Nothing better than a swift escape to the coolness of the Atlas Mountains when the temperature in Marrakech rises above 45ºC. The blazing heat keeps the Marrakchi twisting and turning in their beds at night and despite the strong cooling effect of fresh mint in tea, it is too warm to drink anything hot.
This weekend some dear old friends from Marrakech came to find refuge from the scorching heat. I love it how easily Moroccan people make themselves feel at home! My friends removed their headscarves, changed into their house dress (another thing I love about life in Morocco because I get to walk in my pyjamas all day long! Most Moroccan women wear nightgowns of pyjamas indoors because it is simply more comfortable.) and promptly began cooking!
Rachida and Zinub prepared beghrir (spongy pancakes with little holes) and meloui (pancakes made from semolina. I made an effort by writing down the recipes and I think I’ll manage some decent beghrir but I gave up on the meloui once I saw the amount of hard labour that goes into making it! At tea time we sat on the terrace enjoying a cool breeze, a pot of mint tea and as much beghrir and meloui as we could eat!
On Sunday morning we discussed the menu for lunch during breakfast. Passion for food is another wonderful characteristic of Moroccan people. They discuss, prepare and eat food with a contagious excitement. We decided on a chicken tagine (ceramic stewing pot) cooked on charcoal. I left Rachida and Zinub to it, not wanting to be a stand in the way or nuisance with my endless questions. Lunch was delicious!
This weekend some dear old friends from Marrakech came to find refuge from the scorching heat. I love it how easily Moroccan people make themselves feel at home! My friends removed their headscarves, changed into their house dress (another thing I love about life in Morocco because I get to walk in my pyjamas all day long! Most Moroccan women wear nightgowns of pyjamas indoors because it is simply more comfortable.) and promptly began cooking!
Rachida and Zinub prepared beghrir (spongy pancakes with little holes) and meloui (pancakes made from semolina. I made an effort by writing down the recipes and I think I’ll manage some decent beghrir but I gave up on the meloui once I saw the amount of hard labour that goes into making it! At tea time we sat on the terrace enjoying a cool breeze, a pot of mint tea and as much beghrir and meloui as we could eat!
On Sunday morning we discussed the menu for lunch during breakfast. Passion for food is another wonderful characteristic of Moroccan people. They discuss, prepare and eat food with a contagious excitement. We decided on a chicken tagine (ceramic stewing pot) cooked on charcoal. I left Rachida and Zinub to it, not wanting to be a stand in the way or nuisance with my endless questions. Lunch was delicious!
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| Making pastry for meloui |
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| Adding vegetables to the chicken tagine |
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