As Russia mobilizes its troops, as the
Ukraine prepares for war, and as President Obama deliberates his next move...we
sit in our little apartment on the edge of the desert in Morocco
listening to jazz and looking up vegetarian recipes on the computer. Our
Peace Corps world is small – most days it revolves around our small
town host community and what we will prepare for dinner, but being in the Peace Corps has made us even
more attuned to the happenings in this world.
We have been closely watching the countries near and bordering Morocco - Mali, Algeria, Libya - with a constant hope that unrest and violence will not cross the border of Morocco jeopardizing our work and our service. We have watched the crises in Syria, Egypt, and Turkey with the hope that President Obama would take actions that would avoid war. US interference in such issues could create a strong anti-American sentiment which could easily spread to Morocco. Now we watch things unfold in Eastern Europe as our fellow Peace Corps Volunteers are evacuated out of the Ukraine – with what looks like little hope of returning anytime soon. Peace Corps has a presence in many countries that can quickly become battlegrounds between ideologies, religions, and cultures. Peace Corps and US Embassies closely monitor all situations to ensure the safety of all Volunteers. So we watch the world, perched at our laptops, from the desert, and we always hope for peaceful resolutions.
What's for dinner then? (onto a lighter topic) Vegetables! Always vegetables! Eat all the vegetables! There is so much that we love about Morocco and the Peace Corps. So much. But most of all we absolutely love the challenge of cooking and baking without the conveniences one has in America. There are no supermarkets in the desert. There is no balsamic vinegar in the desert. No blue cheese. No chocolate chip cookies. No cans of diced tomatoes or black beans. No frozen corn kernels to toss into your chilli. No frozen pizza. No coconut oil or agave nectar. No corn chips...
We have been closely watching the countries near and bordering Morocco - Mali, Algeria, Libya - with a constant hope that unrest and violence will not cross the border of Morocco jeopardizing our work and our service. We have watched the crises in Syria, Egypt, and Turkey with the hope that President Obama would take actions that would avoid war. US interference in such issues could create a strong anti-American sentiment which could easily spread to Morocco. Now we watch things unfold in Eastern Europe as our fellow Peace Corps Volunteers are evacuated out of the Ukraine – with what looks like little hope of returning anytime soon. Peace Corps has a presence in many countries that can quickly become battlegrounds between ideologies, religions, and cultures. Peace Corps and US Embassies closely monitor all situations to ensure the safety of all Volunteers. So we watch the world, perched at our laptops, from the desert, and we always hope for peaceful resolutions.
What's for dinner then? (onto a lighter topic) Vegetables! Always vegetables! Eat all the vegetables! There is so much that we love about Morocco and the Peace Corps. So much. But most of all we absolutely love the challenge of cooking and baking without the conveniences one has in America. There are no supermarkets in the desert. There is no balsamic vinegar in the desert. No blue cheese. No chocolate chip cookies. No cans of diced tomatoes or black beans. No frozen corn kernels to toss into your chilli. No frozen pizza. No coconut oil or agave nectar. No corn chips...
 |
| from - http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/ |
Arie likes to
bring home special vegetables that he finds at the farmer's market in
order to challenge me to find new, delicious, and creative ways to
prepare them. His challenges used to intimidate me, but ultimately they have taught me well. I have learned that once the kitchen is stocked
with the basics cooking from scratch is so easy and so fun. I
have learned that all you really need to make good food is fat
(I like lots of butter or olive oil), onion and garlic, aromatics (fresh
cilantro, parsley, and celery are my favorites), spices
(homemade curry powder!), and salt (and pepper!). Add your
vegetable of choice, cook, and serve with some protein and grains and
you have a wholesome and delicious meal. Easy.
Oftentimes we are amazed at how much fresh produce we consume in a week. So this past month we kept track of the fresh fruit and vegetables we bought and consumed. We eat primarily vegetarian and most days we get a variety of fruits and veggies into our diet. Take a look below to see the breakdown of our produce consumption. In the span of a month we eat approximately 53.5 pounds of produce per person or about 13 pounds per person per week. In a month we purchase about 132 pounds, but some of that ends up in the compost bucket (think banana peels and tomato cores) which gets fed to our host family's goats and sheep.
Oftentimes we are amazed at how much fresh produce we consume in a week. So this past month we kept track of the fresh fruit and vegetables we bought and consumed. We eat primarily vegetarian and most days we get a variety of fruits and veggies into our diet. Take a look below to see the breakdown of our produce consumption. In the span of a month we eat approximately 53.5 pounds of produce per person or about 13 pounds per person per week. In a month we purchase about 132 pounds, but some of that ends up in the compost bucket (think banana peels and tomato cores) which gets fed to our host family's goats and sheep.
Produce Consumption
|
Compost Loss (approximate)
|
| Start of Month: 14 kilo (30 lbs) |
|
| Purchase Week 1: 18.5 kilo (41 lbs) | Week 1: 4 kilo |
| Purchase Week 2: 14.5 kilo (32 lbs) | Week 2: 4 kilo |
| Purchase Week 3: 12.5 kilo (27 lbs) | Week 3: 4 kilo |
| Purchase Week 4: 14.5 kilo (32 lbs) | Week 4: 4 kilo |
| End of Month: 9.5 kilo (20 lbs) |
|
| Total purchased: 60 kilo (132 lbs) |
Total composted: 16 kilo (35 lbs) |
| Total consumed:
+(start) –(end) = 64.5 kilo (142 lbs) –(compost 25%) = 48.5 kilo (107 lbs) |
GRAND TOTAL: 53.5 pounds per person per month
or
13 pounds per person per week |
After thinking about how much fresh
produce we consume, I decided to take a look at what we use to
prepare and transform it into delicious meals. Maybe you would like
to know what is on our shelves and in our refrigerator? Take a look at
this chart which details our normal monthly food consumption. We eat
better here in Morocco than we did in the US; although we could use more
whole grains. Rarely do we consume meat or 'other' beverages.
Fresh Vegetables
|
Constant Stock
|
Regular Stock
|
Specialty Stock
|
Potatoes
Onions
Tomatoes
Carrots
Garlic
|
Zucchini
Hot Peppers
(dried for hot pepper flakes)
Sweet Potatoes
Collard Greens
|
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Beets
Turnips
Parsnips
Squash/Pumpkin
Avocados
Beet/Turnip/Radish Greens
Green/Red Peppers
Radishes
Cucumber
Fresh Fava Beans
Green Peas
Green Beans
Celery
Green Onions
Fennel Bulbs/Stems/Fronds
Black Radish |
|
Fresh Fruit
|
Constant Stock
|
Regular Stock
|
Specialty Stock
|
| Bananas Apples (fresh, for baking, or apple sauce) Oranges (fresh and orange juice ice cubes) |
Lemons (for cooking and lemon juice ice cubes) |
Kiwis Strawberries Pineapple Pears Plums Melons Grapes Dates Limes (for cooking and lime juice cubes) |
|
Dried Fruit
|
Constant Stock
|
Regular Stock
|
Specialty Stock
|
Dates
Raisins |
Craisins (from US)
Blueberries
(from US)
Sun Dried Tomatoes (from US) |
||
Grains
|
Constant Stock
|
Regular Stock
|
Specialty Stock
|
Macaroni Pasta
Spaghetti Pasta
White Rice
Barley Grits
Couscous
White Flour
Corn Meal |
Popcorn
Breadcrumbs
Corn Flour
Oats (from big city)
|
Brown Rice
(from US)
Wild Rice
(from US)
Whole Wheat Couscous
Quinoa
(from US) |
|
Dried Legumes
and Nuts
|
Constant Stock
|
Regular Stock
|
Specialty Stock
|
Brown Lentils
Split Peas
White Beans
Chickpeas |
Fava Beans
Peanuts
Almonds
Cashews |
Walnuts
Black Beans
(from US)
Red Beans (from US) |
|
Dairy and Eggs
|
Constant Stock
|
Regular Stock
|
Specialty Stock
|
Milk
Plain Yogurt
Spreadable Cheese
Butter
Eggs |
Ricotta Cheese |
Gouda/Edam
Parmesan (from big city) |
|
Oils
|
Constant Stock
|
Regular Stock
|
Specialty Stock
|
| Vegetable Oil Olive Oil |
|||
Condiments
|
Constant Stock
|
Regular Stock
|
Specialty Stock
|
Honey
White Vinegar
Mustard
JamMayo |
Olives
Spicy Pickled Peppers
HarrisaPeanut Butter (homemade) or Amalou |
Siracha (from US)
Tamari/Soy Sauce (from US)
Ketchup
Maple Syrup (from US) |
|
Spices and Herbs
|
Constant Stock
|
Regular Stock
|
Specialty Stock
|
Fresh Parsley
Fresh Cilantro
Dried Herbs
Whole Dried Spices
Ground Dried Spices
Bay Leaves
Salt
Bullion Cubes |
Fresh Rosemary Fresh Mint |
||
Baking
|
Constant Stock
|
Regular Stock
|
Specialty Stock
|
Granulated Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla Sugar
Baking SodaBaking Powder |
Vanilla Extract (from US)
Brown Sugar (from US)
Cocoa Powder (from big city)
Active Yeast
Baking Chocolate (from big city) |
||
Meat
|
Constant Stock
|
Regular Stock
|
Specialty Stock
|
Whole Chicken (chicken stock)
Goat (goat stock)
Ground BeefGround Turkey |
That sums it up. So what do we like to cook and eat?
Here are some of our favorite recipes
that we eat on a regular basis (click the title for the link):
Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Soup (with chickpeas)
Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas (curried)
Green, Beans, and Rice using this Moroccan White Beans Recipe
Tunisian Chickpea & Vegetable Soup (also known as Harira)
Crisp Rosemary Flatbread (in place of crackers)
 |
| Our sweet potato, potato, and onion storage system. |
 |
| So many spices! |
 |
| We have no shame in using lots of oil and butter - fat is healthy when used correctly. |
 |
| A pile of produce...this is a small and less abundant pile compared to what Arie normally brings home. |
 |
| Looks like we are running low on popcorn! |
