Moroccan Food (at home)

I am really, really excited for food in Morocco. I love food in general, and have learned to cook and bake from my mom. Most of the food I grew up learning how to make is Italian, as my mom's family is from Naples. But being as excited as I am for my trip to Morocco, I've been trying Moroccan dishes at home. So far I've tried sesame cookies, a Ramadan favorite (by the way, happy Ramadan to those who observe it!). They were very good, slightly floral thanks to the orange flower water and rich from the toasted sesames.

The other dish I've made is a variation on a tagine, made in a sauce pan because I don't have a tagine (yet!). This dish is eggs poached in a smoked tomato sauce, eaten with crusty french bread. The recipe calls for merguez sausage, but as I was vegetarian at the time, I made it without and it was still great. I hope you try some Moroccan food at home! All that I've tried, at home and otherwise, has been wonderful.

Happy eating!

First Post, Pre-Departure!

I thought I could use this first post to do a little more to introducing as well as get used to blogging. So here goes:

I'm a third year student at Northeastern University, working towards a major in International Affairs and minors in History and Marine Studies. I'm from Massachusetts, I'm an ex-vegetarian, and I'm dating a midshipman. I've taken a semester of Arabic and speak no French, so communicating with people in Rabat should be interesting for the first month and a half or so. I do speak Spanish almost fluently, which may help. By the way, here's Rabat:

                                                         (image: http://i.pbase.com/site/maps/mo-map.gif)

I'm seriously looking forward to Moroccan food, which is one of the reasons I chose to do a home-stay. I also want to be able to understand day to day Moroccan lives and viewpoints from something other than a textbook. I want to learn about the political views of Moroccans without reading about them on BBC or The Economist; about what people living in Morocco think of the Arab Spring, the current king, women's rights and the education system. I want to become conversational in Arabic (and I'd appreciate any tips if you have them). I want to travel in the area, and I'd also love any suggestions of places to visit, for an afternoon, weekend, or week. I want to walk through the souks and not accidentally knock over giant piles of spices (I'm a clumsy person, it's a valid concern!). I want to leave soon!

I encourage anyone who is planning to study abroad to look into the Gilman Scholarship. Look early, as there's an early application deadline. It is also only open to recipients of the Federal Pell Grant as part of their financial aid package. For more info, see: http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program