Market Meets Pantry- Guess What I'm Making (Tunisia)

Don't you love it when you can make your entire meal from things you already have on hand? For our planned Tunisian meal, that's exactly what happened.  Our pantry was the market!

Can you guess the meal?

Bell pepper, onion, garlic, eggs, salt, pepper, tomatoes,  chili paste, and cumin.

Planning Day: Tunisia!

I am so excited at the prospect of cooking a Tunisian dish. Food seems to be quick and easy to make, using ingredients pretty much always found in cupboards and pantries. Also nice and cheap.

Couscous is again often a featured dish. It seems to be fairly universal in that norther region of Africa. Since couscous is so enjoyed by my family I have no problem serving it again if necessary. Rather like we eat dishes with rice or pasta, the couscous becomes a bottom layer upon which to serve vegetable and protein (bean and meat like lamb) based stew-like dishes.

Seafood seems to be fairly common in the northern region. There's one dish called Brik that's rather like a meat pie except it's stuffed with tuna fish and egg. I've been thinking we need to include more fish and seafood in our diet.

Tunisia also has a quiche like dish called a tajin. I suppose another comparison for the tajin would be the Spanish tortilla. Yet another home-style dish called shakshouka is made by simmering various vegetables on the stove top and adding eggs to the top. Thinking the "tajin" sounds the least daring.

The ingredients are mostly very normal. The results, well, different. Will we enjoy it? Sure hope so. What would you make if you were crafting a Tunisian supper for your family?

Super Bowl finger food dessert: Moroccan Honeyed Dates

If you're going shopping for food for a Super Bowl party tomorrow, or even if you've already finished shopping, you might want to consider picking up some dates for a fabulous and easy to make Super Bowl friendly dessert.

Dates. Sweet and filled with fiber. A healthier treat to have around when you want something sugary, for sure. Almonds. Who will argue the health benefits of eating a few almonds? Now picture coating the almonds in honey, carmelized, and stuffing the honeyed almonds in some plump, juicy dates. Sounds pretty good! It sure is.

My whole family devoured this easy to make Moroccan dessert the other night when we had our Moroccan dinner adventure. My husband when he saw the stuffed dates commented "These look like footballs!" I laughed "Perfect for a superbowl party!" He agreed.

They do look rather like footballs...

But the taste. Wow. What an explosion of sweet chewiness! These are addictive!

Here's how my son and I made them.

Split the dates lengthwise and remove the pits.

Now comes the fun part. Feel free to let your child(ren) help stuff the honeyed almonds in the dates.

Yum! A tasty healthier dessert perfect for a superbowl or any party!

Find the recipe here at Maroque.

Market Day- Guess What I'm Making! (Morocco)

Hurrah! Turns out I had most of what's needed for this week's culinary adventure already in my pantry, freezer, and fridge. That's sure nice. Trader Joe's supplied the dates as I couldn't find any at Kroger. To help make this meal easy and doable for a household with a toddler I decided to cut a few corners making this meal.

Couscous will come from the boxed mix "Near East". I've loved this brand for years. It also seems to go on sale fairly frequently.

        Canned chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), raisins, pre-chopped frozen bell peppers,
                   Trader Joe's flatbread, chopped frozen spinach

Our fresh ingredients! 

Orange, apple,

Zucchini, eggplant, sweet potato, cucumber, dates

Carrots, almonds

Spices and seasonings:

Onion and garlic powder (I have it on hand, cutting a corner here),

Sesame oil (substitute for Argan oil), turmeric, salt,

Orange juice, pepper, honey

(Not pictured: curry powder)

There you have it! From these three groups of ingredients I am planning on making our main dish, our salad, and a simple, sweet, dessert. Definitely looking forward to supper.

What sort of Moroccan dish(es) would you make with these ingredients?

More Planning: Morocco!

Have you ever seen "Road to Morocco", the 1942 film with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope? It's hilarious. Probably my favorite in the quirky yet hilarious "Road To" series.

Hilarious old films aside I'm really looking forward to cooking Moroccan food at home. Probably the most famous dish is the tagine. Think of it like a healthy casserole or a hearty exotic stew. Tagines are traditionally baked in clay pots that have a cone-shaped lid.

I read that traditionally there's a hot or cold salad (or both), followed by a tagine with couscous for most meals. Bread is of course included. There are other options that involve more cooking for more formal meals. But my goal isn't formality here! I want a warm, cozy meal that's fairly easy to make a family friendly. And one with flavors that knock my socks off!

The spices used in Moroccan cooking certainly fill the kitchen with an even more complex, delicious aroma than our traditional, American, cream-of-soup casseroles. Imagine cooking dinner with cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, ginger, paprika, anise seed, coriander, mint, and saffron. Fruits like dates, oranges,  figs, olives, or preserved lemons are a common addition to an otherwise savory meal. I can just smell it now. Who needs scented candles when the kitchen is filled with exotic spices?!

Planning Day: Cooking Around...

Africa!

I've decided. It's a done deal. Last week I got back to cooking a few soups and stews as we started settling in to our new home in our new (much larger) city. I can't wait to start our culinary adventures up again. Hopefully this week!

My favorite restaurant of all time is an Ethiopian place in St Louis, MO. Every time I have visited St Louis I've stopped there for dinner. In case you're curious, the restaurant is called Meskerem. I just love eating Ethiopian food and theirs is particularly delicious!

Yes, the continent of Africa sounds like an exciting place to explore in the coming weeks. I plan to start with cuisines in North Africa and gradually work my way south. Looking forward to exploring the cuisines of places like Morocco, Algeria, and other countries very soon! Now off to find some recipes while my toddler naps!

Do you have a favorite African cuisine, restaurant, or a favorite recipe? 

Wordless Wednesday: Back to cooking soon...here's why

Wordless Wednesday provides the answer to the silence on my blog...