One of my favorite things is fresh berries, fruits and vegetables that are available in the summer from places other than the grocery store. Living in New England, we tended to only be able to get farm or garden fresh vegetables about 6 months out of the year, if lucky.
Here in Morocco, everything is very fresh, from the markets to the supermarket, what you see and can buy you know was only picked at the most a day or two before you purchased it. Even the poorest people buy fruits and vegetables, because there is always something in season that is cheap. Of course the cheapest thing to buy is bread, which is as always, fresh. Bread is government subsidized and you can buy gorgeous, just backed, French style baguettes for the equivalent of about $0.30.
Right now citrus is in season. Strawberries, oranges, mandarins, clementines. It's all very good. I've been buying a kilo of strawberries at a time, which is approximately 2.2 lbs, for just under $2 and just sitting and eating them.
It's very refreshing, as compared with the US where junk food seems to be the norm. In fact, I have been buying LESS junk food, as it is not very cheap at all. Of course, I really must admit that were I haven't been buying much junkfood, I have been buying fresh pastries and slices of cakes. So I don't know what's the worse of the two.
One thing that Moroccan use fresh fruits for are juices. All about Morocco you can find little shops that make fresh juices. Fruit blended with milk or yogurt. For argument's sake, technically this is a type of milk shake, but they call it juice here. For about a dollar, or just over a dollar you can have a yummy fruit juice. Offerings do depend on the season.
To make a Moroccan fruit juice is super easy! I just purchased an immersion blender today and made one of my own. The recipe I provide below is there for an immersion blender, you may want to adjust for a regular blender. Personally, I'd say this recipe is for one person, but you can make it for more if you so desire!
Strawberry juice:
In your immersion blender or blender, combine
2/3 cup milk (whole milk is more common here in Morocco, but skim or non-fat can be used, you just won't have the same taste result)
1/4-1/2 cup of fruit (chopped if it is a hard fruit) Depending on your own personal taste if you like something more fruity use more fruit, if you prefer it more liquidy use less fruit.
Blend for 45 seconds or until all noticeable chunks have been blended.
Here in Morocco, everything is very fresh, from the markets to the supermarket, what you see and can buy you know was only picked at the most a day or two before you purchased it. Even the poorest people buy fruits and vegetables, because there is always something in season that is cheap. Of course the cheapest thing to buy is bread, which is as always, fresh. Bread is government subsidized and you can buy gorgeous, just backed, French style baguettes for the equivalent of about $0.30.
Right now citrus is in season. Strawberries, oranges, mandarins, clementines. It's all very good. I've been buying a kilo of strawberries at a time, which is approximately 2.2 lbs, for just under $2 and just sitting and eating them.
It's very refreshing, as compared with the US where junk food seems to be the norm. In fact, I have been buying LESS junk food, as it is not very cheap at all. Of course, I really must admit that were I haven't been buying much junkfood, I have been buying fresh pastries and slices of cakes. So I don't know what's the worse of the two.
One thing that Moroccan use fresh fruits for are juices. All about Morocco you can find little shops that make fresh juices. Fruit blended with milk or yogurt. For argument's sake, technically this is a type of milk shake, but they call it juice here. For about a dollar, or just over a dollar you can have a yummy fruit juice. Offerings do depend on the season.
To make a Moroccan fruit juice is super easy! I just purchased an immersion blender today and made one of my own. The recipe I provide below is there for an immersion blender, you may want to adjust for a regular blender. Personally, I'd say this recipe is for one person, but you can make it for more if you so desire!
Strawberry juice:
In your immersion blender or blender, combine
2/3 cup milk (whole milk is more common here in Morocco, but skim or non-fat can be used, you just won't have the same taste result)
1/4-1/2 cup of fruit (chopped if it is a hard fruit) Depending on your own personal taste if you like something more fruity use more fruit, if you prefer it more liquidy use less fruit.
Blend for 45 seconds or until all noticeable chunks have been blended.
