Lunch at the Amal Women’s Training Centre and Moroccan Restaurant

The other day, after spending the morning in the Jardin Marjorelle in Marrakech taking photos, I hopped into a taxi to Gueliz — the section of the city built by the French during the Protectorate in the early 20th century. I got out at a fork in the road in search of the restaurant run by the Amal Women’s Training Centre. And I got lost. I haven’t yet found an English map of Marrakech and I’m not sure it would do much good as most of the streets have no signs or an occasional sign in Arabic or French.  I think its the kind of place you learn to get around by trial and error. And I’ve been making a lot errors. Moroccans are very helpful when asked for directions — although I’ve been perplexed to twice have people smile and nod and say “droit, droit” while gesturing left, left.

Anyway, after a phone call to the Association Amal, I was given very clear and friendly directions in English to the restaurant — I was only about 20 yards away from the front gate!

The reviews on tripadvisor were almost uniform in their praise at the quality of the cooking at an extremely good value, so I was eager to stop by on this trip and try it out for myself, as well as supporting a cause which is close to my heart.

I found out about the Amal Women’s Training Centre about a year ago when I stumbled upon a blog called “Life in Marrakesh” written by a remarkable woman named Nora who was born and raised in Morocco to American parents: http://moroccomama.wordpress.com/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog.

Nora started up the nonprofit Amal Women’s Training Centre when she felt compelled to do something about Morocco’s marginalized women — the single mothers, widows, and girls who’d never had access to any education. Many of these women are illiterate and have struggled with poverty. The Association Amal’s goal is to improve the quality of life of these disadvantaged women by giving them the tools they need to start supporting themselves, beginning with cooking, hygiene and literacy skills.

Behind the leafy hedge, off the hot and dusty streets of Marrakech, I found a cool and inviting patio shaded by umbrellas and orange trees. It was buzzing with people, and a couple of hopeful cats, and a menu chalked upon a large board tempted me with Moroccan salad, grilled chicken and chocolate mousse for dessert. Except for the chocolate mousse (which made me oh so excited), it wasn’t an unusual menu for Morocco. So I wasn’t expecting what I got.

A girl with a charming smile took my order in perfect French, and a short while later brought over a large bottle of water, a basket of fresh bread and a plate of warm delights that was nothing like any Moroccan salad I’d ever seen before. There were light and flavourful marrow and carrots (sweet!), and tiny herbed potatoes, an aubergine puree, and several filo-wrapped vegetarian parcels. It was a feast for the eyes as well as for the palate, and I ate every last morsel. Even the cats didn’t get a nibble.

I was excited now. This was far beyond what I’d been expecting. Then the main course arrived — the grilled chicken with chips.

The chicken was succulent and lemony with an edge of charcoally crispness and sat on warm pureed tomato with grilled chicken livers. It was accompanied by a grilled tomato covered with seasoned breadcrumbs, a silky garlicky aubergine dish and a handful of crisp french fries. This was no simple lunch — this was a feast! And I was enjoying every moment of it. Okay, I relented. The cats got a couple of the chicken livers.

I was getting full, but there’s always, always room for pudding — especially if it’s chocolate. And the mousse arrived, garnished with a sprig of fresh mint. Oh joy!

I ate it and I was happy. All for 75 dirhams (about £6 or $12 Cdn).

The Amal Women’s Training Centre & Moroccan Restaurant, Angle rues Allal ben Ahmad et Ibn Sina, Quartier l’Hopital Tofail, Marrakech 40000, Morocco

T: 212 604 238860 or 212 524 446896

Follow it on Facebook!  https://www.facebook.com/AmalNonProfit

English Country Pubs

I’ve spent a lot of very pleasant time in old English country pubs over the Christmas period, eating delicious hearty home-cooked food with very good rustic wines. Day lunch was enjoyed at the Jolly Sportsman in East Chiltington, East Sussex…

…where I savoured game terrine followed by roast guinea fowl with lashings of French red wine…

…in the jolly (indeed!) company of my sister Tootsie, her hubby Wineguy and my nephew Hankenstein. A brisk stroll on top of the Devil’s Dyke in Sussex ended up at the Devil’s Dyke Pub…

…where we warmed up with steaming hot chocolate.

Off to visit my friends Modman and Brewgirl and her daughter Socky in Kent led (naturally) to a quick pint (for them) and a gingery Whisky Mac for me at the Farrier’s Arms (circa 1606) in Mersham.

The next evening we’d booked a meal at the Black Horse Inn which is basically in a field in tiny Monks Horton, Kent, and which ended up being truly memorable, with a bar billiards table to boot!

The roast pheasant with peppercorn sauce was gamey and delicious, but, the Zuppa Inglesi (English Trifle Italian Style) was stupendous. Biscotti soaked in vermouth with a marscapone custard, cherries soaked in Amaretto, cream and pistachios — it was my dessert of the year.

In Canterbury the next day, after a marvellous visit to Canterbury Cathedral we headed to The Foundry brew pub for delicious steak and ale pies and ale (for them) and red wine for me.

You don’t need to be a beer lover (or even a drinker) to love English pubs. Or even human.

http://www.thejollysportsman.com/

http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thedevilsdykebrighton/

http://www.thefarriersarms.com/

http://www.theblackhorse.uk.com/

http://www.thefoundrycanterbury.co.uk/

Birthday Girl

It was my birthday today. It was a work day, but I took myself out for a nice dinner. I wanted white tablecloths and waiters in white shirts and aprons. You gotta treat yourself nice sometimes. I took myself out for a date to Como Lario in Chelsea for some modern Italian food in a comfy, unstuffy setting. It had a kind of polished 60s feel — not contrived or retro. Pale grey walls, red upholstered furniture, framed black and white photos of 50s and 50s film stars and a phalanx of handsome Italian waiters. There were businessmen enjoying an early supper, couples dressed up for a date, a few single women (nice to know I’m not the only one), and a family enjoying a birthday dinner. It’s the kind of place you could imagine Sinatra and Ava Gardner canoodling on a banquette in the corner over linguine with mussels. I loved it.

I started with a Cinzano Rosso on ice with a slice of lemon — a drink I used to enjoy with my mother whenever I visited her — and popped plump olive after plump olive into my mouth while I mulled over the menu. I’m a game lover, so when I saw the wild board prosciutto marinated in red wine and served with dried pears and honey, well, I was sold.

The meat was sweet and smokey, really delicious with the pear and honey. I chose a glass of Sangiovese Rosso Sicilana Igt Vignali Roccamora 2011 which was a lovely ruby red, fragrant and light and fruity. Perfect with the boar.

Something about the boar must have brought out my carnivorous side, because I skipped over the pastas, as tempting as they were, and the fresh fish and poultry and headed straight for the meat section. I chose sliced sirloin of beef dressed with olive oil and charcoal grilled, served with rocket salad and some boiled baby new potatoes.

I loved it. The wedge of lemon was inspired. It added a lovely zest to the rocket.

Then it was pudding time. Birthday pudding time. 🙂 There was much to tempt a sweet lover like me, but the chocolate crepe stuffed with mascarpone, chocolate shavings and cherry liqueur had me at hello.

And in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

I followed it all up with a delicious espresso served with a choice of sugars.

Happy Birthday to me indeed!

www.comolario.co.uk

Lunch in Essaouira

It was lunchtime, and Berberman and I had worked up an appetite on our journey from Marrakech and our walk through the Essaouira souk. We were in a fishing town on the Atlantic coast of Morocco — fish was on the menu!

We headed to the blue and white outdoor fish restaurants clustered along the harbour front to select some freshly caught fish for lunch.

We were popular with one of the local residents.

A Night Out in Soho

My cousin Craftgirl and her son Marky Mark were in London for a flying visit from the homeland, Newfoundland, this week so Tootsie and I met up with them at a stylish Italian restaurant in Soho for supper before they headed off to the West End to see some theatre. I did my research and found Bocca di Lupo, in easy walking distance to the Wyndham’s Theatre,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyndham’s_Theatre , where they were going to see “Relatively Speaking”, and smack dab in the middle of Soho’s red light district, where fabulous delis and cafes rub shoulders with strip clubs and “adult” bookstores. Bocca di Lupo had a slew of great reviews and had an early sitting to accommodate theatre-goers, so Bob’s Your Uncle, as they say over here.

Tootsie and I were a little early so, after admiring the tastefully chic décor (all beige walls, dark wood panelling, handsome leather chairs, very good paintings, and a shows-stopping modern chandelier), we compensated by dipping into the extensive drinks list, with me choosing a cocktail of martino rosso, prosecco and, umm, something else, and Tootsie opting for a cocktail of prosecco and, ohh, I forget. It was pink. They were very good.

Craftgirl and Marky Mark arrived and we hmmmed and hawed over the menu full of intriguing offerings. I chose the manzo di pozza beef carpaccio with shaved pecorino cheese and rocket (a lovely flavourful dish which got my taste buds jumping), followed by tagliatelle with girolle mushrooms, garlic and parsley — which was perfection — the pasta cooked just al dente and the mushrooms firm and meaty. Tootsie had the same thing with a salad and we were very happy with our choice.

Craftgirl ordered the lobster risotto with a salad, which she said was scrumptious, and Marky Mark started off with a lamb chop with sweetbreads, peach and honey mustard, followed by the trofie pasta with pesto Genovese, green beans and potato. We washed it all down with an earthy Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2012. Very very pleasant food indeed.

We made sure to save some room for dessert, and I had the pudding of chocolate, coffee, and caramel sauce…

…which was almost fudgy in its consistency and full of chocolately flavour, and the others tucked into some delicious home-made gelati (Bocca di Lupo has a gelati shop across the road called Gelupo). Then we paid up and had a brisk walk through Soho, getting them to their theatre in the nick of time for their show.

Then… it was still early. So Tootsie suggested we drop into our favourite Leicester Square wine bar The Cork and Bottle, a subterranean treasure tucked behind an innocuous door and rarely found by tourists. It’s been there forever, and has a décor which has evolved over years of adding on without taking away. Just the kind of place to wile away an evening (or a lazy afternoon) over wine and nibbles, far beneath the crowds of Leicester Square.

We chose a carafe of chilly white (Tootsie chose and I neglectfully forgot to ask her what she selected, being caught up in taking photos of the interior)….

…and we had a great natter, deciding to have a sisters’ night out in London once a month from now on. Watch out London, here we come!

Bocca di Lupo, 12 Archer Street, London W1D 7BB, Tel: +44 (0) 207 734 2223, www.boccadilupo.com

Gelupo, 7 Archer Street, London W1D 7AU, Tel: + 44 (0) 207 287 5555, www.gelupo.com

The Cork and Bottle, 44-46 Cranbourn Street, London WC2H 7AN, Tel: +44 (0) 207 734 7807, www.thecorkandbottle.co.uk

A Night on Bermondsey Street

It had been over a year since we’d last seen each other, so last night my friend Designergirl and I met up at Zucca (www.zuccalondon.com ) in past-up-and-coming-and-now-quite-fashionable Bermondsey, near London Bridge. I remember back about ten or fifteen years ago when Bermondsey was an area of abandoned warehouses, graffiti’d walls and empty lots piled with rubbish — an area you’d go out of your way to avoid. But, my my, has that ever changed! As I walked from London Bridge Station, the streets were full of suited and skirted office workers enjoying drinks on pub terraces, music filtered out of the cafes and bars, and any graffiti on show was of the expensive, commissioned sort.

I was delighted to find Zandra Rhodes’s Fashion & Textile Museum, anchored on one side of the street like a huge orange ship…

…and made a mental note to drop by for a visit.

I found Zucca…

…a stylish Italian restaurant which had a ton of great reviews on tripadvisor.

I was just starting to peruse the menu when Designergirl arrived. We ordered a glass of the citrusy Italian white wine they had on offer (the name of which I very neglectfully forgot to note, so delighted I was to see Designergirl again).

Then we hmmmed and hawed over the intriguing menu. I chose the Zucca fritti (tempura-battered butternut squash) for a starter…

…which was as light and tasty as you would imagine, although I found it a tad on the salty side. Designergirl chose the Melazane alla Parmigiana, a baked aubergine, tomato and parmesan dish which she said was as luscious as it looked.

I followed up with a pasta dish of Taglierini with rabbit ragu (very yummy)…

…while she opted for Maltagliati (a large flat pasta — we had to ask the waiter what it was) with lentils, basil and walnuts.

Maybe not the most beautiful dish in the world, but she finished up every last lentil.

Then, of course, it was on to dessert. I always save room for dessert. In fact, I usually ask what’s on the dessert menu before I choose my starter and main, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m partial to a good panna cotta, and I wasn’t disappointed. Zucca had a panna cotta with gooseberries on offer, which had me at hello, and I washed the jiggly delight down with a terrific cup of espresso.

Designergirl had some home-made gelati in chocolaty hazelnutty flavours. When I asked her how it was, she licked her lips and nodded, which I took as “Very good indeed”.

All in all a very delightful meal. After we paid up (a very reasonable bill too — £40.00 a piece including tip), the night was still young, so we headed down the street to the Hide Bar, www.thehidebar.com .

I’d sold some original Art Deco pictures to the manager Paolo at the vintage fair in Brighton a couple of weeks ago, so I’d resolved to pop in and taste his famous cocktails for myself.

Unfortunately Paolo had just finished his shift, but we were well taken care of by the staff of friendly Italians.

The cocktail menu is full of temptations, and Designergirl chose a Moscow Mule while I opted for the Sea Lady — it promised a hibiscus-flavoured salted rim which I just had to try. You know I love flowers.

Between all the noshing and sipping, we chatted and laughed and had a lovely time catching up. And we resolved not to wait another year before meeting up again.

Zucca, 184 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3TQ

The Hide Bar, 39-45 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF

Ella’s Yummy Delights

Just off the train in Brighton the other morning I headed down the main street towards the sea. But it was early, and I hadn’t had my breakfast (and I NEED breakfast). My stomach rumbled, and my eye was caught by the enticing sign outside Ella’s.

“Breakfast”, “hand-made”, mother daughter”, “amazing garden”, “CAKES” (I loved how this was capitalized — they were obviously people after my own heart). So I stepped across the threshold into Ella’s… where I was greeted by Ella’s friendly daughter Emilia and a display of the most gorgeous cakes and pastries this side of heaven.

And hand-made by Ella herself in the kitchen underneath the café. It was a bit too early for cakes (even for me :-)) but I ordered a freshly-baked croissant and a latte and headed out to a hidden gem of a garden…

…tucked away from the crowds and noise of the busy Brighton high street. I savoured my breakfast…

…paid up, and resolved to be just a bit later the next time I walk down the road from the train station. Those cakes are calling to me!

 Ella’s, 51 Queen’s Road, Brighton BN1 3XB, ellasyummydelights@gmail.com

Meandering in Brighton

I had a few errands to run in Brighton today and the weather was with me. It was a fine, fine day and the sun had drawn people out of their walls and onto the streets of Brighton.

I did my errands then I wandered and meandered. Through the Lanes, famous for their old buildings…

… and the shopping…

…and street performers (he was doing a mean Frank Sinatra)…

…and busy cafes and restaurants…

…where I wondered what “backed goat’s cheese” tasted like.

I wandered through the farmer’s market in Churchill Square… http://www.brightonvisitor.com/markets/farmers-market-at-churchill-square/

..,and was tempted (sorely, very sorely tempted) by the delicious things on offer…

…especially the breads and cakes from Joby Turner Cross www.jpturnerfoodservice.com .

There was only one thing for it — fish and chips on Brighton Pier.

I LOVE the fish and chips from the Palm Court http://www.brightonpier.co.uk/palm-court-restaurant .

Then I wandered around the pier, letting my eye be caught by whatever it fancied.

Then it was over to the Brighton Pavilion — one of my favourite buildings in England — a grand pile of exuberant eccentricity created from the exotic imaginings of George, Prince of Wales (later King George IV) between 1787 and 1822. http://www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk/royalpavilion/Pages/home.aspx

Then it was past the fountain…

…and the old Georgian hotels, slightly frayed at the edges…

…past roads of white Regency houses gleaming in the sun…

…to the train station…

…and home.

Jamjarjude’s Birthday, Part 1

It was my sister Jamjarjude’s birthday yesterday and boy, did we celebrate. In fact we started celebrating the night before with a pizza at our favourite pizza place, Riso’s in Lantzville, www.risofoodsinc.com where JJJ had the Marinara pizza and I had the Margharita Ultima, preceded by Cinzano Rosso with lemon and followed by delicious gelato — hazelnut, vanilla and the most ecstatic-making pistachio we’d ever tasted (so heavenly we took a pint home with us).

JJJ’s birthday dawned bright and after pressies…

…we headed for brunch at Tina’s Diner in downtown Nanaimo www.tinasdiner.shawwebspace.ca …

…where we had the best eggs bennie I’d ever had,

Then, full of our yummy brunch, we headed off to Ladysmith to kayak!

We headed to Sealegs Kayaking, www.sealegskayaking.com …

where the personable Shea fitted us out with our lifejackets and boat shoes and showed us the fundamentals of kayak paddling, all while standing on one foot. 🙂

It was JJJ’s first time (my second), so we rented a double kayak for 2 hours to paddle around the inlet around Ladysmith. The scenery was fantastic — so different when seen up close from the water. We were followed by some curious seals who kept bobby up near the kayak and had bald eagles flying around us much of the way. This is the life, I thought. Being an Canadian is pretty ace sometimes.

Jamjarjude concurred.

We’d worked up a small appetite after our kayaking so we headed along the coast road to Chemainus for an apple and cinnamon muffin and coffee at the Utopia Bakery Cafe which is tucked behind the main street and is a real gem of a find. You can read all about it on www.tripadvisor.ca where it has excellent reviews.

Then, what to do? Oh, we found something amazing to do on the way back to Nanaimo. Part 2 tomorrow!

Food and Views from Victoria to Nanaimo

Another quick trip down to Victoria yesterday with Jamjarjude and Ralphie to pick up my new Canadian passport and see our Auntie Bee, ninety-four and as spry as either of us. We had a lovely lunch of Montreal-style smoked meat sandwiches (pastrami on rye with mustard and a side dill pickle for JJJ and me, and blinis for Auntie Bee) at The Village Restaurant www.villagerestaurant.ca and picked up some delicious cupcakes at Crumsbys www.crumsbys.com across the street…

…then drove along the beachfront to walk Ralphie and smell the fresh salty air…

…where Ralphie cooled off in the sea.

We dropped Auntie Bee off and headed back to Nanaimo, stopping to admire the view from the summit of the Malahat.

It was supper time when we reached the outskirts (we got caught in the Victoria rush hour) so JJJ suggested a light supper at the Crow & Gate Pub www.crowandgate.com in Cedar, one of our favourite spots. A veritable English Pub in the BC countryside.

The evening was so lovely we decided to sit in the lovely gardens (although the interior is a cosy place that looks like it is straight out of a Dickens novel).

JJJ enjoyed a Smithwick’s Irish ale and I had a A-class gin and tonic with lime. Then we decided on a Stilton ploughman’s which was perfect.

Afterwards we walked around the idyllic gardens bursting with the flowers of early summer…

There were water irises…

…roses fragrant with scent…

…paper-like Oriental poppies…

…eryngium (sea holly) like fire crackers…

…my favourite blue delphiniums…

…giant alliums like puff balls…

…rabbit-eared French lavender…

…and flowering thyme sending its pungent scent into the evening air.

We didn’t see any crows but there was a pretty tree swallow with brilliant blue feathers perching in front of a bird house.

The Crow & Gate — not just for beer lovers.