Unappealing title, huh? Luckily, though chapstick is a key ingredient in this cookie recipe, no chapstick actually goes into the cookies. Butter, flour, almond, sugar, and jam make these bite-sized shortbread cookies lip smackingly good.… Read More
I can hear you grumbling already. “I know my banana muffins,” you say. “There’s absolutely nothing special about a banana muffin. Banana muffins are the ones that you find sitting untouched, amid blueberry and lemon poppyseed crumbs, when you arrive late for your motel’s continental breakfast. Nobody really wants banana muffins.”
WRONG!… Read More
searching for quinoa
was a challenge in Tangier
found it in London
I smuggled it home
and then made this recipe
just for all of you… Read More
Let’s all stay politically correct here, okay? Nobody wants to eat smaller-than-average bread with a complex. These went straight from my oven to a fancy dinner party at a local museum. In case you’re not important enough to be invited to such an event, these can also be rolled flat and cut into exciting shapes, like dinosaurs or ferocious undersea predators.… Read More
Ginger. I don’t quite know what to say about ginger. It is one of those elusive ingredients that is easy to find when you don’t need it for anything, and difficult to locate when you do. At least in Morocco. So when I bought a half-kilo of the stuff on a whim, I found myself struggling to find enough recipes to justify the sheer amount of ginger I’d purchased. And then it hit me. Stir-fry.
Killing two birds with one heavy lump of ginger, I justified the impulse buy and satisfied my ever-present Asian food craving at the same time. … Read More
This all started because I had too much feta. I know, right? Difficult to believe. The thing is, this one package of feta seemed endless. I used it in salad, with potatoes on no fewer than four occasions, I even snacked on bits of it from time to time. The feta continued. I was starting to think that I was at the beginning of a bad horror film: “The Feta that Ate Tangier!”… Read More
The weather is beginning to turn cold here (in Moroccan terms, that means it rained a little this week) so of course my thoughts turned to soup. (Actually, my thoughts turned to stir-fry first, but broccoli was not to be found for love of money. Since I’d already bought the other ingredients at our delightful Berber Sunday market, I had to rethink my meal plan.) Erm. I mean, I began craving soup.
I have always loved minestrone, but it never made me giggle until I watched Green Wing for the first time.… Read More
“I want hummus.” You know how many times I heard this from a friend over the course of a single week? I don’t know either, because I lost count. Neil would be over watching a movie, and suddenly: “I want hummus.” Walking through the medina: “I want hummus.” Discussing time travel: “I want hummus.” Taking self-defense lessons: “I want hummus.”
So do you know what I did? No, I didn’t banish him from my presence, my home, and the whole of Africa. I made hummus.… Read More
Upon moving to Morocco, I thought, “Aha! Tabbouleh here will be the best I’ve ever had! Beautiful farmer’s market parsley, fresh cucumbers, glowing tomatoes… I’m all set!” Well, almost. I soon discovered that bulgur wheat, one of the main ingredients, is nearly impossible to find here. I looked through shop after shop, consulted friends, and even sent my Lebanese student home to question his mother. After months of searching, the bottom line seemed to be that bulgur wheat, like Thai curry and bagels, could not be found in Morocco for love or money.… Read More
This post represents an important landmark: my first experience cooking traditional Moroccan food. After nearly three weeks of walking through my apartment building, surrounded by tantalizing smells, I finally learned how to make harira, one of the most delicious soups I’ve ever tasted. And lucky you, I’m going to post the recipe! This soup is usually the first thing served during iftar, and it’s a Moroccan specialty.… Read More