Moroccan Cuisine – A Foodie’s Delight

Cooked Moroccan tajine
Cooked Moroccan tajine – ready to eat. Photo courtesy of Catherine Lee

During the first 12 days of our two-week tour of Morocco, we sampled a flavorful array of Moroccan cuisine.

From the historic cities of Casablanca, Fes and Meknes, across the vast desert of the Sahara, to the villages of the Middle and High Atlas Mountains, we ate local specialties at each stop.

The main ingredients in Moroccan cooking are surprisingly simple:

Flour, vegetables, meat or fish. Sometimes cheese or butter, often olives. Occasionally dates or raisins. And, once in a while, a surprising sweetness where our Western palate would expect a savory taste.

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Happy Meal: Why is my morning toast smiling at me?

smiley face on toasted bread
My morning toast is smiling at me – AI art generated by MidJourney

BALI, INDONESIA – We recently moved into an unfurnished villa after several years of traveling around the world and staying in fully furnished apartments, condos, hostels, hotels and Air BnBs.

Every one of those places was outfitted with all the standard trappings. Not necessarily lavish, but we rarely lacked any of the necessities for daily living.

The villa where we stayed for the past year was totally furnished – OVER-FURNISHED, to be honest.

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Three Years On The Road Now – And Counting…

Melanie gets ready to hit the highway in a vintage motorcycle sidecar
Melanie’s ready to hit the highway in a vintage motorcycle sidecar in Phong Nha, Vietnam

DANANG, VIETNAM – This month marks a milestone for us on our world travels. Three years ago, on June 15, 2017, we bid farewell to our home of 25 years in Western Washington state and set off with one-way tickets to Edinburgh, Scotland intending to travel around the UK for a couple months.

Ten weeks later we hopped back across the water to the U.S. to visit friends and family on the East Coast and the Midwest. Then, after two months in the Seattle area wrapping up some final loose ends, we flew off to Asia.

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Nobody likes me, everybody hates me. Guess I’ll just eat… grubs

I'm going to eat what?
I’m going to eat what?

HANOI, VIETNAM – OK, I’ll admit that title isn’t entirely accurate. Not everyone hates me, and I’m sure there must be a couple people who actually like me… at least a little. And I know my wife likes me (most of the time anyway).

But I did eat a grub the other day. Several of them, in fact.
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Our traditional Tet lunch experience

An array of traditional Vietnamese food for Lunar New Year (Tet)
An array of traditional Vietnamese food for Lunar New Year (Tet)

HANOI, VIETNAM – As slow travelers, John and I always try to connect with the local culture, so we were thrilled to be invited recently to join a family for their traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) family lunch in a rural village just outside of Hanoi.

We really did not know what to expect, besides lots of food, so we saved the entire day for the experience, and brought a box of chocolates for our host, Khai, the number two son in the family.
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