Happy Diwali to all

Grey skies have arrived in Marrakech, the nights are getting colder, although it's not quite the same feeling of Autumn in London, Summer is certainly over here. I love watching Marrakech wake up on early misty mornings, coming home from work in the evenings to a nice warm apartment and with the change of seasons has come a change of food. Colder days make me crave hearty, richer, comfort foods. On one such day armed with my mum's recipe, i decided to make 'Keer' or rice pudding for the first time. Mum always makes it on special Occasions such as today, Diwali, it's creamy, comforting and full of flavour. This recipe is very simple and doesn't take much time either.

My photography has not been great lately due to lack of light ( most of my pics are taken at night when i have more time) and a camera that is slowly dying on me :(

Keer

1 pint ( 1/2 litre) semi skimmed milk ( you can use full fat, semi skimmed is what i used)

1 small espresso size cup of short grain rice

1 small pot (250ml) single cream (i used light )

2/3 cardamom pods

a couple of saffron threads

1-2 tablespoons sugar ( granulated)

1) In a large saucepan bring milk to the boil, turn gas to low heat and add the rice, cardamom, saffron and simmer for 45 - 50 mins until rice becomes soft, stir occasionally to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. ( if it is looking a little too thick add some more milk).

2) Add the sugar and cream after 45 mins and stir for 5-10 mins until creamy and all the sugar has dissolved. 

can be served hot or cold, enjoy!

Sweet memories

This is for my dear friend Cleo, back home in London, we would meet up every few months for an Italian lunch followed by extravagant, buttery pastries and coffee at patisserie Valerie. Over lunch we would talk about the past , the future, travel, family, Morocco and of course food. Cleo loved to talk about her fond memories of Morocco on visits with her family, having been bought up in London she savoured the taste of Moroccan food and life, she hasn't re-visited the country for a long time and we always discuss my visits to Marrakech at length, marvelling at the changes over the years.

 Cleo was one of the first people i told when i made the decision to move to Marrakech, i felt her joy and happiness for me instantly, i also felt sadness at the thought of no more lunch dates or pastries with her anymore something i miss so much, but i know she is only an email away and reading this blog waiting for some new pictures and updates.

While eating a plate of the famous Moroccan pastries and a hot cup of sweet tea i think of her, Kaab el Ghazal ( gazelle's horns ) are her favourite as i remember and turning out to be one of my favourites also.

For you Cleo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwny/4686608165/

Jemaa el fna - a Foodies dream place

Jemaa El Fna in Marrakech is one of those places that amazes you every time you visit, the entertainment, the people, the sounds, the colours and most importantly the wonderful array of culinary delights on offer really makes this a foodies dream. Walking through the narrow alleys of the Medina with the sous chef, camera in hand and on the lookout for some delicious little treats, a rather touristy trip but like i say it's magic every time.

Here's just a few of my favourite things i captured on camera today, with more to come.

Salad plates

Since arriving in Morocco i have come to love the wonderful variations of salad plates, it is slowly becoming my favorite part of the meal ( something which i never thought i would say!) but i have grown to appreciate the preparation and assembly of  a good salad.

Back home in London i very rarely ever ate salad with my main meal, if i did it would be a little cucumber, onion and tomato. Salads weren't really a big part of the meal in my family home only occasionally a big potato salad on a barbecue night, and i never missed it, even shop bought salad held little interest for me apart from a Marks & Spencer roasted vegetable and cous cous salad enjoyed occasionally on summer days.

So one day when i wasn't feeling too great i came home and made my self comfortable on the sofa, not moving from my place for the next few hours.In the mean time my Sous Chef  ( that's what i like to call him, although i'm sure he would prefer the title of head chef  instead but seeing as i spend more time in the kitchen that title is still reserved for me) Sous chef got busy preparing dinner, Salad and some delicious marinated sole pan fried with spices. However the salad really stole the show, it was lovely and light but nutritious and filled with protein and a good combination of flavours. Salad plays a big part here and present in almost all family homes at meal times along with other little side dishes which i hope to have up here soon.

Art in cake

One of my favorite sites i like to visit and stare in wonder at the beauty of cakes is definitely cakeoperaco.com.

http://www.cakeoperaco.com/cakes

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post, it's all been quite busy i've just relocated from London to Marrakech with only 3 weeks to prepare! So as you can imagine i haven't had a whole lot of time for a spot of baking, saying goodbye to family and friends this past week was by far the hardest part, it all feels quite strange with all the excitement that comes with starting something new and then there's that moment that comes when it all really hits you.

So i arrived yesterday afternoon, after a restless night ( it's just so hot it's hard to sleep without waking up every  few hours) i'm slowly starting to settle myself in to my new place. The first thing i did on my arrival yesterday was go straight to the kitchen, now it's all pretty traditional but nice and simple and sufficient enough, although the oven is a little on the small side i'm sure i'll manage!

So i promise i'll be back in the kitchen in a few days and exploring around the city!

The Satisfaction of home made ice-cream

Sunday afternoon, bored, hot and wondering what cake to bake i came across something i've never ventured into before...ice-cream! I know a lot of people who regularly make their own ice-cream experimenting with different flavors and others who don't think it's worth the hassle. That's what i thought too, i was always a little intimidated by making my own and sometimes put off by all the complex looking recipes, but on this day not only was i craving ice-cream, i had found a great recipe for a caramel flavored one and i had all the ingredients to hand, the last bonus was there was a brand new unused ice-cream machine waiting in the freezer.

My first attempt didn't go entirely to plan even though i followed every word in the recipe, i ended up burning the caramel twice...in two separate pans, i tried to get as much caramel flavoring as possible into my single cream and milk mix, failing that the pans went in the sink and the caramel flavor ice-cream was abandoned, it would be simple vanilla instead! So i added a few drops to my cream and milk mix, let it all cool down then poured it into the ice-cream machine to churn for 30 minutes, then in the freezer until i was ready to eat it.
I have to say i was quite surprised by the outcome, it was light and creamy although not as sweet as i would have liked, having followed the caramel flavor recipe i didn't replace it with the necessary amount of sugar.

I think i will definitely be giving this a go again and this time experimenting with different flavors maybe even some fruit and yoghurt, once you get the hang of it it's quite easy! I've posted the original recipe i used below for the caramel flavored ice-cream , from Tessa Kiros' book 'Falling cloud berries'.


Caramel Ice-cream
4 egg yolks
150g caster sugar
500ml warm milk
250ml single(pouring) cream


1)Place the caster sugar in a saucepan on medium heat until it starts to turn to caramel, a dark golden colour and thick texture. Don't stir the caramel just swirl it around in the pan gently and watch carefully to prevent any burning.
2) Take the pan off the heat and slowly add the warm milk and single cream to the caramel, mix it all through. 
3) Whisk the egg yolks until pale and fluffy. Add a little of the milk mix to the yolks while continuing to whisk to stop the eggs from scrambling, slowly add the rest of the milk mix, whisking all the time.
4) Once all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed in together leave to cool completely.
5) Set up your ice-cream machine following the manufacturer's instructions. I left mine to churn in the machine for 30 minutes and then poured it into another container ready for the freezer. I would take it out of the freezer 5-10 minutes before you want to eat it to allow it to soften up so you have a creamy flavorful texture.