Dinner in Marrakesh

Moroccan Feast

Shish Taouk, Shish Kebab, Cardamom and Lemon Broiled Potatoes, Grilled Marinated Aubergine, Brown Basmati Rice Pilaf, and Fresh Mint Tea

Another full day in the kitchen!  Marinating, slicing, applying Neosporin and Band-Aids when The Mangler (my guardless mandolin) won the first round...  I made both Shish Taouk (chicken breast) and Shish Kebab (steak), and gave the chicken some sweet red bell pepper love while giving the steak a bite with crushed fresh cranberries.  Obviously, not traditional, but tasty.  I didn't have any plain yoghurt, so I used organic whole milk (used only for cooking - we don't drink whole milk - or milk at all) to break it down.

Cubed red potatoes, tossed in their own marinade of lemon, cardamom, mint, and rosemary (okay, and about 40 other spices and juices), are always the hit of my Moroccan cuisine.  Basically, I have to overfill my plate at dinner just to ensure that I have enough left to make a leftover lunch (I don't eat much).

So far, I'm the only one guzzling the tea (although I just switched to my favorite cheap red wine), but I have no problem with that at all.

The rice was full of Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, Julienned Carrots, something that I found in my root veggie bowl that looked like a beige, wrinkled carrot that I couldn't remember buying, but it looked, smelled, and tasted okay, so I sliced it on the beaten-into-submission mandolin, popped a slice in my mouth, and it tasted like a slightly sweet carrot.  So, I julienned that, too (by hand, after the carrot incident), added some minced garlic, used Brown Basmati Rice, then toasted the whole thing before I added the liquid: low-sodium, free-range chicken broth.  Because I didn't want sticky, Chinese take-out rice, I used an extra 1/2 cup of stock.

I marinated the thickly-sliced aubergine (about 3/4"), and broiled that in the oven while Lou was outside grilling the meat.  Set the table, sit, down, and eat was the only thing we had left to do.

Okay, so Uncle Billy didn't eat the rice, but he at least ate the meat and potatoes.  I'm still trying to figure out what to cook to please him, but we're a healthy food household, and I am lost when it comes to a 54-year-old man who goes through two giant Coke Slurpees a day.  I have to just decide to cook the way I usually do (healthy, lots of vegetables), and let him fend for himself.  Who ever pictured me as a nuturer?  If you said, "I did," we're no longer friends.

I hope you all had happy, satisfying meals, and are safely tucked in next to your kitchen bitch.

-Z