Weekend + Moroccan Vegetable Soup

First, thank you to everyone who sent messages and kind words regarding my last post. It is truly appreciated. Graham and I are doing well, attempting to focus on all the wonderful parts of our life (there are many!), while trying to make peace with those things that are out of our control. 

Anyway, how was your weekend? We went all out celebrating a friend's birthday on Friday night, which made for a lazy Saturday, catching up on television shows and indulging in quality couch time with the pups. The weather was gross almost the whole weekend, so we didn't feel that guilty. Sometimes you need a weekend that makes you relax.

On Sunday, we snuck in a walk on the beach and an afternoon coffee date while the sun made a brief appearance. Back at the casa, Graham typed a paper (he's working on another master's program!) while I made this simple Moroccan soup for dinner.

I learned the recipe in Marrakech at a cooking class through Ateliers d'ailleurs that was recommended and set up by the owners of the lovely Riad Le Clos des Arts. The day started with a trip through the markets with a local woman and a guide, who also served as our translator. After gathering the ingredients, we went back to the woman's family home to learn how to make several dishes. When the meal was complete, we all sat down together to enjoy. It was the perfect way to learn about not only the food that is typical to Marrakech, but the culture, language, and private family life that you would not normally see. An amazing experience and something I would encourage anyone visiting Marrakech to do.

This soup transported us back to Marrakech, one of our favorite adventures so far...

Here's the recipe, perfect if you're looking for an easy (and inexpensive!) way to experience a little bit of exotic Morocco:

Playa + Italian-Style Veggie Soup

from Meghann:

Hope you all had a wonderful, family, friend, and food-filled Thanksgiving! And that your football (Americano) team won - both of ours did!

We were invited to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner (plus plenty of Spanish cava) at our friends' casa on Thursday. We were so grateful to spend the holiday with friends - and no dishes! Our families were definitely missed, but we were able to call and talk to them. One thing that wasn't missed - Black Friday. Neither of us were into it when we lived in the States and it seems even sillier now. There's really nothing similar in España and it seems difficult to explain that we follow a beautiful holiday dedicated to giving thanks by immediately going out, fighting crowds, and spending money. 

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and enjoying the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We don't deck the halls until December, so this time is perfect for catching up on things at the casa and enjoying our little familia. 

On Saturday, we took the dogs down to the beach. This time of year, it's pretty empty at the playa, besides a handful of surfers and a few other people walking. That meant we were able to let Chloe and Cora off their leashes so they could run around. After a busy few weeks traveling and the start of the holiday season, we all needed some exercise. And the beach is so peaceful during the fall.

The hillside was so green! No rain in the summer makes for great weather, but everything turns brown. After a few days of rain in the fall, all that brown comes back to life. 

 

Roadtrip Random: Castro Verde

Our last couple of posts have been about our trip back to the States and what we ate there. This is our attempt to catch up with our blogging and also to get back to posting about life over on this side of the Atlantic. On our way to Lisbon (yeah, we went to Lisbon, last year, over Labor Day weekend, we know, we're terrible) we planned to stop for lunch about halfway through the 6 hour drive. Meghann thought that meant somewhere around Albufeira (you can see it on the map, the town right before we started heading north), but Graham did not and just kept driving. Which resulted in one of those arguments discussions about how we're both hungry and there's no place to eat and we're in the middle of nowhere and we're going to starve. We both turn completely cranky and unreasonable when we haven't eaten. So, Graham pulled in at a gas station and asked where the closest town with a restaurant was. And that is how we found ourselves in Castro Verde, Portugal - possibly one of the best, most random, roadtrip discoveries ever.

Despite being hungry, we were instantly intrigued by the little town and had to check it out. We parked the Mini on uno of the cobblestone streets and took a short walk.

Salmorejo is the new gazpacho

From Meghann:

Way back in July (can't believe we've been here for over 2 months) at the Philly airport, while waiting for the flight to Frankfurt, I picked up a few magazines.  It's a favorite airport indulgence, right up there with having an overpriced pre-flight cerveza or bloody mary at the bar.  This time I went with NatGeo Traveler and Bon Appetit (food and travel, these are a few of my favorite things, not so much raindrops on roses).  The cover of the August issue of Bon Appetit looked especially delicious - look at that pie!  Mmm...