The Pumpkin Bread Curse
Just as World War II GIs returned home with a taste for pizza and Vietnam vets must somehow be responsible for the post-millennium banh mi boom (I have to hold someone accountable even if it's a huge stretch), an entrepreneurial Lebanese-American woman, Denise Hazime, has set up a shawarma stand at a Camp Pendleton, California in hopes that Marines have developed a love of Arabic food.
So far, she has been right. The Wall St. Journal reports, "Marines returning from Iraq and the Persian Gulf were pining for pita, according to focus-group surveys conducted on the base."
Dede Med, as Ms. Hazime refers to herself online, is also a recipe blogger with a singular focus on Mediterranean cooking. Her husband, Crisantos Hajibrahim, may be a bit controlling but he's vigilant and social media savvy!
"Each night, Mr. Hajibrahim logs onto his computer from the couple's small apartment and searches Arabic food recipes to see where his wife ranks. 'I watch for threats,' he says. Mr. Hajibrahim was briefly concerned about one online competitor, but stood down after the contender 'made a critical mistake. She deviated to pumpkin bread.' Mr. Hajibrahim says he won't let his wife post anything but Middle Eastern recipes. 'You must specialize,' he says.
Ah…pumpkin bread…amateur mistake.
Photo by Lance Cpl. Mike Atchue
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