I can’t really explain to you how excited I was when I received an email saying that a blogger from Morocco had contacted us because she loved our Passport to Eating Mini Menu Series and wanted to get involved! I’ve loved getting to know Amanda through our correspondence over the last few months and through exploring her blog, MarocMama. Maroc is the French word for both “Morocco” and “Mama,” so it perfectly fits her. She is originally from the Midwest, but started traveling at 16 and hasn’t stopped yet. She and her husband (whom she met in Morocco) have lived in the states, but they currently live in Marrakech with their two boys. They travel, try new food, and introduce the city they love to visitors. Amanda records the details and the excitement of their journeys (including recipes) as well as some of the challenges of the mobile lifestyle. I was inspired as we have considered moving our family overseas for a period of time, but have not yet been able to make that dream a reality. I hope one day I can visit with her on the other side of the pond! I pinned these posts for later – How Can I Afford A Global Lifestyle? and 4 Tips to Start Planning and International Relocation
Our favorite Moroccan dish of Amanda’s is:
Original: Slow Cooker Chicken Shwarma (dairy free, nut free)
Freezable: Slow Cooker Chicken Shwarma (Log-in required)
Other great recipes you can find from MarocMama as part of OAMM membership:
How long have you been blogging about food and travel?
I started blogging in 2007 as a way to share our day to day life and recipes as I learned how to make Moroccan food. It’s hard to believe it’s been over 7 years now!
Have you always loved cooking, or was it a skill that you learned to love? How did you learn to cook Moroccan food?
I can remember cooking with my grandma when I was younger, and I always enjoyed it, but it wasn’t until after I was married (which was at a young 20 years old) that I began to do it regularly. At first, all I could make was eggs and prepare basic, boxed or canned foods, but I learned so much in a short time! In Morocco food is always prepared fresh with natural ingredients. My husband wouldn’t eat frozen food or something from the microwave, and he really wasn’t interested in food that wasn’t Moroccan. I thought he would change his mind after being in the US for a little while – he didn’t! I realized I had to learn how to cook Moroccan food or he was going to starve! I learned through cookbooks, and we would call his mom in Morocco and she would walk us through recipes in the beginning.
What is your favorite meal to serve to family and friends? What is your favorite treat to make for yourself?
I really love to make spaghetti sauce from scratch, the kind that simmers for hours with some beef short ribs. Of course homemade pasta has to accompany the sauce (cheese ravioli and gnocchi are two of my very favorites!) This might sound strange, but one of my favorite “treat” meals is to steam a few artichokes and eat them dipped in a garlicky sauce. For a sweet treat, Portuguese pasteis de nata are an all time favorite.
We asked our readers this, so we’ll ask you too. If you could visit any country just for the food, where would you want to go? Out of all the places you have visited, which was your favorite?
This is so hard because I love food all over the world. Two places I’d really love to go to eat are Iran and Afghanistan. These places aren’t on many people’s wish lists, but I really love the food in this region. It’s different than Moroccan or Middle Eastern food but familiar enough. The history and food traditions here would be really amazing to experience. Of all the places I’ve been, my favorite food is in Spain. Spanish food can have a bad reputation, some people say it lacks flavor, but I don’t see that. I love it all!
What is the best thing about moving/traveling overseas?
Challenging your preconceptions about a place or a people and gaining a broader worldview. When you rely on TV or others to tell you what to think of a people or place you’ll get a very skewed reality. Living overseas has shown me I’m much more resilient than I thought. There are few things I consider more challenging than living in a country that’s not your own. Traveling has shown me people are people no matter where you go. Everyone has a story, and most everyone wants to share the wonderful things of their culture with you.
What is the hardest thing about moving/traveling overseas?
Amanda’s kiddos in Berlin, Germany
The hardest thing about moving overseas is being far from family, especially during holidays or difficult times. You really have to establish a support system as soon as possible in your new home and go into each day knowing you’ll face challenges, but that you can get past them. Each subsequent day then becomes a little bit easier.
How is home cooking different overseas?
In Morocco things are different. The biggest difference I noticed immediately was the size of things. Everything is smaller: refrigerators, ovens, cupboard space etc. It meant I had to get more creative. Also, we have to shop much more frequently. Produce is shopped for on a daily or every other day basis. The same is true for meat and dairy products. Food here has very little preservatives, which is great, but it means shifting how you shop and purchase. Our food is very seasonal, when the season is done, that item is gone. Morocco grows almost everything that they consume so “strange” items are sometimes imported. I remember when I discovered mushrooms in the grocery store import section. It was like a dream come true! As much as we like cooking at home, we also enjoy the restaurant scene, but here this doesn’t happen much. It’s not common for most people to eat meals out of the house. They may go for a very special occasion or a snack but rarely for a meal.
What items are ALWAYS on your grocery list? What items will you NEVER put on your grocery list?
I grew up in Wisconsin, so it’s safe to say I’ve got a bit of a dairy habit. My kids drink a ridiculous amount of milk, so that’s always there, along with cheese and butter (both aren’t widely used in Morocco). Tinned tuna, pasta, carrots and cucumbers are a few other things that we always have on hand. What I never buy is pork or alcohol (we’re Muslim, so it’s forbidden to eat and drink these), and prepared things like cans of soup or “dinner in a box” type items.
Have you ever freezer cooked? Share some of your favorite recipes or tips.
In the US I did this regularly. It saved me so much time when I was working, and I also would gift freezer meals! My husband isn’t much of a cook, so often when I would be away for a few days I would prep things for him to have (like these Middle Eastern flavored favorites). I love to experiment with different flavors and even just prepare part of the meal ahead of time. Having cooked shredded chicken in my freezer has saved meal time more than once!
What do you like to do when you aren’t cooking or blogging?
Amanda with her family in Essaouira Morocco
Traveling is a really big part of our life. I typically am going somewhere once a month. My husband and I also run a food tour business in Marrakech called Marrakech Food Tours. We realized that millions of tourists are visiting our city a year and not having a great experience with food. Moroccans don’t go out to eat Moroccan food so few restaurants provide the same kind and quality of food that is served in homes. We designed our tour to take people to try some of the food we would eat, or that would be similar to what is eaten in a Moroccan home. When we can’t be out seeing the world, we love having the world come to us!
**Has a recipe of yours been featured in an OAMM menu and/or do you have at least a dozen recipes that you would like us to consider so that you can be an OAMM blog partner? If so, find out more here.**