I will be on my way to the real kasbah when you read this. As many of you know, I haven’t been there in four years, an eternity for me. Dar Zitoun awaits on the banks of the Mother of Spring.

I was thrilled last month to be interviewed for NPR’s The Salt Blog, where my recipe for smen, Morocco’s unique preserved butter, is now online. The recipe is from Mint Tea and Minarets.

Smen: NPR The Salt

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/10/09/353510171/smen-is-moroccos-funky-fermented-butter-that-lasts-for-years

A new Middle Eastern market opened in our neighborhood, and look at what I found:

Russian couscous, can you believe it? When I first arrived in the US in the mid 1960s, my grandfather had to special order it in New York from Mid East importers. Great exultation followed upon the arrival of our couscous fix in Milwaukee, WI!

and best of all, harissa made in Morocco, and bearing the name of Mehdia, the beach town and surf spot north of Rabat, where we rented a beach  hideaway  many years ago.

all from North Park Produce, in Vista, CA.

Bon appetit.