was 30 kilometers away. Out there, birth certificates weren't very common, so most people, including me, could only guess at how old she is. The best thing people liked about Mama Waffa was that she has a plethora of information about food, raising children and a herbal cure for every ailment under the sky.

I became pregnant with Leonardo after we immigrated to Istanbul. A little after he turned five, he stopped eating vegetables. Any dish which looked even remotely healthy or had a bit of greens in it was rejected without tasting. This was all very nerve-wracking for a first time mama, especially when my recently adopted daughter, Jia, who worshipped the ground her older brother walked on, followed suit.

I tried pretty much everything- or as much as my tired brain was capable of- after my part time job at the Blue cross office. When I left them in the hands of Rita, their caretaker, she had the same thing to report. He wouldn't eat anything besides chicken nuggets.

''Yuck, I'm not eating that!''

The dish he was looking at, while screwing up his face, was shawarma. I had spent two hours trying to make sure it was palatable. Finally, at my wits end, I tearfully contacted Mama Waffa (my adopted mother's best friend) and asked her for her advice.

She had raised her siblings as well as helped my mother raise me so she had a lot of knowledge about children. She didn't comment on the issue then- she only said she will call me again after she had thought about it some more.

I had almost forgotten the issue of the kids being picky and not eating the food that was served, so it was with quite a bit of surprise when I found her on my doorstep- an old cloth bag was in her hand and a wide smile on her face.

My astonishment quickly turned into tears of happiness as I hugged her. She wouldn't travel for anything and now a surprise visit out of the blue? I was ecstatic. After she settled in and met with the kids, she immediately headed for the kitchen.

She made a delicious Turkish yoghurt soup with lamb (you can add chicken instead of lamb), chickpeas and rice.

Turkish Yoghurt Soup

Time to cook: 3 hours

Temperature: 300 F

Ingredients

Rice: preferably basmati or any long grain.

Yogurt: we need plain yogurt, preferably Greek yogurt.

Eggs: 1

Flour: 2 spoonful

Butter or ghee: 2 teaspoons

Dried mint: 1 teaspoon

Soup

1. Place all soup ingredients in food processor or blender; process until smooth and creamy.

2. Place 1 lb 4 oz (4 1/2 cups) of mixture in covered container; store in refrigerator until serving.

3. Use remaining yoghurt mixture for lamb marinade.

LAMB MARINADE

4. Add oregano, rosemary and 2 1/2 Tbsp parsley to remaining yoghurt mixture.

5. Pierce lamb with 1-inch incisions; insert slivers of garlic in openings.

6. Place lamb in large food-safe plastic bag; pour yoghurt mixture with herbs over lamb.

7. Seal bag, removing air and rotate to completely coat lamb with marinade and refrigerate for a few hours.

FINISHING

9. Remove lamb from bag and discard remaining marinade.

10. Pat lamb dry and place in roasting pan, fat side up; drizzle with oil and sprinkle with black pepper.

11. Add water to pan and cover with foil. Bake as directed below until meat is very tender and easily falls apart; add more water to pan if necessary.

12. Remove from oven and keep covered while resting 30 minutes; remove from pan and shred into pieces.

13. Skim fat from pan juices; return shredded lamb to pan.

14. Keep warm until serving or cover and refrigerate.

Before I became Lee's mother, I had dreamt to be the perfect, health conscious mom that my children deserved. I spent most of my pregnancy watching Youtube videos and scribing cooking ideas in my personal diary.

I craved spicy food with a vengeance during the fourth trimester. hence, Ron and me spent most of the time in the kitchen cooking delicious spicy food.

Things changed when Leonardo came into the picture. His packed lunches had to be specific. He rejected ethnic food and craved chicken nuggets- much to my dismay because both me and Ron abhorred fast food. When Mama Waffa came to the rescue, she slowly reeled Leo in to ethnic food by the stories he loved so much. Before she cooked the yoghurt food, she explained the history and ingredients to him lovingly.

You would think a child his age wouldn't be interested in learning more about history, but that wasn't the case with Leo. Slowly, he started eating again.

Gradually, with the help of Mama Waffa, and my own hard work Leo started asking for ethnic and healthy food again. This development brought him closer to his roots and the culture of his parents that he now knew more about.

Sometimes Mama Waffa calls me and asks about the children. We reminisce the picky eater days of Leo together- a mother to another mother- because even though Mama Waffa is old, and her children are living in other countries, she is still as much of mother as me.

''What else did you tell Leo to convince him to eat his food, Mama?''

''Oh, I just told them I don't eat vegetables so even though I'm as old as his mother I look better.'' Mama Waffa chuckled.

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