The Kasbah Chronicles: Fall edition (1)
Kitty Morse's The Kasbah Chronicles: musings on our Moroccan riad post earthquake; Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal and Heirloom Recipes; a book tour to Alaska, and a Moro ....en anglais et en français
The Kasbah Chronicles: Fall 2023
A RAINBOW ON ARRIVAL IN ANCHORAGE
Musings:
Update on Morocco’s earthquake and on our riad, Dar Zitoun
A Book Tour to Anchorage, Alaska
Presentation and Book signings
Zoom or in Southern California: book clubs check this out!
A recipe for Fall: Persimmon and lamb tagine
Links of interest in English and en français:
Bitter Sweet: Aigre Doux en français
Kirkus Review: A first!
Musings:
Once more, I have been remiss in keeping in touch regularly. Don't give upon me. I have been publishing these chronicles for a dozen years and I intend to continue--I may not be as punctual as once a month, but I will do my best. Thank you for your understanding!
Your many caring messages and emails regarding the recent earthquake in my native Morocco provided a jump start.
Our riad, Dar Zitoun, (the subject of Mint Tea and Minarets: A Banquet of Moroccan Memories still proudly tops its 100-year old foundation. It turns out that the area affected by the quake is mainly in the High Atlas Mountains which I know well, for having spent a good part of my early school holidays accompanying my father Clive Chandler, to visit Berber mountain tribes. He was co-founder in 1958 of what eventually became the National Folklore Festival. In the beginning, he traveled from tribe to tribe in the mountains above Marrakech to ask each leader's permission to send tribal dancers to the Pink City to perform onstage. These mountain people, essentially Berbers, live in adobe kasbahs, some of which disintegrate in the rain. The Oukaimeden ski resort above Marrakech, l'Ouka, as we locals call it, which can remain open until April, got shaken up. As was one of favorite childhood destinations called Le Sanglier Qui Fume (The Smoking Boar), a whimsical French auberge in the High Atlas Mountains above Marrakech.
Updates on the quake: “USGS Publishes Aftershock Scenarios for Morocco
"https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/major-earthquake-strikes-oukaimedene-morocco. In support of the people of Morocco affected by the magnitude 6.8 earthquake, USGS is continuing to provide science to help them make the best decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities. Based on similar large earthquakes, the region surrounding Oukaïmedene southwest of Marrakech, Morocco is likely to continue to experience more earthquakes, known as aftershocks. ”
The past few months have been a whirl: I had promised Owen to head to Châlons-en-Champagne and Alsace Lorraine to visit the sites my great-grandfather, Dr. Prosper Lévy-Neymarck, mentions in his war journal. I did it! It took me 2 or 3 months to process the emotional trip. I can now incorporate pictures from my trip into my presentation on Bitter Sweet. (Zoom or in person!)
All the locations Prosper mentions in his journal still stand, from family headstones in the Châlons cemetery, to Prosper and Blanche's private homes, and the French holding camp of Ecrouves, where Blanche spent a few weeks with her daughter before being sent to Drancy and Auschwitz. This makes for an emotional presentation on my part, and I thank my audiences for being supportive. Merci.
I took a trip/book tour of different nature at the beginning of September: Alaska beckoned, thanks to my dear friend and colleague, Kaylene Johnson-Sullivan, author and publisher of books on the history and geography of Alaska. View her list here: https://www.kaylene.us. Her books include Our Perfect Wild: Ray and Barbara Bane’s Journeys and the Fate of the Far North and Canyons and Ice: The Wilderness Travels of Dick Griffith.
The Writer's Block bookstore, writersblockak.com a cozy bookstore/café in Anchorage, invited me to talk and to sign books. The interior shelves are lined with dozens of books. Adding to the casual atmosphere, I chatted with a tableful of women part of a knitting group. My last presentation at Turkey Red Restaurant turkeyredak.com in Palmer, Alaska. https://www.turkeyredak.com, was SEVEN YEARS AGO to promote Mint Tea and Minarets: A Banquet of Moroccan Memories (I still have a few copies if you want one.)
At that time, chef Jalal (who obtained his culinary degree in FEZ, MOROCCO!) prepared a superb Moroccan meal (the best Moroccan meal I have sampled in the US! TRUE). Last week, Chef Jalal was visiting Turkey Red from his new home in Texas, and prepared a delicious French dinner featuring Blanche's Poulet au Riesling (Chicken in Riesling Wine) and her award-winning carrot cake. Chokran Jalal, what fun to see you again. Chef Alex's is looking for help! If you want to head to Alaska to work, talk to her! From there to the Congregation Beth Sholom, otherwise known as the "thefrozenchosen,"welcomed me to hear my talk. https://www.frozenchosen.org
Listen to my story on this podcast:
A conversation with award-winning chef John Ash and Steve Garner of KSRO in Santa Rosa (CA)
It was great fun to reconnect with super star chef and culinary icon John Ash, in Santa Rosa, and his partner Steve Garner, who have hosted a food show on KSRO radio in Santa Rosa (CA) for decades. You can listen to my interview on their podcast: https://www.ksro.com/podcast/good-food-hour/
Links of interest:
https://france-amerique.com/in-the-city-of-light-paris-1850-1920/is the era Blanche and Prosper lived in, La Belle Epoque, which you will recognize if you saw the film Midnight in Paris. High Museum of Art
1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
"Through some 60 sculptures, photographs, and works on paper by Degas, Manet, Daumier, Vuillard, and others, In the City of Light: Paris, 1850-1920 offers a kaleidoscopic view of the French capital in its role as one of the world’s first modern metropolises. From beggars to bourgeois flâneurs, architectural landmark to dancers at the Folies Bergères, the multifaceted portrait captures the city’s grit, beauty, and vitality."
Book Clubs sign up for FREE and pick an author to speak to your book club or other event. This is a great site for readers who want to meet the author. Please register through https://novelnetwork.com or https://novelnetwork.com/home-author-connect/
The thrill for me is that historian Bruno Malthet, editor and publisher of Le Petit Catalaunien catalog and special issues in Châlons-en-Champagne has reprinted Prosper's journal in the original French (I translated it into English for Bitter Sweet). If you would like to read the text in the original you can order it directly from:
Chers amis francophones: Je suis ravie de vous faire savoir que Bruno Malthet, editeur du Petit Catalaunien Illustré à Châlons-en-Champagne a publié une édition spéciale EN FRANçAIS (langue originale du journal de mon arrière grand-père, le Dr. Prosper Lévy-Neymack). Vous pouvez commande cela directement à partir de la France chez site de présentation : Petit Catalaunien Illustré
site de vente : Série courante | L'espace Catalaunien (eproshopping.fr
Le numéro 123 ( été 2023) du Petit Catalaunien illustré est imprimé.
Voir page 17, La présence juive à Châlons
And to top all this off, I just received my first Kirkus Review.
My first KIRKUS REVIEW. Do you follow Kirkus reviews?
“A moving book that highlights a long-gone world.
Cooking instructor and cookbook author Kitty Morse tells of discovering her great-grandparents’ memories and recipes in this history-filled cookbook.
The author was born in Casablanca, Morocco, shortly after World War II to a British aviation officer and a French administrative assistant. She knew that her maternal grandfather—her warm, gregarious pépé, Armand Darmon—came from an Algerian Sephardic family, but she knew little of her reserved, French-born mémé, Suzanne. It wasn’t until decades later, while cleaning out her deceased mother’s Oceanside, California, home, that the author came across a suitcase bearing a trove of documents bearing the mysterious titleLes Archives Complètes des Familles Lévy-Neymarck…”
THE BOUNTY OF MY FALL GARDEN: 19 POUNDS of passion fruit awaited upon my return fromAnchorage!
A RECIPE FOR PERSIMMON SEASON
Tagine of Lamb, dried apricots, Honey and Caramelized Pears OR PERSIMMONS
Serves 4
Fuyu persimmons are ideal for cooking. They have a square shape, and can be eaten out of hand, like and apple. Heart-shaped Hachiyas, must soften to be eaten with a spoon.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 pounds leg of lamb, trimmed of fat and cut into 2-inch chunks
2 onions
1/2 cup beef broth
8 threads Spanish saffron, toasted and crushed
½ cup honey or more, if necessary
15 sprigs fresh cilantro, tied with string
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or ras el hanout)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 firm FUYU PERSIMMONS, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 tablespoon slivered and toasted almonds
In a tagine pot or small Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add turmeric, ginger, and lamb. Cook, stirring occasionally until well coated, 3 to 4 minutes. Finely dice one onion. Add to the lamb, along with the broth, saffron, honey and cilantro. Cover tightly and decrease heat to medium-low. Cook until meat is fork tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Transfer meat to an ovenproof platter and keep warm. Discard cilantro. Return sauce to a simmer.
Finely slice remaining onion. Add onion, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, salt and pepper, to the sauce. Cook until sauce thickens, 6 to 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat butter, brown sugar, and remaining cinnamon, over medium-high heat. Add PERSIMMONS. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Set aside.
Serve from the tagine dish, or transfer to a shallow serving dish. Cover with sauce, garnish with the fruit, sprinkle with almonds and serve.
HELP:
My passionfruit vine is taking over the back yard: I just sold 19 pounds of the fruit to my local grocery store. Can anyone come up with a recipe using the fruit or the juice?
Photo
Thank you, dear readers. The book has generated much interest since it came out February 15, 2023--as I have mentioned previously, I am promoting the book and telling the story in honor and in memory of ancestors who died in the Holocaust, and in honor of my husband who didn't get to see the finished book. Owen's delicious food photography of my great-grandmother's family dishes does much to enhance the text, as do his hours of research on WWI and WWII.
Please join me, in person or on zoom. If you have an idea for a venue that might be interested in my presentation, pls let me know. Have date, will travel! I speak at bookstores museums, restaurants, universities, book clubs or cookbook clubs, in French or in English.
RECAP: September 6 to September 13, 2023: Book tour to Anchorage Alaska, where I was hosted by my dear friend Kaylene Johnson-Sullivan, an award-winning writer/publisher who specializes in the history and travels in Alaska (and her husband, Bill). You can view Kaylene's books here: https://www.kaylene.us/books/
September 7: The Writer's Block, Anchorage, Alaska, a charming bookstore/cafe. writersblockak.com
September 8th: Congregation Beth Shalom, Anchorage; www.frozenchosen.org
September 9: The best restaurant in Palmer, AK. TURKEY RED, dinner, presentation, and book signing. https://www.turkeyredak.com
But wait! There’s more to Alaska: Bisons and Wasilla (Remember Dash Palin? That is HER hometown.
Remember Sarah Palin? Wasilla? She could see Russia from her front porch! No way!
I presented my previous memoir, Mint Tea and Minarets at Turkey Red 7 years ago. Chef Jalal cooked recipes from Bitter Sweet. I am flattered that Turkey Red may feature some of Blanche's recipes on their restaurant menu.
Coronado Public Library, Coronado, CA: October 10, 2023, 11AM. Free and Open to the public.
If you haven't visited this gorgeous library on an island in the middle of San Diego Bay, you are in for a treat. Please join me at 11AM for a presentation and book signing.
https://coronado.librarycalendar.com/event/bitter-sweet-wartime-journal-and-heirloom-recipes-occupied-france
October 18, 2023. Book Club: Private book club visit, Oceanside CA.
October 26, 2023. 5PM. afmilwaukee.org. Alliance Française de Milwaukee. Contact: erinl@afmilwaukee.org
Zoom presentation (free and open to the public, but you must register) in ENGLISH: November 11, 2023. 10:0 AM.
Free to members. Culinary Historians of Southern California. Anyone interested in food, the culinary arts, or food history belongs in this group!
Presentation and book signing: November 13, 6:30PM. Point Loma Public Library, San Diego, CA
Organized by adventuresbythebook.com. Free and open to the public.
https://adventuresbythebook.com
and Novel Network
Coastal Roots Farm (Leichtag Foundation), Encinitas, CA
DECEMBER 1, 2023. 6PM to 8PM Presentation and Shabbat Dinner,
Please view the Coastal Roots website in Encinitas, CA for details.
https://leichtag.org/event/shabbat-by-the-sea-one-community-many-stories/
I am offering you these Chronicles for Free on Substack. A handful of readers have generously opted to contribute to my newsletter, even though I have not requested any payment. But, I will click "PAID" this time, to familiarize myself with the "paid" Substack Process. Dear contributors, thank you so much. I will ponder what to write for you in return in the next month or two.
THE END
Bismillah and Bon Appétit!
Kitty
available wherever books are sold (just order
!)
Just beautiful, Kitty. Your book is a treasure. I could use your passion fruit here in Kaua’i. It’s not in season right now. And thank you so much for the background on where that earthquake struck and the people who live there. Love and hugs, G.
Thank you, Baking Wizzard!