Morocco Time

What I would be eating in Morocco:

- dates
- mint tea
- harira
- kefta tagine
- bread made by Hamou’s sister Zinba (flat bread with spices on the inside, sometimes called “Berber pizza”)
- hard boiled eggs
- kiri cheese or la vache qui rit

What I’m eating tonight: (Hamou’s at work, so it’s just me)

- dates
- mortadella sausage (halal, of course)
- kiri cheese
- lentil soup with paneer (yes, mixing cultures)
- moroccan khobz (I’m making it)
- baklava
- peach nectar
- Mt. Dew

I know it seems like a lot, but I’m not making very big batches. Probably a cup of soup, a few chunks of sausage, a few dates, etc…

Hope everyone is able to be with their families for this wonderful Ramadan season - whether you fast or not!

You wouldn’t believe the calls that were flying back and forth today, trying to determine when everyone is starting Ramadan. The results were varied.

Council of North American Islamic Scholars : Sept 12
Morocco : Sept. 14 (according to several people we called there)
Our friend Hajib’s mosque in Washington, DC (huge Moroccan community!) : Sept 13

I looked at the moon phase calendar, and I defy anyone to spot the new moon tonight. So we’ll start on the 13th (tomorrow) - how about you?

Seen on Slashdot:

“Indian journalist Amit Varma reports that Mumbai’s police are requiring the city’s 500 Internet cafes to install keystroke loggers, which will capture every keystroke by users and turn that information over to the government — nearly in realtime by the sound of it. Buy things online, and the underpaid Indian police will have your credit card number. ‘Will these end up getting sold in a black market somewhere? Not unlikely.’”

Think that the Makhzen would try something like this? Hm….

While getting ready for Ramadan, we have now visited a total of five stores that cater to the Muslim community. We still haven’t found one that sells sweet paprika, but I can get that elsewhere.

So what did we buy today?

- fresh ground cumin
- lentils
- tomato paste
- flat bread
- white beans (for bean soup)
- foul
- garlic (توما)
- green chiles
- a new teapot
- sardines (not for me, yuck)
- box of dates (Tunisian)
- farina

Great, now this has become a blog that talks about what I have for dinner.

OK, this is just absolute poo.

And check out the pillow. It looks like a 70’s bathroom collided with a Barbie Playset. (However, the reverse side of the pillow is tolerable.)