morocco

Yummy Bites In Morocco

In Chefchaouen, we found this cafe serving freshly toasted bread with light Chaouen cheese drizzled with local honey.
This is followed by coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice to wash it down. Aaaa...hh is all I can say.
For the two of us it costs 60 Dh.
You can do it cheaper if you buy your own cheese, honey and bread and DIY.




This is Marcelo posing infront of our favourite joint for the above
breakfast place.
The cafe is diagonally opposite the post office on a slope. With your back facing the Post office, it's on the right.



In Rabat, we were excited that they have a similar pancake as what we eat in South-East Asia.
In Singapore it's called roti prata and in Malaysia, roti canai. In S.E. Asia it's served with curry but in Morocco, it is eaten with cheese, honey, a sprinkle of salt or a drizzle of olive oil.
This was the best we tasted in the Medina in Rabat. Locals were hanging out very early in the morning for them which was a good sign.



In Meknes, the olive oil is sooo amazing that it lifts the flavour of even the simplest of foods.
The fried egg swimming in the olive oil from olive trees that are over a hundred years old turned this into a gourmet dish.





A side trip out of Fes to escape the pestering kids in the medina, we went to Sefrou and this chargrilled chicken sandwich was the redeeming part of the whole trip. The chargrill smell on the juicy chicken pieces were so tender and flavoured with a sprinkling of salt and cumin.




The tajines in general have been good but the fries introduction to the dish must make this a fusion dish.?
We found Thami in Fes in the market area. I read about Thami on the net and this is another addition to his credit. We nearly miss the train for it. Marcelo looked disappointed in his much anticipated second serve of the dish after he voted the first serve as the best tajine in Morocco.
Then he realised lunch was too close to our train departure time but I assured him that we will make it. We made it with a sprint to the train, much to the amusement of the locals.
If you ever eat there, insist that he cooks it. Our second serve was prepared by someone else and not as impressive.
Some of the best foods were had through our conscious search for the real Moroccan foods.
We had this Tajine near the Hassan mosque in Casablanca.
Not happy just to eat at the restaurants close to the mosque, we ventured a little further into a neighbouring suburb and the table was messy and looked a little scary for the faint hearted but one of the customers quickly wipe the table clean for us.
This is one of the many times we experienced the warmth and hospitality of the locals outside the tourist area. We thought he worked there but he did this for us.
The dish was delicious and the orange juice stand next to it served freshly squeezed orange juice.

Marrakech is the place for food and shopping. I am not talking about the famous square. I'd give it ten for atmosphere but zero for taste at those stalls. The better dishes are found in the local restaurants pass the arch on the left side of the post office and cheaper too.
Marrakech is also the best place to eat chicken or pigeon pastilla which is a filo pastry pie with a savoury filling of meat, onions and almond and then a sprinkle of icing sugar and cinnamon at the top to add a twist of sweetness to the dish. Cafe Bahia near the square has a good pigeon pie but the place doesn't look very clean.


This one from Cafe Agdal in the Nouvelle area was DELICIOUS. and so was their creme caramel.







The creme caramel was part of a set meal which included a salad and a tajine for 60 Dh which is less than A$10.
They serve the chicken and pigeon pies too in Essaouira but they are over priced.







However, we did find a great Couscous place on our last day there. Cafe restaurant Chez Kherfa on Rue Laalouj served a dish called Royal couscous which would please any King or Queen.
It took awhile for the dish to appear which is a good sign - the tender beef and chicken with eggs, vegetables and a hint of sweetness from prunes, figs and raisins in the light couscous made us devour the whole thing in 5 minutes.





Fresh mint tea which is very sweet and so refreshing!

Bits and Pieces

To impress the Moroccans just tell them you have tried Mechoui. The innards and bits of a lamb's head.
The orange juice is to die for in Marrakech but always check your change they tend to short change you.
The fish place in the market of Essaouira overcharged us and we asked them to break down the cost and they had to return us some money. Fish is fresh but very salty.
Water is generally cheaper in the supermarkets than the medinas.
Magnum costs A$5 in the restaurants close to the desert but it was worth every cent in the 50 degree heat.
Coffee made with local milk is super tasty like really good hot chocolate because of the fat in the milk. Worth the calories. Nouvelle area in Fes is a good time out place for a coffee if the medina gets a bit too much.

My challenge to make a tasty scone.

It could have been anything. It didn't have to be a scone. A pie, a sausage ANYthing and it didnt even have to be related to cooking. My husband thinks its an obsession when I start something and he can just see my ,"she is thinking about a project" look.

After trying my colleague's scone, it reminded me of my trip to the organic market in Collingwood in Melbourne. Scones made well just tasted so good.

This hols I said to myself I have to try to make them just as good if not better. My previous attempt was as my mum used to say, good for pelting at attackers. Or chewing into a frisbee. This time I told myself, I will get it right. So I got the recipe from my colleague and tried it with lemonade, cream and flour. Result? I had to empty the lot in the bin or run the risk of going for some major dental reconstruction.

This morning after researching on the net,watching how it was done on Youtube and also gettting hints from Women on the farm club, I decided I should give it another go. With tips from English kitchens, American Irish and also a Japanese site, I think I've got it this time.


But as usual I thought I might deviate from the recipes. As I reached for the flour from the pantry, I realised that the previous attempt was made with plain wholemeal flour and that might have explain the flatness of the scones if I can call them that.


So this time I just feel it is going to be good....

My Scone.

3 cups of SR flour

1 cup of lemonade

3/4 cup of milk (I think if I am using cheese, cream will be a bit too much)

1 handful of low fat cheddar cheese

10 stalks of chives chopped finely

1 egg

Sift the flour, add in the cheese and chives.

Fold the flour with the beaten egg and milk and then add the lemonade.
Instead of patting the dough, I scooped them with a ladle onto a tray with grease proof paper. I remember the tip was not to "play" with the dough too much cos then it gets hard.

Put into a preheated oven of 190 C and bake for 10 minutes and turn the tray around for another 5.

Yummy scones!!!

Farmers' Market

Eat ing fresh!

Around about 7.30 in the morning, I head to the Trash and treasure markets to see Ly, who grows her own vegetables. Whether its choy sum, bak choy or lettuce, they are all lovely and fresh like a wedding bouquet only these are so edible.

I usually get a variety of greens and they stay fresh the whole week.

Then it's off to the Farmers' market for wood fired bread, seasonal fruits and herbs, free range eggs and yummy mushrooms.

The mushroom man I call him leaves his place in Shoahaven at 4 in the morning after doing his pick of Swiss browns before heading to Canberra. I don't think it can get fresher than that. The green labels indicate that the farmers grew them and the white means that they have source them elsewhere.

The range of produce is superb and you can treat yourself to home made cakes and quality chocolates to olive oils, cheeses,organic vegetables,nuts and fresh seafood.

The free range eggs are firm and yellow and such a good source of protein and it feels good to know that they are laid by healthy chickens.

What I love to do is crush some fresh garlic as soon as I get home, fry them in some olive oil and cook a hot breakfast...

First the few cloves of garlic with a tbsp of olive oil,
then in goes the handful of sliced mushrooms cooked on the side with no oil so it has a chargrilled flavour and infusing the smell of the garlic at the same time.
Cook for a minute or so...
Add in a large chopped tomato so that the juices mixes with the garlic.
Then the 3 eggs with a dash of milk, a splash of water, a tbsp of mixed herbs from my garden-thyme,rosemary and vietnamese basil ...
followed by a sprinkle of cracked pepper and salt.
The steam from the water helps make the eggs fluffy.
Cook till it is almost done, then turn off the heat and the warmth of the pan will keep cooking the eggs a little.

Sometimes I add sheep cheese or low fat riccotta,olives and tomato paste so it tastes like a pizza.

Served with warm, crusty wood fired bread like spinach and fetta or sundried tomato or whole grain linseed bread, Ooh La la.

Marcelo would make some Cap. or Latte and we would sit outside our porch listening to Nat King Cole's Spanish crooning or Sarah Vaughn silky, soothing Jazz while the smells of garlic and coffee tantalise the senses.

Pineapple Tarts for the New Year.

Every one loves a TART.

Firstly, I just like to explain why they are so moreish and so popular amongst many during the festive season. If they are baked well like my sister's, then the savoury pastry melts in your mouth as your tongue comes into contact with the base and then when the pastry breaks away the sweetness of the pineapple topping gives it a wonderful contrast in taste and in texture.

Pineapple, as far as I understand from my visit to Taiwan is that it sounds like "Wang Lai" which means ' wishes come true' in the Hokkien/Fujian dialect. That is probably why you see pineapple mobiles hung outside of some Chinese households hoping that all their wishes will come true. That is also why pineapple is served in biscuits there. As far as Singaporeans are concerned, there is a huge population of descendants of people from the Fujian province but if you ask them why they have pineapple tarts during Chinese new year, their answer would probably be.. "I don't know. I eat them because they taste damn good."

I bake them because my Malaysian, Indian friends and my hubby like them. Rani, my girlfriend asked if I could bake her some last Christmas to serve to her friends but she and her visiting family devoured the lot themselves.

My sister Carol prepares her pineapple filling from fresh pineapple but I don't have the patience and so I use 2 large cans of pineapple, drain the juice, add sugar,cinnamon stick and a few cloves, a few drops of lemon and microwave the filling for about 30 minutes and they taste pretty good to me and my friends. :)

As for the pastry, there are two versions I make, one is harder and the other is a softer pastry that has more of a shortbread texture. It is time consuming and I don't eat them much myself but to see my friends appreciating them during the festive season is good enough for the time spent. The softer version is my sister's secret recipe but as usual I never follow them too closely. The ones below is the softer version and totally decadent!
I like to think it does make a lot of difference if you use good butter and free range eggs.

From the oven ....

To the table.....

and enjoyed with a cuppa mint tea.

Next week I might try baking some cookies for the new year...

Bak kwa

Chinese new year is on Valentine's day this year and only a month away so I decided to start preparing for the new year before I get too busy. I don't miss the sweets and cakes much but I do miss the get togethers back home.

Here, I usually have a few friends over for either afternoon tea or lunch. Some years the weather is too hot to cook I'd rather just vege out. However, I try to make bak kwa as Marcelo loves them and I don't see them sold here. Even if it was, I'd rather make them myself as it is done to our taste.

I first made it two years ago when I searched on the net for the recipe and tried to make a healthier version and the verdict was: it ain't bak kwa if it is too lean. I never follow a recipe religiously as some ingredients are not readily available and having cooked for so many years, it's easy to find ingredients to enhance the flavours of whatever I am cooking.

The recipe from Chowtimes from Canada calls for Kam cho which I have no idea what that is so I used a tbsp of fennel seeds which also has a liquorice taste to it and a tablespoon of coriander seeds to give it a crunchy texture. I'm sure it would taste even better if it was chargrilled which I did last year but seeing there is a fire ban at the moment, this is as close as it gets. I have frozen a batch and will grill it on Chinese new year.

Zumba fitness.

Recently, I decided to try a new form of exercise to awaken the hidden muscles inside my body.

Zumba has been around for quite a while but recently it was offered in a dance studio only 10 munutes drive from home so I thought I'd give it a go. Read a bit about it before attending and also saw it on commercials. It's exercising using latin music and latin moves in intervals which in aerobic lingo means varying the intensity to get a good cardio workout and hopefully burn some fat which I so needed to do after the Christmas break.

It was boiling hot and the air-conditioner in the studio was not coping. The windows were open but only hot air drifted into the room. I prayed that there was no B.O. in the room as my sensitve nose will not be able to cope. There was a steady stream of people and slowly the room was filled in fact ,crammed. The instructor informed us of another class opening on the wednesday as well to cope with the unexpected size of the group.

The steps were not hard to follow but having been away from my exercise routine for about 10 days, I was a puffing alot and trying to deal with the 38 degree heat as well. We did some basic Salsa moves,a bit of Merengue,Cumbia,Calypso and Samba moves to the music.

By the end of the lesson my T-shirt was soaked from the heat and movement of muscles, bones and fats that I have left idle in December. It would have been better if the instructor was on a platform. There were giggles of embarrassment as we had to wriggle, shimmy and gyrate our hips.

There were lots of sweaty people at the end of the session but fortunately no pungent ponk driving up my nose which I sometimes experience at supermarket isles and at previous dance classes.

On the whole a great class. I am still working on the move I call the electrocuted letter "C". They do that alot in Reggaeton where you arch your back and raise your arms and thrust the arms forward. Well, er ....mine didn't look anything like that. I think I might buy the DVD and workout from home when the 4 sessions come to an end.

I recommend it to anyone who hates going to the gym but wants a good workout.

A Taste of Tassie

A Taste Of Tassie

It's been quite a while since I wrote. My problem is having too many interests and so little time.

Last December I headed to Tassie for the Taste festival which went on for a week. I wanted to take that opportunity to practise my new found interest in food photography and to eat of course.

The first day hubby and I were there, we ended up in a restaurant on Elisabeth street with a very ordinary sandwich and costs us $40. It was a depressing start to the holidays.

However, after two hours of walking around we spotted some street acts and followed the crowd. As we weaved through the crowd, I could see Marcelo's face lighted with anticipation and you see the face of a kid in a lolly shop when we stepped into a huge sheltered building that looked like a warehouse with huge boards of what was instore for our bellies.

Some of the offerings at the Festival

The summer pudding tasted as good as it looked. It was light with a jelly texture and a strong berry flavour.

Marcelo had the pork ribs which he found a bit sweet but it didn't stop him from wiping the plate clean. Off he went in a jiff as soon as I photographed his empty plate.

While I was reserving a seat for Marcelo when he went hunting for food, a couple came to join our table. It was a wonderful atmosphere- to be able to eat and also talk to strangers, Tasmanians we met were so friendly. Hubby came back with a pork sausage roll and justified his indulgence with the lack of meat in the ribs.
I tried the hormone free beef that was served in a wrap. The beef itself was tasty but I didn't like the cauliflower sauce that went with it. It was too oily and runny and did not do justice to the meat. It would have tasted better with a hint of chutney to bring out the flavour of the meat.


He then had a steak salmon which also had his thumbs up and Oh Yes! a fourth serve of food - beef burger and then it was time to call it a day. I ran out of batteries as well!

The following day Marcelo tried this cheese platter which had three different types of cheeses and cherries in wine. I had the yummy cherries and he devoured the cheese. I had a samosa and some Turkish food which were also very tasty.

Having limitations in his stomach space, he had to try this panacotta on New Year's eve which he had been eyeing since day one. I think the pic speaks for itself. He thought it was worth every calorie!

There were so many food highlights but one of the main highlights was a trip to Pasha's restaurant. This was a tip from the locals and we walked close to an hour to check it out ourselves. It was on the opposite end of the waterfront on Elisabeth street.
Pasha, the chef, is from Eastern Turkey and according to the waitress, the restaurant is very popular and booking is a must on weekends.

We could see why...
We ordered the finger food banquet. The dips was a definite indicator of the quality of the food. The Turkish bread was freshly baked, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

One of the dips had some walnuts to give a little crunch but all of them were sooo delicious.

As we finished the bread, Pasha came out smiling offering us more bread. We should have said," No!" as there were other dishes to come but we are so weak..

When the waitress came she smiled to see that the dish was wiped clean with the bread.The salad was so fresh and the hint of dried chiliies on the yoghurt gave the dish a real punch. By

then we were laughing from all that we have consumed but also wish we had cows' stomachs.
When the kofte of chicken and lamb came, we were wondering where we were going to put them. But then again, as you can see, someone couldn't wait till I photograph...
The kofte was the best I have tasted and I have been to Turkey! It melts in the mouth and not salty like many I have tried before.
It was value for money and very well worth the walk and visit.

The cheese platter above was wonderful according to Marcelo and very moreish from Grandewe. It was a cheese making spot on the tourist trek south of Hobart and the view of the bay from the restaurant was absolutely stunning.
After all that, we tried to detox at the Salamanca markets on Saturday where we came across this organic fruit stall. The apricots looked very fresh but we were not too crazy about apricots. One bite of the cherries won us over. We had nearly 3 kilos of cherries inspite of the $15/kg price tag.
The Ranier cherries was Marcelo's favourite but I so love the Sunburst variety which I have not seen in Canberra. As you bite into them, the juice just gushes in the mouth and spreads through the palate...Aaahhhhhh.

We'll be back!

Never mind the fancy clothes!

I can't stand people who judge me by the way I dress. If I have to choose between an intelligent person in track dags to someone who dresses very well but bores me to death with their run down of the next designer outfit they own, I would rather spend my time with the one who is going to stimulate my mind.

Last December hubby and I were in a shopping centre in Brazil and I was looking for a pair of cuff links for my nephew and when my husband asked the sale girl if she had any with .. He didn't get to finish his sentence and she said,"No!" most abruptly.

Of course that p^%&%& him off and spoiled his mood and mine that afternoon.

When we got home and related the incident to my mother-in-law she said, "That's for wearing your pyjamas to the shop!" We were dressed casual but we were neat and clean.

Last weekend when we were in Sydney I had to laugh....

As we were strolling along George street near Chinatown and this tall,slim woman who had black lacy stockings on and a very smart dress walked towards us and naturally my hubby was impressed and had a second look at her. Then suddenly you hear, "Heeerrgg Heerrrg pooi"
In went the spit into the dustbin skilfully dispensed. Satisfied that she has dislodged all she wanted from her throat, she strutted off in her black heels.

Both of us cracked up laughing. As the saying goes, " You can take the village girl out of the village but you can't take the village out of her."

Stuck on yoggie

Stuck on Yoggie!!

My 5th wedding anniversary was in June but I wanted to write about this so that I can look back and have a laugh. I decided to bake hubby a cake for our wedding anniversary and instead of a Brazilian chocolate cake which I am pretty good at baking I went for a recipe from the net.

It was a lemon cake with syrup and sounded Oh so yummy. Yes ! This is the one, almonds and lemon and syrup Mmmm. Images of flowers with overflowing berries in the middle conjured in my mind and so I got very excited of how this cake will eventuate.

A day before the anniversary I made some roses from shortcrust pastry using food dyes to colour the flowers and leaves and was rather please with the results.

On the Friday of my anniversary, I rushed back from work to bake the cake and everything went smoothly until it was time to get the cake out.

When I tipped the cake "OMG! Sh@#&*#! Sh@#&^!!!" Censored! Censored!

Parts of the cake would have to be eaten with a spoon. It was as if I had picked the cake and dropped the whole cake on the floor.

Now what?THINK! ThiiiinnK! So I opened the fridge to seek some inspiration as to how I could salvage my cake. Then the yoghurt tub stared back at me. Using spoonfuls of yoghurt I used it as a gluing agent for the cake to stick the bits together.

Fortunately the middle bit was intact and I filled it with frozen berries and put my pastry flowers around with yoghurt oozing from all sides. It looked like a mess but if you had seen the before then you would appreciate the after alot more.

Ha! Ha!

Happy 5th anniversary Darling!

2009

Come see my bathroom

Come see my bathroom.

"When you come to lunch you must see her bathroom!" This is what my friend Karmala said to her friend Sally when they were here a fortnight ago. The bathroom renovations were done quite a few years ago but still a talking point when I invite people over for dinner.

I think I will introduce the rooms according to the stages they were renovated.
The toilet was the first one I renovated so that if this did not come out right, it will not cause me too much or be too hard to fix.

After a week of blood sweat and tears, literally, I managed to get the 70s tiles out of the toilet. The tiler was my plumber's friend, a Slovenian guy who was rough on the edge but a decent bloke.

The toilet wall is a two tone bright yellow which is also featured along the long corridor of my unit. I needed some warm colours. I think the whole of Canberra need their houses painted in warm colours seeing that we only experience real warm weather like four months in the year! I was inpired by how places looked so cozy in Spain by just how the walls were painted.

I also glazed the tiles that were used in the toilet.

The postcards stuck on the wall provided quick flashes of my past trips when I am in there. Even the tattered pink curtain made from recycled saree fabric is a piece of India.

The guest bathroom was next and I wanted an unconventional bathroom with no storage space. I joked with the blacksmith that I didn't want the guests to feel too comfortable as they might decide to build their nests at my place.

Our sketches went backwards and forwards and I was getting frustrated as I could see that his mind was locked into having a box. No! Not a box, whether its a mesh or with different materials its still a box. "How about a bra?" I said to him. He looked up and laughed.
When I finished sketching he got really excited. "Ya, I can do that."

But he needed a mould of sort. It was unfortunate that my bosoms did not match the size of the wash basin so it came out the way it did. On hindsight I should have asked someone more well endowed than myself to give him a mould.

Initially I asked for a lacy bra but he said it will cost alot more so I went for a simpler design. As always, beer budget with champagne taste. I sketched the face for the mirror for someone who designs mirrors in the market to make one for me and it turned out good and twisted some glass bits to make the earrings.

The most difficult task was finding the two glass beads for the taps of that colour , shape and size to fit the top. Funnily I found them
at a most unlikely stall - a fairy stall.

I used the remaining bits of the saree from the toilet to dress my belly dancer. I also made a pair of ceramic feet complete with red nail polish but unfortunately my brother-in-law stepped on it and the toes broke so sadly I had to remove them. I hope to replace them one day. Hmm.. when I find the time...

My hubby and I actually used this bathroom instead of the one in our ensuite. I wished the partitions in the bra were closer so that the toothpaste did not slide. But apart from that I am really pleased with the outcome. It is so easy to clean as the saree is held by clothes pegs and when it gets dirty, in it goes into the washing machine and ironed and it's as good as new. My belly dancer could do with a few extra sarees but I have yet to find some that I like.

Moorish bathroom

The second bathroom had another story to it. The tiles were direct from Turkey. All ten kilos of that. I went on a round the world trip just after September 11 and when I brought the tiles home, the people at Sydney customs were wary to see a dark box when they scanned it at the airport. I sheepishly said that they were tiles. The officer present radioed someone to have a look and slowly unzipped the bag and looked at me in disbelief.

Fortunately only one tile broke and my tiler who became a friend renovated the bathroom for me. Initially I wanted to renovate this bathroom for myself as I have always loved Moorish designs. I went to the bathroom places to look for a basin to match the tiles and as I was looking at the basins, the assistant asked if I needed help. I asked if they come in other colours apart from the white that was on display, she said,"Yup....We have cream."

I know these days the choices are endless but in some way I was glad that I did not have those choices because I decided to design one myself. Ya. Here comes the bull charging again. Ha ha.I have glazed quite a few tiles before but never a wash basin. But one of the potterers I knew gave me a contact where someone could make me a basin to glaze, so off I went and paid $400 for it and if I stuffed it up but of course at that time I was so excited of the prospect that it never occured to me that I may.

I picked up bits of the patterns from the tiles (see above) to put on the basin. I had a round paper which I cut using a plate as a template.. Oh yes that's how professionally it was done. The I folded the paper to make sure the pattern was well distributed and spent a whole day glazing that.

Ta da.

The taps also took on some of the designs of the tiles and I also designed some fittings to match the overall look-the toilet roll holder and the towel rack.

As for the mirror I picked it up from a shop in Bondi and my hubby who was then my friend helped drive it back to Canberra. It costs a fair bit and I am such a tight ass but for this one I had to say yes and the mirror just completed the whole look in the bathroom for me.

The basin had to be semi circular in shape or we weren't be able to get to the toilet and my hubby was very proud of his contribution to the problem solving task we had with Hanns of how the stand should be shaped.

Hanns had some offers for my wash basin and stand when he sat it in the market before he came over to install it so I was rather pleased with myself.

The whole experience was exhilarating. I have moved on to working on putting tiles as feature walls of a garden using motifs of Torajan designs and may explore other aspects of using tiles in designs in the future if I can find an empty house !!!