But no honey...

So I was hanging out with two of the ladies from our apartment building outside, and we were talking about food. The conversation started out with questions about what I eat. (Weight and food are favorite topics anytime here). I said we eat alot of chicken. A while later, one of the ladies brought out a baked/sauteed (how do I spell that?) vegetable dish. I tend to eat slower than the average local, so of course the topic of conversation was about me eating more and faster.

Finally, an hour later, I said I had to go in and fix dinner. The obvious question: "What are you making?" In my head I thought, "Oh no, how do I explain this one?" You see, I'd had a heads-up from a friend that the locals don't really like or understand putting sweet and salty things together, and I was making crunchy honey mustard chicken. So I said "I'm making chicken." "What kind of chicken?" "Chicken with...sauce...and um, you know that stuff kids eat for breakfast that's, um, corn?" (Luckily they guessed CornFlakes and I recognized the word.) "I [mime "crush"] those and put it on the chicken. Kinda like Burger King, but alot different." "Tomato and pepper sauce?" "No..." "Then what's in the sauce?" (Here goes...) "Mayonez, mustard, honey." In the next ten minutes both ladies insisted that 1. it's ok to like Mayo, but not on chicken. Only on certain kinds of salad. 2. I should make chicken tava (baked with veggies, very yummy, by the way). 3. Honey olmaz. That means something like "impossible," "can't be," "doesn't exist."

The next thing I knew, I was having both ladies up to my kitchen to show me how to make it their way. Cut up chicken, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, onion, etc. Season with a little tomato paste and black and red pepper. Cook 'till done. But absolutely don't use honey!