Ah Summer........and with it.............memorable meals outdoors.
This weekend, make a lunch or dinner just a little extra special. Get on the phone, call some friends, and plan (and prepare) something together.
Have a beautiful (and delicious) weekend.
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It started off innocently enough. It was Saturday night and I was out with this girl and this girl at a new wine and cheese bar in Marrakech called (cough) Cheese Me.
It was small and modern and had a very special chandelier.
Karim, the co-owner, had enough charisma for all of Marrakech.
Cheese Me's simple and very affordable menu was written on a blackboard,offering delicious cheeses, desserts and a short wine list. We ordered.
And there was a clinking of glasses.
And that's when she told us. About the jinn or genies (those spirits written about in the Koran, and respected and feared by many Muslims).
She had been (of course) in the Algerian desert. It was night time. Now every good Tuareg nomad knows perfectly well that you mustn't ever fall asleep near a fire because when the last embers fade away, that's when they come. The genies.
She heard them. Their feet tap, tap, tapping.
Back and forth, back and forth the genies walked. Pacing. Why right above her sleeping bag.
She was astonished.
Suddenly -- salacious creatures as they sometimes are -- one of the genies tried to get into her sleeping bag.
She resisted, sliding deeper into the sleeping bag, her hands holding it closed.
She tried to remember how to say Help in Arabic and French, but nothing came to mind. She tried German but these particular genies didn't seem to speak that language. So she squeaked a tiny little Help in English.
Thank goodness, it worked and the genies fled. (I think her talismanic rings might have assisted, too.)
So next time you find yourself in the Algerian desert....
remember this cautionary tale.......and pray for English-speaking genies....
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Cheese Me
68, Rue de la Liberté, Gueliz
Marrakech, Morocco
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Let me take you out, I said.
He agreed. We had things to talk about, you see, important things.
We arranged to meet at Restaurant Loft, a new place in Marrakech in Gueliz.
It's the kind of place with a well stocked bar....
tea-pouring waiters....
and carefully arranged food....
It's the kind of place where people come and share their secrets.
Yehia was there already, waiting for me.
We had our appetizers.
Then we ordered our drinks -- mojito royale.
We would need those drinks because we were talking about Egypt. You see, Yehia was Egyptian but he lived in Marrakech.
We talked. We talked about revolutions and trickeries. We talked about battling evils and how to choose between them. We talked about chaos. But mostly we talked about disappointment.
There was another drink.
And despite the smiles, I thought I saw balled up fists.
Because happy demeanors can hide hopes dashed. Especially when you love something so desperately. Like a person, or an ideal, or a country.
And you see it go astray.
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18, rue de la Liberte, Gueliz, Marrakech
+212 (0)524-434-216
Being the tiniest of tiny hoteliers in Marrakesh is a special business. I always wanted Peacock Pavilions to be the kind of place where people would think back to when they stayed with us and it would evoke a feeling of something that was, well, warm and good, like a friend's exotic home, with stylish rooms and happy food. That years later they would start off occasional sentences with..........You remember when we were at Peacock Pavilions and....... That their time here in the olive grove would be imprinted somehow, tangible...like one of those little stars in that silken pouch. Like something you could touch, feel and remember.
Every single day is a work in progress at Peacock Pavilions. Neither architect husband Chris nor I have any background in this business but we try to make up for it with care, attention and quirky detail. It's hard to explain what it feels like when I learn of people's experiences staying with us. When I see their pictures and I read their words, it wells up in me, like a shy kind of pleasure.
The images of Peacock Pavilions above are by photographer Amanda Gilligan of this lovely blog. Amanda recently co-led with Susannah Conway and the bejeweled Jen Altman a photography retreat at our place. They have a forthcoming Polaroid book, called Instant Love. I so loved reading Jen's post (with a Moroccan recipe!) about Morocco and Peacock Pavilions on her blog. And I was more than touched to read retreat participant Helen's memories of Peacock Pavilions on her blog. So so sweet. And do see this Moroccan recipe that the beauteous Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks fame came up with. Easy and delicious!
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PS I was interviewed in Indigare:-) If you feel like it, take a hop over and see!
PPS Check out this Huffington Post Marrakesh style round up (Merci Huffington Post!) :-)
PPPS Along with my very favorite Moroccan chef who has this amazing cookbook out, I recently wrapped a Moroccan entertainment feature for Food & Wine Magazine. It'll be on the magazine stands down the road. Many thanks to their whole crew, including the adorable writer Gisela Williams, incredible photographer Lisa Linder, and talented stylist Susie Theodorou.
PPPPS Gorgeous new stock of Moroccan wedding blankets and Moroccan Beni Ouarain carpets in Red Thread Souk. Take a look here and grab them while they're hot!
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