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Leslie Allen
Reno, Nevada
I was born in California, and have fond memories of homegrown tomatoes and freshly caught crawdads. My family moved a lot when I was growing up. I even lived on the East coast for a while. More about Leslie
Laura Solorio
Salinas, California
I am third in a line of strong Yaqui women. My grandmother was from Baja California, from the town of Santa Rosalia. She came to the United States as a young woman, with her first child, escaping an abusive husband. More about Laura
Scott Swendsen
Boise, Idaho
I am in my late 40's and single and a bit selfish. Having no children and no spouse has allowed me to pretty much explore life in a much different way than most families would. More about Scott
Paulette Thompson
Seattle, Washington
I, P. Thompson, also known as Paulette, love food. It should not surprise you that I love to cook and eat good food. I also love talking about it, thinking about it, and reading about it. More about Paulette
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< Friday night: a seasonal Shabbat dinner | Main | ALBA FARMS >
Mint and preserved lemons
Posted at 2:58 PM on September 27, 2008 by Paulette Thompson
The Saturday before last I was invited to dinner at the home of my fellow Morocco RPCV Michael W., his wife Ella A., and their baby Forest. It was a beautiful day. Unfortunately baby Forest was sick. He was teething, didn't feel well, and refused to go to sleep.
It was still nice to spend time with them on such a glorious day. On their back patio they had ripe heirloom tomatoes and plenty of other herbs, fruit, and vegetables. It was a perfect set up. I told Michael that they ought to freeze tomatoes for the winter.
There were other things going on in their household: I knew Michael was serious about his Moroccan mint tea, but I didn't know he was that serious. At one point Michael told me to grab a bowl and scissors in order to cut mint from a couple of pots out on the patio. Wow! I had never considered growing any of the various members of the mint family.
I was instructed to fill the bowl until it was overflowing. Then Michael asked me to make tea. Now I had not made "atay nana" (mint tea) in twenty years. I did not remember the ratio of gunpowder tea to mint (Verbena is good too. We call it "luisa" in Moroccan Arabic). How much sugar do you add? You don't want your tea to be "masoose", or flavored improperly.
In Morocco the tea is very sweet. On a cold winter afternoon, it hits the spot. You are supposed to have three glasses.
Well, my second pot was just right. There is a whole ritual to making tea. Michael had glasses for tea as well as the perfect teapot.
P.S. I haven't made preserved lemons in several years. They are useful in certain dishes.
I have often wondered what preserved Meyer lemons would taste like. Michael's in-laws have Meyer lemons trees in their yard down in Arizona. When they come to visit Seattle, they bring a box. Michael then preserves them in salt the way we do in North Africa.
Meyer lemons work very well. The flavor is just as I imagined it would be.