Breakfast Harira

Posted by marocmama on May 12, 2011 in Moroccan Food | 4 comments

Six years ago, I boarded a plane and set off to spend my last spring break in Morocco.  A few months earlier I had met MarocBaba and decided that I needed to go back even if it was only for six days.  It wasn’t my first international trip but it was a little different.  We had only known each other three days and I was going to be staying with his family.  I was so excited to see him but very nervous about staying with his family.  What was appropriate?  How should I act?  What should I wear? Add on about 100 more questions to that list – if it weren’t for all the adrenaline of actually making the trip I’m sure I would have had a panic attack.

I remember vividly the first morning.  Flying low over Marrakech, waiting in an EXTREMELY long line for passport control and even more time waiting for my suitcase – all while my heart was pounding more than a million beats a minute.  The experience of entering the visitor’s hall to find MarocBaba standing there beaming is a once in the lifetime memory.    We rolled away in a taxi and pulled up to his house, where my heart started beating more – this time it was the panic attack starting up.  All went well, I settled in a bedroom and changed my clothes and then I was served this;

It’s the same soup from the top, and it was my first taste of “real” Moroccan food.  Not the tourist versions of famous Moroccan dishes we had been fed while on our tour.  MarocBaba simply calls it white harira, though I’m sure there’s another name for it.  I’ve got to be honest – I don’t like this.  I didn’t like it from the beginning and dumped a lot of sugar in hoping it might taste like Cream of Wheat (it didn’t).  BUT MarocBaba and our kids love it, so you should give it a chance.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of fine semolina
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp good quality olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 – 1 cup of milk

Directions

In a medium saucepan begin to heat water on medium-high heat.  Pour in the oil and slowly add the semolina and mix in using a whisk.  They key to this is a smooth texture so whisking while cooking is necessary.  Add the cumin, salt and pepper and continue to whisk.  Once the mixture starts to slowly bubble add half of the milk, turn down the heat to low and continue mixing.  The consistency of this is slightly thicker than a soup but should still be a liquid.  If it gets too tight, add more milk.  Cook on low for 1-2 minutes to blend flavors.

Serve in a bowl, sprinkled with cumin on top.  Dates are traditionally served on the side with a hot cup of mint tea.

Wordless Wednesday: The Sunshine State

Posted by marocmama on May 11, 2011 in All other posts | 2 comments

....until another time

Guest Post: Ifrane-Retreat in the Atlas Mountains

Posted by marocmama on May 10, 2011 in Culture | 4 comments

Today’s guest post comes from Nicole and Gary Winchester of CultureAddict/HistoryNerd a most awesome blog from the Toronto couple.  You can also find them on Twitter @addict_nerd.  They are sharing about their trip to Ifrane in northern Morocco. Thanks so much for sharing this with my readers Nicole and Gary!

Even after being in Morocco for less than 10 hours, we could tell Ifrane was different.  Our first clue was the peaceful stretch of the otherwise mildly terrifying hour-and-a-half ‘grand-taxi’ drive that took us through the National Reserve just east of town.  It was cool, leafy green, rocky and reminded me of Highway 7 on the way to Ottawa, on a section just before the turnoff to my old cottage in Marmora.  I miss it, so when we weren’t cursing the lack of seatbelts and holding on to the ‘holy s**t’ handles made of nylon straps, I was just taking in the scenery.

Ifrane is generally unexpectedly leafy and green; in summer, refreshingly cool compared to the rest of Morocco; in winter, there’s sometimes snow and there’s skiing just outside of town.  That’s what might have inspired its French architects to make it look rather like a village in the Alps – or if you’ve never been to one, what you imagine one might look like.

Back to School

It’s also a college town, home to Al-Akhawayn University (http://www.aui.ma/), founded by King Hassan II and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.  Our friend – the reason we were in Morocco, and frankly, the only reason we’d come to Ifrane in the first place – is a professor at the school, one of many foreigners from around the world hired to teach the best and brightest of the country.  Obviously, a tour of the school was on the list.  From the rather upscale cars of the students to the pseudo-Swiss-style buildings neatly laid our with tiled walkways between, Al-Akhawayn gives the impression of a small, prestigious, and pricey private university with a student body that fits accordingly – and that’s pretty much what it is.

Given that travelers rarely have the time or the excuse to access places of learning, it was pretty excellent that we were able to visit.  Staff and students welcomed us warmly, and we got a tour of Volubilis from a professor with over 30 years experience in the region – not bad!  We were also fortunate enough to be welcomed into the university’s mosque, which is a replica of the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech.  The assistant Imam was happy to show us around the spacious, peaceful rooms with intricate carvings.  Some people used the tranquility of the space to study, which made sense to me – besides, I’ve had a few exams that only divine intervention might have helped me pass.  Anyway, we were grateful to get an idea of what the larger mosque might be like.  Al-Akhawayn also helped Gary out when he got heat stroke – even in the mountains, that sun is no joke, you guys – and we’re also eternally grateful for that!

Stone Lion, Swampy Pond

Pretty much every Moroccan that’s been to Ifrane has a picture with this lion, so you should definitely stop by and get yours.  A prisoner carved the statue when Ifrane was used as a POW camp in World War II, commemorating the last wild Atlas lion, shot in the 1920s.  Kind of a sad story all around.  I wonder if someone’s made a movie of it.

Just a short walk from the lion and the main town square area, there’s a man-made pond called ‘Lac du Ifrane’, with walking paths around it – but there’s some issues with drainage, so the view is nice, but the smell is a little swampy.  You’ve been warned.

Food and Drink

As we were staying with our friend and his wife, we were treated to excellent Berber hospitality while at home, and generally good service when out in the restaurants.  Our friend Connell’s favorite place was Cafe la Paix (Av. de la Marché Verte, Ifrane), a large cafe with well-dressed waiters and a varied menu of soups, salads, pizzas, pastas and tagines.  We went there for a few lunches and had the pizzas and salads, finding both the service and food good for such a small town.

We also went out the Hotel des Perce Neige (Rue des Asphodeles, Ifrane) for a dinner with friends, and though the company was good and the restaurant was well-recommended, we had some difficulties and weren’t impressed.  Being vegetarian, I particularly had issues with getting something without meat or fish on it – even a salad.  If you’re heading there and have dietary needs, it would be ideal for you to speak French or Arabic to do the explaining yourself.  We did, however, try some of the excellent wines grown in the region.  Morocco does produce wine, and it’s not bad! I suggest checking some out.

Other Diversions

While we were in Ifrane, there were only a few souvenir shops, convenience stores, a pharmacy, a few other restaurants in the main town square area.  However, there’s also now a very well-reviewed luxury spa resort near the university – Hotel Michlifen Ifrane Suites & Spa.  That’s certain to appeal to wealthy day-trippers and parents off to visit their son or daughter for the weekend.  From the photos and the reviews, we’d love to visit ourselves – but the $230+ CDN/per night pricetag puts it a little beyond our reach.

A side trip we weren’t able to take was the short drive to Azrou to visit a local Berber carpet market about 1.5 km outside of town, held on Tuesdays.  We’d hoped to go carpet shopping in the hills and will make a point of doing so next time.

Ifrane is definitely quiet and off the beaten track, but doesn’t come more cheaply for all of that.  It’s worth seeing how Moroccans spend their vacations – if you can afford the time and money from yours to do so.

2009 Costs:
Grand Taxi from Meknes to Ifrane: $50 Dirham
Accommodations: Stayed w/friends
Average meal: $20-30 Dirhams per person

Have you been to Ifrane?  Would you like to visit?

Nutella Chip Cookies

Posted by marocmama on May 9, 2011 in American Food | 3 comments

Best. Cookies. Ever.  Chewy chocolate chip cookies are one of my very favorite things.  Out of desperation I rummaged through my cupboards in search of chocolate chips, only to find out that there weren’t any.  What to do, what to do?  Melt down a 1/4 jar of nutella and make Nutella chips of course!

How to make the Nutella “chips” is pretty easy.  I used 1/4 jar of Nutella and melted it in the microwave until it was very loose, but not burned.  Then sprayed a lipped cookie sheet with Pam Baking Spray (if you have a silicone mat, that would work great too).  Spread out the Nutella as evenly as possible on the cookie sheet and pop into the freezer.  It will need to be there overnight to harden up.  Once hard, remove and break into pieces quickly.  This will not stay frozen long so you must work fast.  Pop back into the freezer until ready to mix into cookie mix.

For the rest of the cookie I poked around and found The New York Times Thick and Gooey Chocolate Chip cookie.  I hate crunchy cookies – totally takes away from the point of a cookie in my opinion.  I was very optimistic about this recipe.  And it was a huge success.  Even as I was writing this and fixing the pictures M peeked over and said “You’re going to make those tonight right?”

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 8 ounces butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Broken apart Nutella piece

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. In a mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy, 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Add the flour mixture all at once and blend until a dough forms. Fold in the chocolate Nutella pieces. Chill the dough.

3. Roll 1/4 -cup lumps of dough into balls, then place on the baking sheet and flatten to 1/2 -inch-thick disks spaced 2 inches apart. Chill the dough between batches. Bake until the edges turn golden, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a baking rack.

You can let them cool if you want or eat them while hot with a big glass of cold milk.  Amazing!

Dorie’s Brioche

Posted by marocmama on May 6, 2011 in International Food | 2 comments

This is not healthy, this is not low fat.  This IS delicious.  Yeast breads and me haven’t really found our balance yet.  Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail when it comes to making this kind of bread.  I have been craving brioche in the worst way lately and it’s impossible to find where I live.  That left one option – make it myself.  So let me preface this by saying I felt like I was doomed to fail from the beginning because it was not warm in our house. Pretty tough to get dough to rise when the temperature is about 62F.  I made some bubble top brioche and I made one loaf.  The bubble-tops were a success the loaf was too dense.

I have this recipe in Dorie’s Around my French Table but luckily it’s also on Bon Appetit’s website.  (From bonappetit.com – recipe from Dorie Greenspan) Here’s how it went down.

My Bubble-Top Brioche - no picture of the flat loaf!

Ingredients

Preparation

Lentil Burgers

Posted by marocmama on May 5, 2011 in International Food | 8 comments

We’re working really hard to cut down our meat consumption for a few reasons.  One reason is that we buy free range organic meat and/or halal meat and it’s a bit pricier than your run of the mill meat.  We also are very aware that on a whole, society, especially in the US, eats way more meat than they need to.  Did you know animals eat 16 times as much grain as the meat they produce?  They also require a huge amount of water resources (something to the tune of 5,200 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef).  In order to be good stewards of the environment we must all make conscious decisions about the food choices we make.

Cutting out meat means being more creative in what I cook.  The great thing about Middle Eastern and Moroccan food is that a lot of it is heavy on vegetables to begin with.  Sometimes we have to be reminded how lucky we are to have so much meat at our disposal when much of the rest of the world is lucky to eat meat once a week or once a month.  In my quest to make tasty non-meat meals one of the recipes I came up with was for lentil burgers.

Ingredients

• 1 recipe of Moroccan lentils (leave off onions)
• 1/2 cup of frozen peas
• 2 baked, boiled or mashed potatoes
• 1/2 tsp harissa
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley or cilantro
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 medium cucumber grated
• feta cheese – as much or as little as you like
• 1/2 tsp cumin

Directions

Prepare lentils according to recipe and allow to cool, making sure the lentils are very soft.  In a large bowl mix the lentils and potatoes together.  Add the harissa, salt, garlic, parsley or cilantro, egg and bread crumbs.  Mix everything together.  If it is too wet add more bread crumbs.  If it isn’t holding together crack another egg and add a little egg-white at a time to create a consistency similar to a hamburger.  Defrost the peas and add in last.

In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil.  Form the lentil mixture into patties and place into hot oil.  Cook on each side 3-4 minutes until heated through and the patties are browned.  Remove from pan and blot off an excess oil (though there shouldn’t be much).

In a small bowl add the Greek yogurt, cucumbers, feta and cumin.  Mix well.

Place 1-2 patties on a plate and use yogurt mixture as a garnish.  Serve with a micro-green or spinach salad.  These also could be eaten on pita bread with a tangy goat cheese.

These were a great alternative to a hamburger or kefta sandwich.  I can’t wait to play around with this recipe more.

Wordless Wednesday: Kids Cook

Posted by marocmama on May 4, 2011 in All other posts | 0 comments

Look how cute – get your kids in the kitchen today and share your pics in the comments!

Guest Post: Desert Camping in Morocco

Posted by marocmama on May 3, 2011 in Culture | 4 comments

Our guest post today is from a friend who had the good fortune to spend several weeks in Morocco last fall including a visit to MarocBaba’s mom’s house for a home-cooked Moroccan meal!  Shelley Gable is an instructional designer who dabbles in freelance writing, including travel writing. She arranged the desert excursion through Journey Beyond Travel. You can find additional articles she has written about Morocco in the company’s Morocco Travel Guide.

Trekking among the Sahara’s Dunes

The idea of camping in the Sahara Desert conjured up exotic yet vague images of nylon zip-up tents with toasty sleeping bags, a glowing fire, bowls of couscous, and a guide telling stories in the middle of an open desert. For some reason, I took memories of camping in the woods of Wisconsin and plopped them against the backdrop of a generic desert scene, probably inspired by episodes of the Road Runner.

My husband and I spent three weeks in Morocco as a belated honeymoon over our first wedding anniversary. Though we explored much of the country independently, we treated ourselves to a private desert excursion for five days of our visit, which included one night under the stars among the Erg Chebbi sand dunes.

When we arrived at the desert’s edge by car, the guide who accompanied us for much of the excursion introduced us to our desert guide for that evening, Mohammad. They supervised as we eagerly mounted our single-humped camels. After securing our few overnight supplies, Mohammad grasped the cord connected to the lead camel’s nose and began walking our rope-linked caravan – my camel, my husband’s camel, and a supply-carrying camel – toward the dunes.

The airbrushed sand dunes against the evening sun and the desert’s enormity created an almost hypnotic effect. That is, until the camel broke the trance with a few jarring clomps down the first slope of the journey. Which corrected another of my misconceptions: riding a camel is not like riding a horse.

Riding a camel down a dune feels a little like the unexpected jolt of accidentally squeezing the front break on a bike…repeatedly. Even on level ground, a camel’s unsteady gait causes constant swaying. Despite that, the novelty of sitting perched atop a tall hump while easing into the Sahara makes the discomfort easy to ignore.

We reached our destination after 30 minutes of riding, and Mohammad immediately shooed us away to explore so that he could prepare the site and start dinner.

The cinnamon-and-sugar grains crunched under our shoes as we headed toward a nearby dune. If you’ve ever meandered across a beach, you know that the sand makes you work harder for each step. A sand dune taunts similarly, pushing the struggling climber’s foot a partial step back with each upward stride.

Fortunately, the panoramic views from the dune’s plateau made the ascent worthwhile. My husband and I gazed in all directions, admiring the expansiveness of our surroundings. Our campsite below, protected by two towering dunes, formed a U-shape with Bedouin-style tents. Like the nomadic tribe, we would sleep under the shelter of heavy wool fabric propped up by eight-foot beams.

The encroaching darkness eventually lured us down to the candlelit table in the middle of the campsite. Dinner turned out to be much more than the imagined bowl of couscous. Mohammad served a distinctly traditional spread of salad and tajine, followed by whole fruits for dessert. Overhead, the stars sparkled across the sky like a spilled crate of glitter. The moon rose much later, after it became sufficiently dark for a dramatic entrance.

The night was chilly and still. Though Mohammad told us that the desert hosts several camps every evening, some with nearly 100 travelers, we didn’t hear anyone else. Not even the pattering of a distant road runner.

This is MarocMama getting on a camel near Erg Chabbi

This is the part that is so not like riding a horse

Whew made it - check out those dunes!