Wild Yeast

One of the highlights of our recent trip to Morocco with a National Geographic Expedition was our visit to a traditional Berber village in the High Atlas Mountains. The Berbers are the indigenous people of Morocco. National Geographic arranged the visit through American Peace Corps volunteers who acted as our facilitators, ambassadors, and translators.

After traveling through the mountains on a narrow highway fraught with hairpin curves, our bus arrived at the base of the village. As the Peace Corps volunteers walked us up the unpaved road and into the heart of village, there was so much to take in: red clay houses — outfitted  with electricity and satellite dishes — whose color matches the red of the surrounding hills; the village mosque; the man screening earth; the woman with the captivating smile, sweeping leaves.

Read on to see these photos and learn about how the Berber women bake bread

Street food in Marrakech, Morocco has quite a reputation. Now, I am delighted to say, I understand why. During our two days here, Jay and I sampled some of the wonderful offerings at the Jemaa el Fna, the huge square in the Medina, the walled old city.

This woman fries pieces of flattened yeasted dough on a griddle. Drizzled with honey and rolled up… a fantastic treat for two dirhams (about 25 cents).

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I took this photo at the Marché Saxe-Breteuil in Paris, in April of 2007. Per the sign, the Pain de Campagne was 8.86 euros per kilo (that’s $5.36 a pound).

I’m sending this one to Bee and Jai (jugalbandi) for their Red-themed January Click! photo event.

See more photos from the market…

Hola y Feliz Año Nuevo from Oaxaca, Mexico, where we’re enjoying a few days of warm winter sun and New Year’s festivity. There is so much wonderful food and drink here!

A specialty of the state of Oaxaca is mezcal, a spirit made from the native agave plant and a cousin to tequila.  In Santiago Matatlán, a few miles east of Oaxaca City, artisanal family mezcal distilleries are everywhere, and we enjoyed the opportunity to see how mezcal is made.

The spiky leaves of the agave plant are chopped off, leaving the heart, or piña (“pineapple”):

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We got up at 4:30 AM today and made it to Tsukiji, Tokyo’s wholesale fish market, by 5:30, early enough to watch the tuna auction.

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