Review: The Underside of Joy

Posted by marocmama on Jan 19, 2012 in Reviews | 0 comments

This month I’m participating in the BlogHer Book Club and the selection was The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson.  As I’ve shared a few times on here I am an avid reader.  That being said this is not the type of book I normally pick up.  I like sticking to old favorites like historical fiction, world literature and some political novels.  There was however something about the preview of this book that made me intrigued.  Of course initially I’m sure it was the mother angle.  Second, the loss of a love.  Though I can’t fathom losing someone so close to me (like a husband) the emotional connection Ella is described as having with Joe (the two main characters) really hit home. So when the advance copy of the book showed up I was excited to dig in and see where the story took me.
 

In one evening I read half of the book, promising myself just one more chapter but as each unfolded I kept making and breaking the promise.  Then I got to the hard part.  I don’t want to give it away because I want you to read this book, but it involves the custody of Joe’s two children.  I put it down.  I left it on my nightstand for weeks.  I don’t think I wanted to wade into those waters.  However, I had to finish it so I dutifully picked it back up this weekend and fought my way through the rest.  It was emotionally crushing to me and I cried through many pages.  When I was finished with the book there was still a heavy weight on my chest.
 

I can say aside from the apparent questions that are raised in this book there was another theme that stuck out to me.  Having married into another culture and living in a certain way I felt that many of the struggles Ella goes through can be correlated to raising children between two cultures. Both parents have a strong sense of the proper protocol for child-rearing and also have bias’ to the right and wrong things that should be done.  Fighting, quarreling, and even removal of the child from the “harmful” practices of the other culture can occur.  Then, more often than not something happens to trigger a wake-up call.  Both parties come to realize that really no one is right and the only one losing in the bickering is the child.  They overcome the prejudices and bias to make a better choice that will have a positive affect on their child.
 

I don’t want to give away the plot or the entire story because this really is a good read. If you’re a mom (or just a person with feelings!), if you like books set in fantastic places, or you’re a foodie like me, you’ll find something in this book that you can relate to.  Pick up this book – you can get it for your Kindle right now!  Then come and join me on the BlogHer discussion board where there will be great discussions going all month about this book.  You can also find an excerpt from the book and an interview with the author here.  I’ll see you there (remember my handle is marocmama – watch for me!)
 

I was compensated for participating in this review and received and advance copy of this book.  The opinions expressed in this review are all my own.  As always I strive to be open and transparent with my readers and do not endorse books or products I do not believe in. 

Mourad: New Moroccan – A Review

Posted by marocmama on Dec 1, 2011 in Reviews | 2 comments

This is truly a Moroccan cookbook love year.  First it was Paula Wolfert’s Food of Morocco and then Mourad: New Moroccan from Mourad Lahlou. There have been many articles like this one, and this one, and this one, in the press about the way that each of these authors present Moroccan food.  It boils down to this.  Paula presents authentic traditional food, the food that I’m going to find on my mother in law’s table and the only way MarocBaba thinks of the food of his homeland.  Mourad presents Moroccan food the way I dream it could be.

Mr. Lahlou is a Marrakech native (added plus) and his book is full of images from all over the country but especially Marrakech, a fact that I adore.  (If you check out page 248 the olive stall he’s buying from is the same one I bought my olives at during our last trip.  The gentlemen operating the booth was a sweetheart and held my 5 kilos of olives while we finished shopping!) He owns and is head chef of Aziza in San Francisco and took on Cat Cora in 2009 in Battle Redfish on Iron Chef America - winning by the largest margin in the shows’ history! His cookbook embraces the technique he employs at his restaurant.  Lahlou is a self-trained chef and originally began cooking Moroccan food as a way to combat homesickness when he was an economics student in the US.

The firs thing that struck me about this cookbook is its structure.  The first one-hundred pages of the book tell his story and give you the basics.   It includes text about and instructions on how to make staples such as spices, how make preserved lemons, harissa, and couscous.  These aren’t full blown meals but a how-to to begin preparing your kitchen to make the items that will come later.  As someone who cooks Moroccan food very regularly I skimmed this section but have 99% of these things on hand already. But, for someone who wants to stock their kitchen with all of these items, and doesn’t want to pay premium price for them pre-made, this section will be a lifesaver!

Things then progress to the bigger and more complex recipes.  I love the cheeky chapter titles like; “Back to the Beldi,” “Sides, Front, and Center,” and “Tea and Me.” Mourad covers all of the bases from appetizers to really lovely desserts.  But they are not traditional Moroccan recipes and in many cases I think they are even better.  He writes from where he is (which is California) the ingredients available are of course different than they are in Morocco.  Instead of trying to substitute or hunt down the actual ingredient, or grow it himself he re-creates dishes with what is available.  Something I’d be remiss not to note is that there is very little frying of food in this book, making the dishes in my opinion healthier than a lot of traditional Moroccan fare.

Above all what I can appreciate about this cookbook – I can make anything and eat it.  There’s no pork in any of the ingredients. Early in the book he does state that he cooks with wine making sure to cook off the alcohol.  I’ve heard debates about whether or not all alcohol is cooked off when heated. So you’ll have to be your own judge on that issue. Just to further in debt me to him, on page 267 there’s a recipe for lamb bacon!  He writes “Not serving pork at the restaurant but wanting to experience the magic of bacon everyone’s talking about …” let me sing his praises for giving us a bacon recipe!  Here are a few more of the recipes that caught my eye.

• Short Rib Tangia, aged butter, and preserved lemons  p 278
• Almond Cake, Plum Sorbet, Cardamom Yogurt, Toasted Almonds p 314
• Black Cod, Potatoes, Saffron Broth  p 224

Eid Favorites Sent Via Touchnote

Posted by marocmama on Nov 7, 2011 in Reviews | 0 comments

Eid Mubarak! I’ve had a really busy weekend and I’m sure that many of you have as well.  I wanted to just share a really quick idea that I had today.  Because it’s a holiday I did a lot of cooking and a lot of sharing of foods I have made.  Inevitable someone always asks for the recipe for something.  Typically we’re not somewhere that there is a paper and pen nearby.  However I always have my phone.  Here’s where my great idea came in.

A few weeks ago I wrote about Touchnote, a smartphone (or desktop) app that let’s you send postcards using your own pictures.  So instead of trying to find a scrap of paper and write down a recipe I decided to snap a picture and upload it to Touchnote.

I then make a note on the message page to insert the recipe, move forward to the final screen to type in the person’s address. Then  I can take the time to add in the recipe as I have time and send. In a few days they will receive the postcard in the mail, the image serving as a reminder of the dish and the recipe complete on the back.

This is a fun way to share recipes with those who have enjoyed items you have made.  The more that I play with Touchnote the more ways I’m finding to use it besides just sending a simple picture!

Find out more about Touchnote in these ways;

What do you think about this idea?  Wouldn’t it be fun to find a new recipe in your mail instead of a bill?

Disclosure: I was selected for this campaign by American Muslim Mom Media Network, and received products free of charge. The thoughts and opinions of this campaign as always are my own.

Ramadan Ready: Seneca Farms Fruit and Oatmeal

Posted by marocmama on Jul 22, 2011 in American Food, Contests and Giveaways | 6 comments

Ramadan is about a week away and I’ve been busy starting to cook and freeze some of our staples for the month.  One thing that I always struggle with is eating breakfast.  During this month Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset, and with this holiday falling in the summer that length of time is even longer.  I am so guilty of not waking up to eat breakfast or suhoor.  Call me lazy but when I know I have to get up early and get to work all day I just can’t get myself to eat breakfast at 3am.  I’m really not much of a breakfast person anytime but especially not during this month.
 
I had the opportunity to try out Seneca Farms Fruit & Oatmeal this week and am really excited that this might make my upcoming month (and life!) easier.  On Monday I was running out to work late after being gone to Midwest Mom’s Media in Chicago all weekend.  I grabbed a container of oatmeal, tossed it in my purse, and crossed my fingers that I might get the chance to eat it.  By 10:30 my day had slowed down enough that I was able to heat it up and try it out.  I was very surprised.
 
I guess that I’m not alone in my non-breakfast eating habits.  Did you know that;

• Nearly 60% of U.S. parents of children ages 3-17 admit that their child skips breakfast, with more than half of U.S. Moms wishing their child ate a more nutritious breakfast.
• 58% of U.S. Moms say they skip breakfast regularly (THAT’S ME!) . 46% of Moms who skip breakfast say they do so because they do not have enough time to prepare or eat it.
• 57% of single adults say the number one reason they skip breakfast is that they don’t have enough time to prepare it.
• While 71% of U.S. adults agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, 67% of those admit to skipping breakfast.

*Results of 2011 Children’s Nutrition Survey, conducted by Harris Interactive for Seneca Farms
 
I love instant oatmeal but hate the kind that has dehydrated/freeze-dried/mayeitsnotevenfruit in it. The flavor I tried was Vanilla Peach and it actually had real pieces of fruit in it.  It tasted great!  You don’t need any water or milk to mix up with the oatmeal just microwave for 45 seconds.  It kept me full for several hours.  I was also happy with the apple cinnamon flavor.  Cinnamon is so hit or miss as an ingredient but this was a hit.
 

 
Apple Cinnamon and Vanilla Peach are the two available flavors right now.  Seneca Farms Oatmeal & Fruit can be found nationally at Walmart and at a wide variety of retail grocery stores.  You can see a detailed store list here.  Seneca Farms plans to expand its flavors later this year with Oatmeal & Fruit Cranberry Apple, and Oatmeal – Maple & Brown Sugar.  I can assure you when maple and brown sugar comes out I’ll be buying tons of cups every week.
 
Please note this giveaway is closed.
Onto the good news!  One reader will win a 2-pack of each flavor of Seneca Farms Oatmeal & Fruit (that’s 4 cups two of each flavor).  I’m using a new system for giveaways called Rafflecopter.  I think it’s easier for everyone.  Good luck and let me know what you think of the entry system.