Fulfilling daily caloric requirements is another one of Egypt’s little challenges. The country’s two signature dishes, a fava bean stew called fuul and a mixture of pasta, rice, lentils, chickpeas and tomato sauce called koshary, disagree with my palette (put diplomatically). So it’s come to this: Many, many meals consisting of a heaping spoonful of 42-LE-per-jar ($7) Peter Pan whipped peanut butter on “Rich Bake” brown bread (or sometimes hamburger buns that are, somewhat disconcertingly, hamburger scented). For further nutritional satisfaction I turn to my old standby: Candy. Particularly, Mentos. The freshmaker is very popular in Egypt and comes in a near-rainbow of flavors; the classics like orange, strawberry and mint are present, as well as a delectable cherry varietal. My favorite, though, is the ever-fascinating “fresh cola” flavor. The taste of these often-stale brown dragees is indescribable — are they candy? Soda? Pepsi or Coke? Diet or regular? Both? Neither? Is that actual carbonation I detect? — and it has gotten to the point in which a [peanut butter and Rich Bake] meal is not a [peanut butter and Rich Bake] meal unless capped with a pack of them. There is also “Cool Cola” gum, but that is a whole other post. Stay tuned.