Cooking in Morocco 2: Teaching the Teachers

As anyone who's ever stood in front of a classroom can tell you, you learn a lot as a teacher. Our cooking class was no exception.

We started out with some general prep. Three of us washed chicken pieces by using lots of salt under the skin to remove the connective tissue and mucous.

Nico managed to get out of this job (there was only so much space at the small sinks), so they jokingly decided to "punish" him by assigning him a tedious job next: peeling all the garlic cloves. Instead of being dismayed, he started grinning and asked for a metal bowl with a metal lid. After a few questioning looks, they dug in the cupboards, dubiously handed him what he asked for, and then gathered around.

Nico put all the garlic in the dish, covered it with the metal lid, and shook like mad! He took the lid off to a pile of peeled garlic and a round of applause. For people who peel a ton of garlic cloves on a daily basis, this was a wonderful discovery! They delightedly proceeded to try it out for themselves. Nico certainly earned his honorary title they used for the rest of the day: 'Chef'.

Round of applause for 'The Chef'

They found more garlic cloves so everyone could join in on the garlic-peeling fun

Normally, fun things have disclaimers like "Don't try this at home" but we're willing to make an exception in this case. Here's the YouTube video where Nico first saw this trick so you can absolutely try this at home!

Cooking in Morocco 1: The Market

While we were in Morocco, we took a cooking class from the woman who ran our riad. She let us pick our favorite meals and then guided us from buying ingredients to final presentation of the dish. It's way too much for a single post, so I'll break it into a couple of pieces (with a recipe or two at the end!).

Our cooking class started out with a trip to the market to buy all the ingredients for our meal. I couldn't read our shopping list, but luckily our guide had no problems!

First stop: chicken!

We expected to pick up a butchered chicken. We were very wrong...

They reached down and grabbed a live chicken. He looks so peaceful on the scale... 

Then they broke the chicken's neck and butchered him while we waited. A few minutes later, he handed us a package of chicken that looked like it could have come from any supermarket. It doesn't get any fresher than that!

Lots of stray cats. No stray dogs. Muhammad said something like "a love of cats is an aspect of faith" with a particular story about him cutting off the sleeve of his prayer robe rather than disturb his favorite sleeping cat. Needless to say, we saw lots of stray cats fighting over the entrails of the chickens. 

Another stray cat in a different market area. He saw me taking a picture and came over to say hello :)

Only dog that we saw at the market...

 Back to the ingredients for the recipes...

Fresh olives - good for recipes, if they last beyond snacking :)

We bought some beef for kefta (little meatball tagine). The guy grinds it up for you and even adds the onions, herbs, and spices!

 Speaking of spices: Look at all the saffron! Everything was incredibly cheap, too.

Lots of fresh vegetables in every dish. One of my favorites is the aubergine (eggplant) salad!

Who needs standardized weights and measures? Let's just use a ball of rubber bands, some metal weights, and some scraps of veggies... Although it's hard to complain when food was so cheap.

With all the ingredients for our meal purchased, it was time to head back to the riad and get our hands dirty!

Stay tuned for Cooking in Morocco Part 2: Teaching the teachers!

(Almost) Total Eclipse

20  March 2015

I was a little late for work, but getting to see the eclipse was worth it! Nico and I watched from the top garden terrace of Waverley Gate (where he works). The 93% total eclipse wasn't enough for complete darkness, but certainly enough to see a difference. It was a bit cloudy, but it meant that we didn't need to use a filter/special glasses for most of it. Here are some photos from Edinburgh and some from Svalbard (Thanks, Penny!) for comparison. Enjoy!

The beginning of the eclipse.

Through my fancy camera filter (I held the eclipse glasses up in front of my camera).

Can you hear the music? It's not quite a total eclipse, but close enough!

Peak eclipse - a twilight feel.

Looking over to the busy Calton Hill. 

The other side of the eclipse.

Eclipse over Arthur's Seat.

Series of photos showing the progressing eclipse in Svalbard. No post-processing or special camera equipment.
(Photos by Penelope How)

My seventh continent!

23 April 2015

Written at approximately age 16:

"Life goals: Learn to drive a manual transmission, become fluent in a foreign language, visit all 7 continents"

Who knew I'd need to start a new list so early in life? The trip to Morocco represents my seventh continent and a big life goal checked off my list.

Look at my new passport stamp!!!

My amazing friends created a certificate for me:  a Doctorate from the University of the World. My committee consisted of one signature per continent from someone who was on the trip with me. Nico managed to do this all without raising any suspicion :)  I love my 'honorary doctorate of exploration' and I can't wait to frame it! (Although I don't even have the real PhD framed).

Signatures from my 'committee': Leanne Walker/Shultz (Australia, Asia), Beth Fernandez (Africa), Bram Van der Geest (North America), Caroline Wilson (Europe), Andy Hein (Antarctica), and JJ Thorne (South America), 

There was a fancy 'commencement' ceremony held on the rooftop terrace of the riad our first evening in town. 

Another celebration of 7 Continents in the desert.
These are all the passport stamps - 1 from each continent!

But this wasn't the only milestone celebrated on this trip:

Nico: 1 year at Amazon!

We each have our own milestones, but we've also been together for 10 years!
Can't think of anyone else I'd rather share my last continent with :)

 I guess it's time to start thinking about adding some new life goals to my list...

Rosslyn Chapel

27 September 2014

My cousin, Vickie, visited in September and gave us another chance to try out our tour guiding skills...

A new place we visited just south of town was the Rosslyn Chapel of Da Vinci Code fame. It was originally built in 1456, but has had a troubled past (closed in 1571 when assets were seized during the Reformation, sacked in 1650, restored and services began again in 1862). It's so amazing to think that this chapel has been here during all the European migration to the New World!

I love flying buttresses so I love this little chapel!

The original plans called for a larger church, but the finished product is much smaller and the unfinished portion is clearly visible. Eventually, they added a small entrance in the unfinished portion.

Original plans (shape of a cross)

View of the chapel as it stands now.

The unfinished portion of the church - you can clearly see that they intended something bigger. The edges of the structure have unfinished walls, but they added the entrance portion later. 

I don't have any photos of the inside (no photos allowed), but there were some interesting features, including:

• An angel playing the bagpipes - oldest depiction of the bagpipe - they were first used in the mid-1400s
• A beautifully carved column - This column was allegedly carved by an apprentice carver inspired by a dream. When the master returned and saw the carving, he supposedly killed the apprentice in a rage
• Mistake or Message? In a stone carving of the 7 Sins and 7 Virtues, Greed and Charity are swapped, with Greed amongst the virtues and Charity now a sin. 
• A crypt that featured in the Da Vinci Code - although it looks a little different and less exciting without Tom Hanks!

One of the saddest things is that in the 1950s they tried to protect the delicate painted internal sculpted features by applying a protective coating to everything. However, they haven't been able to successfully remove it, so all the internal features are less detailed and unpainted. The features are still beautiful and I can only imagine how stunning the chapel would have been prior to the 'saving' of the delicate features...

A few more photos of the beautiful outside of the chapel.

The flying buttresses were beautiful in person, but hard to photograph because they blend in with the stone behind it. 

Dog friendly!

There is a little graveyard just down the hill from the chapel.
It was beautiful and green with storm clouds in the background. 

The chapel is located next to a very beautiful natural area complete with hiking paths, stone walls, and a stream - very beautiful in the fall!

When the wall was built, there was clearly a need for this little pass through.
The tree couldn't have been blocking it, so it just reinforces how old things are. 

No trip is complete without a stop for a pint!
We were happy to be a bit early for the bus :)