Souk Part II: The Green Hand

(above: Images of Souk El-Tayeb. Some honey, fresh from the bees in the frame! A bag of organic zaatar--ground thyme with sumac and sesame. Some little flower-shaped cookies in festive packages.)

What, you ask, is the Green Hand? Don't worry--it's not a new militia, disease, or political party. It is a really friendly little NPO/NGO (non-profit/non-governmental organization) that I just learned about today on my return trip to Souk El-Tayeb. I sidled up to a table laden with nice-looking jams and pickles, and was immediately greeted by a very friendly fellow who spoke very good English (he told me his name, but I'm still having a hard time understanding and retaining Arabic names unless they're spelled out for me). At first I thought that he was a very pushy salesperson, which is odd at the Souk, but after chatting for I bit I learned that this was the Green Hand's first time back at the Souk after staying away for a couple years after the 2006 war, and he was just really excited about it. One of the Green Hand's programs is called 'Green Home,' where they train poor families how to make and package crafts and natural food items for sale. All the yummy desserts, jams, dried figs, etc. on their tables at the Souk are the only sources of income for the people who were selling them.
 
Before he started explaining all this to me, Green Hand Guy insisted I sample something that looked like mush with onions on it. He gave me a little dish of the bulgur/goat's milk yogurt/mystery flour mush with some fried onions on top, and some bread to eat it with, and I must say it was excellent. While I was still chowing down, a Green Hand Gal (whose name, which I don't recall, means 'flower' in Arabic) offered to explain what was in all the jars and bottles on their tables. She pointed out pistachio jam, jars of preserved figs, and even some preserved pumpkins! She said that up in the mountains, it is cool enough to grow pumpkins. Who knew?
 
Green Hand Gal is a social worker by day, but spends a lot of her time keeping the Green Hand projects going. She gave me a little printed summary of all their projects. In addition to promoting local, natural, and organic food production, the group is trying to preserve Lebanon's forests, encourage recycling, reduce traffic accidents, and get the Lebanese to stop smoking. They have their work cut out for them, that's all I can say.
 
By this time I had finished the surprisingly tasty mush, and Green Hand Guy immediately handed me two little desserts: one little lump of something like bread dough with a sweet sauce, and one delicious, flaky thing that tasted a bit like baklava. While I inhaled those, he asked what I was doing in Lebanon and I told him about my AUB job. Turns out he has a Master's degree in Organic Chemistry and spends his time helping the farmers to restore their soils to health by using natural additives and encouraging a return to traditional farming practices. Cool!
 
After I'd finished the desserts, GH Gal handed me a tiny cup full of a clear, cold, brownish liquid. I asked what it was, and she said 'just taste it!' I did, and the only thing that came close to describing the taste was molasses diluted with water. But no: it was what you get when you mash up grapes and boil them down to a very sweet, thick, concentrated sludge (which they had in jars), and then reconstitute it. It was very odd. Think raisin-flavored Kool Aid. I asked if there were any additives, and GH Guy said 'Just in the soil,' as the drink itself was pure concentrated grapes.
 
I decided it was time to get out of there before they fed me anything else. I bought a few yummy desserts from one of their 'Green Home' producers, and wandered off to another part of the Souk.
 
Right before I left, I stopped at a different booth and bought a piece of vegetarian kibbeh, which is usually made with bulgur and ground meat. This one was bulgur, veggies, and pomegranate seeds. Yum! I also got two balls of veggie kibbeh (baked inside a sphere of bread) to take home (they did make it home, but didn't last long!) As the lady there was getting my stuff for me, Green Hand Guy appeared from nowhere, snuck up behind her and said to me with a big grin, 'Hey, you're not buying from HER are you?!' Turns out GHGuy and Kibbeh Lady are best buddies from when the Green Hand used to be at the Souk every week before the 2006 war. Kibbeh Lady tried to get him to 'Eat!' and he kept saying 'no, no' and making funny bloated-looking faces at her. They were still goofing around as I paid her. As I turned to walk away, she pressed a paper-wrapped puff pastry filled with veggies into my hand. I ate it slowly as I strolled past the blue-domed mosque and thought about how full I felt after my second visit to the Souk El Tayeb.