If this post doesn't bring my server to its knees, I don't know what will. Between scans of photos from my visit to Morocco, and shots of the grapefruit curd I've been making, I went a bit overkill on the photo front. Here's the back-story. One afternoon, while I was in Morocco, Maryam kindly brought us tea and a platter of incredible lemon bars. The lemon flavor of the curd was intense and bright, made from citrus picked on the property. The shortbread foundation, extra thick and structured - think deep-dish lemon bar perfection. And there I found myself, standing in the North African sun, thinking about all the citrus that would waiting for me when I got home, and all the different curds I would make.
And I did. I made minneola curd, blood orange curd, lemon curd with a kiss of clove, and this one, ginger grapefruit curd. I think it's my favorite, an intense, assertive hit of grapefruit with enough ginger to notice. It begs to be slathered on scones, biscuits, toast, and English muffins. Wayne puts it on pizzelles. I swirl it into Greek yogurt. And we topped waffles with it when my family (including my fantastic Boise-based aunt) came to brunch over the weekend. You can sweeten this curd with granulated sugar or honey, and I include instructions for both down below. In general, I use a one-pan method to make curd, which (I hope) makes things easy for you - not fussy or technical.
While I was in Morocco I shot with my Polaroid Land camera quite a lot. It takes pack film which is still readily available. Each shot develops over the course of a few minutes, and you peel it away from its backing. You can see my shots spread out on the table up above (land cam shots on the right). I love this camera, but in all honesty, it is not a system for the faint of heart. I carry an external light meter/timer, sizable packs of film, lens adapters/rangefinders, bags for the trash the film produces, and a small box to protect the damp prints from scratches and dirt. The film is also temperature sensitive. Beyond that, the list of issues goes on - but I love the little prints it makes, and the feel they have. Hopefully some of that magic is retained in a few of these scans - a handful of my favorites from this trip.
These three shots (above) were shot at Peacock Pavilions - our beautiful home base while we were in Marrakesh. We'd have incredible lunches out on the terrace before venturing into town.
Beautiful arm candy (above) courtesy of the incredibly talented Jen Altman. She's also an excellent roommate. As was Amy, in the golden light down below.
There are a thousand things I saw that I didn't take pictures of. You can't capture the smell of wood/trash burning, or the call of roosters at dawn. And the beauty of an end-of-day call to prayer broadcast across a public square teeming with people is a reason in itself to travel and witness. The sound echoes off buildings and fills the air, and so much else falls away. From the car I saw goats eating olives from low-slung orchard branches, and families congregating in parks at dusk. On foot, the endless heckling of tourists in the souks, carts piled high with purple prickly pears, and curious, chatty shopkeepers. The pastry shops were exquisite, but often dark enough that I didn't bother asking to shoot a few frames.
I look forward to returning someday - I'd also love to visit Fez, a city that has been on my travel wishlist for a long time. In the meantime, I'll keep cooking from my stack of Moroccan cookbooks so I have a deeper understanding when I do return - a shortlist of a few of my favorites for those of! you who are interested (The Food of Morocco, Mourad: New Moroccan, Arabesque, and A Month in Marrakesh). Also! Paula Wolfert maintains a fantastic Facebook group focused on Moroccan cooking, it's an incredible resource that you might want to check out if you're interested in diving deeper. -h
Continue reading Ginger Grapefruit Curd...
