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The Bakla family likes to eat breakfast together every day. A full meal may include fried eggs with sausage, homemade cheese and yogurt, and borek, a thin, flaky dough stuffed with cheese, spinach or potatoes — also homemade. Fresh baked bread typically accompanies a tray filled with olives, jams, sweet halva, honey and other treats imported from the Middle East. Then there are the staples of Middle Eastern produce, like tomatoes, cucumbers and watermelon in the summertime.
A spread isn’t feasible every day, with everyone’s busy schedules. But bread, cheese, jam, cucumbers and tomatoes are always on the table, Ilyas Bakla told the Nashville Banner.
Tea is also essential, usually black tea served in a samovar with cardamom. The family also enjoys a traditional apple tea brewed from the dried fruit. Ilyas himself drinks tea at least three times a day.
“If I don’t drink a cup of tea, it’s like I have something missing in my life,” he said.