,morocco food

Squash and Sweet Potato Purée with Red Bell Pepper Confetti
I can hardly believe that November has come around again. Somehow, the fact has difficulty sinking in when it is 90 degrees outside. It’s a little jarring to walk into a store and find row upon row of shelves stacked with benevolent Santas.
     November also means that Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year, is just around the corner. This most American holiday turned into a multi-cultural experience for a group of American travelers on one of my tours. On that day, I had planned to be at the iconic Palais Salam Hotel, a renovated Moorish palace within the ramparts of Taroudant, an historic town in southern Morocco.
I explained to the chef the purpose of the annual day of thanks earlier that morning. He nodded once or twice, promptly gathered his staff, and disappeared into the hotel’s cavernous kitchen. Members of my tour took the opportunity to spend their free time combing the medina (old town) for anything that would bring to mind pilgrims, from feathers for their hair, to billowy skirts, Moroccan-style backless slippers, and artisanal pitchforks. They planned their entrance during dinner, to the amazement of stunned French guests. I overheard whispers of “Ces Américains!” as the twenty “pilgrims” took a seat at a table laden with pumpkins and squashes, as well as paper turkeys I had brought from the US for the occasion.
     Applause erupted on all sides when a group of beaming waiters in starched white coats marched in, holding aloft not one, but two, glistening, honey-basted turkeys studded with crimson hibiscus blossoms. The stuffing? The chef had given it a Moroccan twist – a blend of sweetened couscous, plump raisins and chopped dates faintly touched with cinnamon. Perhaps the most memorable moment arrived when a young waiter came up to me as we were leaving, and asked:
     “Madame, the American turkey it is very tasty, but can I have the paper ones to take home?”
     Why not try a Moroccan-inspired side dish for your Thanksgiving turkey? For this special occasion, I would like to share a recipe from my latest book, Mint Tea and Minarets: A Banquet of Moroccan Memories



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Moroccan Social Life

The Culture of Morocco



Social life for most Moroccans still centres on home and family. The sidewalk café is a favourite gathering place for men, and watching a football (soccer) match on television in the local café is a popular form of entertainment. Big cities such as Casablanca boast a variety of diversions, including cinemas, restaurants, and shopping in modern boutiques or in the souk, the open-air market in which vendors sell a wide array of local arts and crafts items alongside foods and imported commodities. Morocco’s extensive coastline has numerous fine beaches, some of them private and off-limits .


Social life in Morocco
Moroccan culture is entertaining and exiting. The people are friendly and there is colour everywhere you look. Genuine hospitality is engrained in their culture and it is not uncommon to strike up friendships with people you meet and to feel enveloped in their lifestyle.

Mountains, coastline and desert, Morocco has much to offer the tourist. The rugged Atlas Mountains offer opportunities for hiking and mountain biking, while the coastline is bordered by the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Interesting towns and cultural diversity make the country exciting and fascinating place to visit.

Morocco is becoming more and more cosmopolitan with investors from all over the globe looking at investments in the area. One bonus for many buyers is that there is a good chance of their own language being spoken as French, Spanish and English all widely spoken in addition to Arabic.

For Westerners, Morocco holds an immediate and enduring fascination. Though just an hour's ride on the ferry from Spain, it seems at once very far from Europe, with a culture – Islamic and deeply traditional – that is almost wholly unfamiliar. Morocco is really an ideal place for independent travel. Throughout the country, despite the years of French and Spanish colonial rule and the presence of modern and cosmopolitan cities like Rabat and Casablanca, a more distant past constantly makes its presence felt.

Essential Morocco presents the following ‘snippet’ guides to various cities and areas of Morocco along with some first-hand travel reports and recommendations for your reference.

Morocco, the culinary star of North Africa, is the doorway between Europe and Africa. Much imperial and trade influence has been filtered through her and blended into her culture. Unlike the herb-based cooking across the sea to the north, Moroccan cooking is characterized by rich spices.

Cumin, coriander, saffron, chiles, dried ginger, cinnamon, and paprika are on the cook's shelf, and in her mortar. Harissa, a paste of garlic, chiles, olive oil, and salt, makes for firey dishes that stand out among the milder foods that are more the Mediterranean norm.

Moroccan light fixtures are completely unique and the pride of the artisans that dexterously carve them surrounded by snake charmers and the smell of spices on magical Djema el Fna square in Marrakech. Interior decorators & fashion gurus worldwide are going Moroccan. It is a secret discovered as the next big decorating inspiration.

Moroccan style is a new trend in decoration, which has been made popular by the vogue of Riads renovation in Marrakech. Its becoming popular in some circles in France, UK and the USA.



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The Culture of Morocco

If one day, a wizened old sage told me that I would go to Morocco for 5 days with a plane ticket back to $ 120, I would have probably said, "Ride on Grandpa!! !!! ".
Marrakesh is only 3 hours from Geneva. Lake Geneva Moroccan arid landscapes, and between the Alps and the chain of Atlas, there are quite a contrast.
Fasten your seat belts, here we stay at home carpets, sweet green tea and calls to prayer.
Eli we arrived at Djeema El-Fna. This is the heart of the city of Marrakesh. There are snake charmers, dried fruit kiosks, selling freshly squeezed orange juice, etc..


At night, the atmosphere is always bustling. Smoke grills sausages and lamb rises in the air. Turbulence original culinary aerial view, this is exciting.

The stands are a flawless appearance. This is probably related to the inclusion of this place UNESCO heritage. In the background, the minaret of the local mosque.

Interested in a small shot of snail? I like snails in garlic Pacini, but then the smell of the pot was a bit repulsed.

Morocco, it is the opportunity to make contact with a culture mixing Berber and Arab origins.
Globalization.

A stop sign. Seriously there are many just in Quebec, where it is called like that.

I wonder if this vehicle meets the previous sign.

By going there, we knew we would have to bargain intensely. I believe that in every transaction we do, we have done, in a different way. We made some fatal errors, like having a bad feeling in the value of the local currency, show too much interest in an object, buy fake and realize 200 km away, buy spices to 3 times the selling price in a booth two blocks (having had sympathy for the seller who offered us tea and that it lacked some teeth). After all, part of the bargain Moroccan experience. Local crafts are fabulous. And when we realize we have got $ 1, we laugh. I still have to say that in the end we were better, but 5 days is very short to do by hand.
Booth carpet for your viewing pleasure.

Believe it or not, Morocco was once covered with water. The fossil beds are everywhere, which is not without interest for the tourist path. Of course, there are still a few fossils "made in China" in the display of the booth.

The spice stand where I bought Ras-Al-Hanout Couscous for our future.

Eli and his purchase of necklaces with this seller pushy.

Some vases and plates.

Morocco, it is also the fruit, such as clementines that were surprisingly ripe green.

Or pomegranate, which takes a thousand years to eat but we savored every bite.

In the meetings, the mint tea is a natural accompanying. The ratio of sugar cubes versus quantity of tea is in high.
To your health, because mine failed after drinking this glass.

A very good chicken tajine.

Chegrouni restaurant in Marrakesh.

Now talking architecture. I know nothing in the field, but one of the most striking differences is the shape of the door frames.

Another specimen.

Not to mention the ornaments on the ceiling.

Orientation in the city is almost impossible task, even with a professional of the caliber of Eli. The streets are real mazes.

We visited some palaces, including El-Badi, who was in ruins.

Passing through the catacombs, which I am a fan.

Talk about Islam. First highlight is the omnipresence of minarets, the towers juxtaposing the mosque is performed five times a day the call to prayer. "Alllaaaaaaah Akbar" (Allah is great).
Distinctive symbol, the Koutoubia Mosque.

Women are veiled in the very large majority. It is puzzling, is not it ladies?

Moroccan flags.

We made a trip to Imlil, a mountain village in the chain of Atlas. Did you know that some peaks of this massif are located above the 4000 m mark?
Village "suburb" of Imlil. It is understood that the houses are made of the same material as the mountain itself.

Short hike to get to the foot ...

... Jebel Toubkal, the highest peak in the Atlas.

We passed a small shop where they used this ingenious fridge natural.

Dan the man, who tells you next time!

Ciao ciao,
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