The Kasbah Chronicles (Free, September 2024) from Kitty Morse, unforeseen adventures in aging, unraveling Medicare, passion fruit; A Moroccan-style cabbage soup for Rosh Hashanah

September 2024. Thank you so much for subscribing to my eNewsletter, The Kasbah Chronicles.

Under my crazy passion fruit vine…encore et encore.

Chers amis francophones, si vous avez des recettes pour ce fruit que nos amis Martiniquais nomment maracudja, envoyez-les moi!

This FREE edition of the Kasbah Chronicles goes out to over 2100 readers. I can’t believe it has been around for 13 years and many of my initial readers are still with me! I am so flattered and grateful that you would read my ramblings in English or en français! Please don’t hesitate to ask questions about any link or story I mention here. 

I apologize for my lateness…and for my typos…there is a reason….

My trip to Namibia fell by the wayside. Sigh. Still, my medical mission to the Peruvian Amazon (see previous Chronicles) last April did much to fulfill my travel pangs.

Musings

I can finally stand at my desk after a sweltering August… heat similar to my Amazonian experience—if this is the future state of our climate, San Diego County residents had better get ready for air con and swamp coolers. (This is what saved me: the fabulous wet cooling towel from Walmart) I wrapped one around my neck, and used it as a turban in the Amazon, and did the same in Vista! My poor fruit trees looked to me with an air of tired bewilderment—my fig tree, which ought to be burdened with ripe figs, is barely producing a handful a month late.

AND THEN: I fell. Yes, flat on my face on the tile floor in my atrium. Ouch. I chipped my shoulder, and have been in a sling for a month. Miraculously, I did not break a tooth, nor my nose, nor did I have a concussion. But I was confined to our kasbah in Vista for 4 weeks.

This childless, golden-ager cat-lady named Kitty tripped on her flip flops.

Ladies of a certain age: GIVE UP your flip flops.

Learning experience #1: With no family around, I have come to treasure friends and neighbors. I am one who always hurries: so much to do, so many places to see. Instead, I am learning to smell the roses, with lengthy phone chats with friends in the US and beyond, with drop-in visitors sitting under my passion fruit vine ( 40 pounds of fruit a week anyone?), impromptu potlucks sipping champagne and eating masterly grilled sliders and beans (thank you Chef Ron), with lively conversations and lots of laughs. Not to mention having a full Chinese meal catered in my own kitchen (thank you Judy L.) Did I mention rides, being taken for walks, the Vista farmer’s market, and doctors’ appointments. Merci so much to all.

Never did I anticipate facing this one-armed challenge without my husband by my side.

Learning experience #1: IF YOU LIVE ON YOUR OWN, FIND AN ADVOCATE to stand by you.

LEARN THE HOME HEALTH LINGO. Make sure you understand the difference between an occupational therapist, a physical therapist and a home health aide. (I didn’t at first and that lead to an unpleasant surprise.) Home health agencies need to work on their vocabulary to make it more intelligible to their clients.

Learning experience #2: Rely on yourself and hopefully, on a network of close friends.

Learning experience #3: - I couldn’t slice bread (buy sliced bread), nor turn the lock in my door (use pliers) nor could I snap snaps for a month; or cut up lettuce: Use scissors. A friend taught me the word ADAPTIVE as it refers to clothing: bingo: VELCRO clothing on Amazon, what a novel idea...

Note: If you are unable to extract the toothpaste out of a tube, there is gadget available. https://www.to the rescue (I did not know that)amazon.com/MOPMS-Toothpaste-Dispenser-Bathroom-Automatic/dp/

Note: INSTALL GRAB BARS and railings around your house (Especially if you have stairs.)

Good news: It has been 5 weeks and my ghastly sling’s off. Commercial slings are made for football players with forearms 1/4 mile long. Have you noticed? How come no one has invented a sling in sizes S, M and L? My right hand would thank you. Driving is a still a bit tentative. Have you ever pondered the number of motions it takes to turn the wheel and change gears?

Enough said. Rosh Hashanah and Thanksgiving are on the horizon, and I plan to celebrate both.

A RECIPE

“Mon chou” in French is a term of endearment… It also is my favorite cruciferous vegetable!

A recipe for Rosh Hashanah from The Scent of Orange Blossoms: Sephardic Cuisine from Morocco by Kitty Morse and Danielle Mamane. (co-authored, excerpted).

Rosh Hashanah Cabbage Soup

Soupe au Chou Vert de Rosh Hashanah (for cilantro lovers)

Serves 4

“The sounds of the tovar, ram’s horn, usher in the celebrations of Rosh Hashanah. Friends and neighbors exchange greetings of Shana Tovah! (Happy New Year!) In Fez, festivities include traditional dishes like this simple and flavorful cabbage soup.”

1 1/2 pounds green cabbage

3 medium potatoes, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1  large onion, diced

1  1/2 pounds beef stew meat cut into 1-inch pieces

5 cups water

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)

Rinse the cabbage under running water. Halve, core, and finely slice the cabbage. Place it in a soup pot, along with the potatoes, onion, beef, water, salt, pepper, half the coriander tied with string, and the turmeric. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and skim off the foam. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook until the meat is tender and the broth flavorful, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove the cooked cilantro. Sprinkle with the remaining freshly chopped cilantro and serve.

This soup is a balm for the soul.. Shana Tovah, Happy New Year to you all.

What to do with passion fruit? Cut the fruit in half, using a sharp knife (be careful, the shell is quite hard). Scoop out the flesh and seeds and place them in a blender. Process on blend 3 short times. Strain the juice to remove the seeds. Freeze it in ice cube trays. Use in drinks, or to make a mousse, as indicated in my book Edible Flowers. My fruit variety is as sour as lemon juice. I have used it to marinate fish for ceviche. Lovely flavor!

Links of interest:

Follow up on American Airlines, the flying toilet. Thank you Johnny Jet for bringing AA’s ghastly customer service to the fore in THE BEST ONLINE TRAVEL NEWSLETTER AROUND: https://johnnyjet.com/truly-awful-american-airlines-gate-agents-scream-at-mother-and-flight-attendants-at-jfk-over-childs-car-seat-aboard-aircraft/I am not the only one to complain: AA, check out your Philadelphia gate agents as well—who yelled at me when I was changing planes and looking for my gate: Three indolent agents gave me the evil eye. One of them snarled: “And you know we don’t speak the same language you do. Take your suitcase to the next teller.”

TRAVEL TIP : If you’re trying to reach an airline agent, here’s how to get through without waiting:https://johnnyjet.com/how-to-reach-an-airlines-reservations-agent-without-waiting/

Need a unique gift for a cuisinière or a WWII history buff? Buy it on amazon.com or order a signed copy from my website, www.kittymorse.com or send me an email.

Kitty’s presentations:

Bitter Sweet:  A Wartime Journal and Heirloom Recipes from Occupied France

Thursday, 10/17, 1:00pm-2:00pm

Information: Brandon Harding  

Director of Lifelong Learning  

San Diego Oasis 

5500 Grossmont Center Drive, Ste. 269 

La Mesa, CA 91942  

619.881.6262 | SanDiegoOasis.org 

December 11, 2024

La Jolla, CA, private group.

Do you have any ideas for a presentation venue? I would love to hold an Alsatian Tea. Bredele, Xmas cookies, are a specialty of Alsace Lorraine, and my great grandmother, Blanche Lévy Neymarck, included a number of them in her recipe book. I can include suggest a sampling of bredele from Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal and Heirloom Recipes fromOccupied France for your members.

NOTE:

KITTY IS SELLING: VISIT my website for photos and descriptions of Moroccan cooking and serving implements, vintage dishes, and authentic Moroccan rugs.

As always, thank you for lending me your eyeballs.. I promise to be more on schedule in the new year.

NOTE: Readers of the paid version of The Kasbah Chronicles can expect an enhanced version of this newsletter with an article on Toulouse, The Pink City, one of my favorite cities in France. And a recipe for Légumes Sucrés de Rosh Hashanah, a traditional Sephardic recipe for the new year celebrations.

Bismillah,

Bon Appétit,

and à bientôt,

Kitty

.