The Kasbah Chronicles: in English and en français; from Alsatian flavored Bitter Sweet to my Moroccan preserved lemons.
The Kasbah Chronicles: A Bitter Sweet stroll down memory lane from my ancestors' home in Alsace Lorraine to my native Morocco
LAST CALL!!! Inside the Author’s Studio Adventure
Let me entertain you in my home! There are a few spaces left. Short cooking demonstration, Bitter Sweet presentation and chat, sampling of Kitty's great-grandmother's recipes, and view the original family documents I used for my book
Sunday, August 27 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm PDT
Please register through https://novelnetwork.com or register here
Latest book signings:
I am headed to Anchorage, Alaska, from Sept 6 to Sept 13, 2023, and have several events planned in town:
A (wonderful) dinner based upon my recipes at TurkeyRed Restaurant in Palmer Alaska, Sat. Sept 9, 2023. I will be making a presentation on Bitter Sweet during dinner. For reservations:
They organized a dinner for Mint Tea and Minarets 4 years ago when I was there, and it was THE BEST MOROCCAN MEAL I HAVE HAD IN THE US! No kidding. Their chef is from FEZ, Morocco’s culinary capital!!!
Also at 2 other private venues.
NEW PODCAST:
From: Cindie Flannigan
Subject: Links to your Women Beyond episode, Denise Vivaldo, host
Hi Kitty,
... "It was such a pleasure hearing your story! I believe it was the most touching episode we’ve ever had."
Thank you! Cindie
Women Beyond A Certain Age can be found on any podcast app.
Podbean: https://womenbeyond.podbean.com/e/bitter-sweet-with-kitty-morse/
Apple Podcasts:
Spotify:
YouTube:
Web: HOST: denisevivaldo.com
MUSINGS:
Book Clubs: TAKE NOTE!
Bitter Sweet lends itself to great chats and q and a sessions.
The contents of my book, from a history of WW1 to my great grandfather's war journal, to WW2 family recipes and much more, lend themselves well to a book club chat. I can gear my talk towards food, travel, or WW2 history, since the material is based on private family documents. I have several booked in 2024 but have time in Fall of 2023. Contact https://novelnetwork.com
Once again, I apologize for the tardiness of these Chronicles. You will understand when I tell you I went to France in May to follow in the footsteps of my ancestors--and I saw everything my great-grandfather talks about in his journal, from family headstones in the Châlons cemetery, to the homes my great grand-parents lived in (and from where they fled the German occupiers), to the tunnel where they hid in the small town of Rosières-aux-Salines during the bombing of Nancy: Yes, I sat in front of the tunnel where Prosper stepped in the open to savor a Rabbit Stew (recipe in Bitter Sweet.) The culmination of that day was driving onto the concentration camp of Ecrouves, outside Nancy, where my great grand-mother Blanche and her daughter were held before being placed in a cattle car to Auschwitz. Was this an emotionally exhausting trip? Yes, it was, and it took me several weeks to recover. I incorporate all these new findings in my Power Point presentations.
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 French 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 commander cela directement à partir de la France au 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.
Voici la page: 17 La présence juive à Châlons
Bitter Sweet in the US media:
Great article about yours truly in:
https://thecoastnews.com/old-suitcase-sends-vista-writer-on-journey-into-her-familys-past/
eversion: https://thecoastnews.com/old-suitcase-sends-vista-writer-on-journey-into-her-familys-past/ newsletter
I discovered these two links last week!
Moroccan preserved lemons: MY TRADEMARK since the early 1980s... Check out my Moroccan cookbooks!
"our favorite lemons to preserve are the thinner-skinned, sweeter Meyer lemons, but eureka lemons work equally well.
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000177.html
A North African way with lemons. This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Cooking at the Kasbah by Kitty Morse, a Morocco-born resident of the San Diego area. (http://www.seasonalchef.com/recipe29.htm)
Enewsletter for all the happenings in Châlons-en-Champagne, Reims, Nancy, and Colmar:
https://france-amerique.com/paris-has-always-attracted-american-artists/?utm_source=Weekly+Newsletter+-+France-Amerique
Two delightful blogs about Paris and France you may want to check out:
https://mail.terrance-paris.com/q1t8f7b0u9;
Terrance Gelenter is a longtime Paris resident and knows all the secrets about the city!
Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road by Janet Hustrand
"Later that same day I had the good fortune to meet Kitty Morse, the author of a beautiful new book called Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal and Heirloom Recipes from Occupied France. After her mother died, Kitty had discovered a suitcase that held a wealth of archival material–both wartime journals and heirloom recipes–from her great-grandparents, one of whom perished in Auschwitz. She told the group of writers who had gathered to meet her a very moving story not only about her family’s history but about the warm reception she received in Châlons-en-Champagne when she went there this spring to do additional research into her family’s past, and to present her book."
I discovered this after I subscribed to a Google alert: Merci, Janet.
Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who divides her time between the US and France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France. janethulstrand.com
Upcoming events:
San Diego Cheese Club, members only
Zoom Book Pitch: Adventures by the Book FREE Zoom with over a dozen writers:
Inside the Author's Studio, at my home in Vista, CA, August 27th, 1-3PM.
Coronado Public Library, October 10, 2023, free and open to the public
Red Wheat restaurant, Sept. 9, 2023, Palmer, Alaska
WritersBlock, Sept 8, 2023, Anchorage, Alaska
Book club, Nov. 15th
Point Loma library panel, November 13th
Culinary Historians of Los Angeles ZOOM presentation, November 11th
Looking ahead:
January 2024: La Jolla Women's Club Book Club, La Jolla CA
March 2024: JCC La Jolla, CA
March 2024: California Retired Teachers Assoc., Oceanside CA
Bookstores that carry SIGNED copies of Bitter Sweet
Warwicks, La Jolla, CA
Farenheit 451, Carlsbad, CA
Mission Sa LUis Rey, Oceanside, CA
Chevaliers Books, LA
Now Serving, LA
Chaucers, Santa Barbara
Tecolote Books, Montecito, CA
Books Inc., Palo Alto an Opera Plaza, San Francisco
Shoah Museums in Los Angeles and Washington DC
The Bowers Museum, Santa Ana
and more..
ORDER UNSIGNED COPIES OF BITTER SWEET THROUGH ANY BOOKSTORES OR FROM AMAZON.COM
OR from me directly through my website, www.kittymorse.com. I ship in the US via media mail.
Oceanside Museum of Art | OMA oma-online.org
If anyone visits Oceanside (Ca) in the near future, be sure to stop in at the Oceanside Art Museum. This lovely little museum features shows of national interest such as the recent Dysktra WPA Art collection. Exhibit of Janet Taylor Pickett's Moroccan Viewpoints is also not to be missed. I thought her images looked familiar!
A family recipe from Morocco:
Chicken Shish Kebabs
serves 4
This is a lighter version of traditional kebabs, usually made with small cubes of lamb, or beef. No vegetables are added to shish kebabs in Morocco, and the grilled meat is traditionally served with little dishes filled with ground cumin and salt on the side, so that each guest may dip their cubes in the spices.
For the marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 bunch cilantro
2 tablespoons preserved lemon pulp
1 bunch parsley
15 sprigs cilantro, minced
1 small onion, grated
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
a pinch of ground thyme
a pinch of ground zaatar or oregano
8 skinned and boned thighs, or 4 skinned and boned chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Pieces of red bell pepper (if
Harissa (hot sauce) optional
Salsa, Moroccan-style
Crusty bread, for grabbing the cubes of meat
Place all marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor, and process little by little on "chop" for a few seconds. Place mixture in a bowl with the chicken, cover, and marinate for 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Heat the coals to the white hot stage or preheat your grill.
Place 5 to 6 cubes of chicken on each skewer along with small pieces of red bell pepper, and grill until done, about 6 to 8 mns.
To serve: Place little saucers filled with ground cumin and salt on the table. Offer harissa, for dipping on the side. Serve with warm, crusty bread.
If desired accompany with
Salsa, Moroccan style
4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cut into small cubes
1 sweet onion, diced
2 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 to 2 teaspoons finely diced preserved lemon rind (recipe on my website kittymorse.com or in all my books!)
8 sprigs fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
Sprinkle of salt
I hope to see you at one of my events.
As always, I love feedback, so don't hesitate to write me. Have wonderful, peaceful, smoke and hurricane free summer. August is the month when the Pacific off our coast reaches 70 degrees! My time to go in for a dip!
Bismillah and Bon Appétit!
Kitty