Food – Tales and Travel

Paradise in Tunisia

Beyond the golden door lies a wondrous world, a haven of calm, elegance, charm. Exotic plants, trees and blossoms, pools and fountains, ancient artifacts, corners for lounging …

The enchanting paradise is the courtyard of Dar El Gaied, a guesthouse in Nabeul, Tunisia, a very special guesthouse. A “dar” is a traditional Tunisian house constructed around an open courtyard with high walls to shield against the blazing Tunisian sun. Colorful tiles, plants and pools may add to the courtyard décor.

A Tunisian dar is similar to a riad in Morocco, and like riads, many dars offer guest accommodation. My two-day stay at Dar El Gaied was a delight, a trip highlight – one or those very special places you hope to return to.

Donia Maamouri, who owns the dar with her husband, welcomed me with her two friendly dogs, Atos and Maya. She explained that Dar El Gaied was built at the end of the 19^th century and was the family home of her husband’s grandfather. After 20 years of restoration, they opened it as a “maison d’hote” (guesthouse) in 2018.

“We had no choice” she says, “either abandon it or open a maison d’hote. It was not adapted to modern life. It was a challenge.”

My room at Dar El Gaied. I passed on the bathtub and opted for a shower.

All guesthouse dars serve breakfast. Dar El Gaied also serves lunch and dinner by request. I had more than a fabulous dinner – a cooking class/demonstration as well.

Jamel Ramadhani is the dar chef when needed. He has worked as a chef in many countries and is a master of numerous cuisines. French cuisine, he says, is his favorite.

Grapefruit sauce for sea bass filet, right.

I love watching professional cooks – so speedy, efficient, organized (everything I am not). I observed and took notes as he whipped up an incredible multi-course dinner : soupe de legumes, salade Mechouia, brik au thon, filet de loup avec sauce agrumes aux pignons, riz piaf, fruits de saison, gateau Tunisien.

(Vegetable soup, Mechouia salad, brik with tuna, sea bass with citrus sauce and pine nuts, rice pilaf, seasonal fruits and Tunisian cake.)

*A decadent strawberry cake and mint tea for dessert.*

Dar El Gaied is on a quiet street at the edge of the Nabeul medina. I had fun browsing its many shops where ceramics, a noted product of Nabeul, are the star.

Colourful ceramics, the perfect souvenir.

Part II to this post coming soon – 2 easy recipes from my dinner at Dar El Gaied.

dar-elgaied.com

For more on Tunisia, see previous posts: In Awe of Tunisia and Hold the Harissa

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Today’s Tunisian cat photo. As a cat lover, I was happy to see that most Tunisian strays are fed — even loved.

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Hold the Harissa

I LOVE Tunisian food. Brik. Bambalouni. Couscous. Kafteji. Makrout. Mechouia. Mint Tea. Fabulous fish. And much, much more.

I love the vibrant markets, tasty street food, fancy and not-so-fancy restaurants. I loved my two cooking classes.

*Red peppers. The ingredient of wicked harissa.*

True Confessions. I do not love all Tunisian food. I HATE harissa, a scorching, blazing red sauce that is a mainstay in Tunisian cuisine. Fire food is not for me. I like to savor flavors, different tastes – not have them overpowered by heat. I know. I am outnumbered.

In many dishes harissa is served on the side – optional. In some, like couscous, it is usually a key ingredient. I learned. Just ask. “Hold the harissa.”

Harissa plays no role is one of my favorites: Bambalouni, a light, airy, crispy, deep-fried, large, donut like creation. It’s popular at street stands. It was a breakfast buffet selection at a hotel where I stayed. I’d like to begin every day with a Bambalouni and coffee. Heaven!

Tunisian salads – usually without harissa – are phenomenal. Above, a shrimp salad. Mechouia is a national favorite: green peppers, tomatoes, caraway, olive oil. Depending on the cook, other ingredients can be added. The secret is grilling the vegetables which gives a distinct, smokey enhancement.

Couscous, above, is popular throughout the Maghreb, i.e. Morocco and Algeria too. It can be made with lamb (most traditional), beef, chicken or fish, added to steamed semolina and vegetables in a spicy sauce, normally including harissa. I ordered the lamb version for one of my first Tunisian meals. – delicious with harissa on the side. I tried a taste with fire — not for me. According to my guidebook, there are 300 different ways to prepare couscous.

Brik. So many versions. All so delicious. Very, very thin dough, like filo, is folded over a combo of ingredients, such as tuna, veggies, cheese, perhaps harissa, then deep fried until crisp and golden. In Tunisia you can buy packages of Brik dough. I may try with packaged filo. Bambalouni for breakfast and Brik for lunch — for me nothing could be better.

Tuna salad with poached egg, other goodies — and whipped cream. Delicious.

Canned tuna makes a frequent appearance in Tunisian cuisine — in innovative salads or sandwiches, combined with other goodies, and always a delight.
An egg, usually soft boiled, is another frequent Tunisian ingredient. The gooey yellow is an added treat.

Kafteji sandwich, left. Tunisians eat bread with every meal . There are numerous varieties, including baguettes.

Kafteji Vegetables star in Tunisian cuisine. Here they are fried, finely chopped together, combined with an egg as mentioned above, harissa, and served alone or stuffed into a flatbread sandwich. They are another street food sensation with countless variations. You can “hold the harissa.”

Makrout. Tunisians love pastry. This is THE national sweet, a deep-fried cookie made with semolina, flower water and filled with a date paste mixture. In the town of Kairouan, Mme. Halima offers a Makrout workshop in her home. I learned the preparation intricacies (see video above) and saw the amazing contraption, below, used for flower water distillation.

Mint Tea. Tunisia is a Moslem country, and most Moslems do not drink alcohol. Nonetheless the country produces both beer and wine. I indulge in both, but not on this trip due to the health crisis I suffered during my travels.(see previous post, The Trip that Almost Wasn’t) I did not miss the booze. I became addicted to mint tea which is served everywhere and better than any I can make at home. Must be the Tunisian mint.

This is just a mini sampling of Tunisian food. For more on Tunisia, see previous post, In Awe of Tunisia. More food soon in a post about my stay at Dar El Gaied, an exquisite guest house where I had an at-home private cooking course…with harissa definitely on hold.

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More photos below :

Tunisian breakfast: dates, cheese, pastry, jam and yogurt.

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Return to Germany

Like I remembered. Idyllic. We were surrounded by green, pure nature, at the Fischerhütte near Darmstadt, Germany.

*Thekla, Andrea and Thiemo at the Fischerhuettte*

Many, many years ago when I worked as a journalist at the newspaper Stars and Stripes, I lived not so far away. I remember hikes to the hütte in the forest. I remember treks to secret places in that forest in search of the coveted steinpilze (boletus, cepes, porcini – whatever the name, the king of mushrooms). I remember the tranquility, the beauty of those woods.

It was wunderbar to return to Germany after so many years. I have missed Deutschland – old friends, favorite foods, the lush forests.

Trout for lunch at the Fischerhuette, and the best German beverage, beer.

Andrea, the daughter of an old friend, her husband Thiemo and her sweet mother, Thekla, led me down memory lane, not just to the Fischerhütte, but other special spots. It was magical.

Many more memories were rekindled with friends in the Stuttgart area where I lived with husband Bob (RIP) for many years.

Gerlinde welcomed me in her Stuttgart home. Like many of my friends, she is a foodie par excellence, even making her own yogurt and ice cream. She is also devoted to fitness and swims against the jet stream in her pool for 20 minutes every day. I just swam, minus the jet stream.

*Gerlinde swims daily against a powerful water jet — Impressive.*

We drove to Steinenbronn, past the apartment where Bob and I lived for 11 happy years. At a nearby restaurant, I indulged in my very favorite Swabian special, Zwiebelrostbraten (onion steak) with homemade Spaetzle.

I can’t complain about food on the Mediterranean coast where I now live, yet there is a shortage of ethnic eateries.

Not so in Germany where, among others, Turkish restaurants abound. I miss those, too. Marianne treated me to lunch at her friendly neighborhood Turkish restaurant. I wanted to bring those flavors back to France.

Then, that de rigeur German ritual, afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) at her apartment.

Fun conversation and memories of good times enhanced all those luscious tastes.

My friends indeed lavished me with generous and delicious hospitality. Dagmar invited me and other friends to her home for a tasty lunch with a scrumptious raspberry cream dessert. And, Heti invited us to a multi-course dinner of exquisite delicacies, each worthy of a magazine photo (photos below). This was especially remarkable as she had fallen and broken her wrist the day before.

On my last day we met in Bebenhausen. Bob and I were avid cyclists. We liked to pedal from Steinenbronn to this tiny burg with an ancient monastery and an excellent restaurant. It is still charmingly picturesque. My last treat before heading home, another German delicacy: Rehrücken filet (venison filet). Delectable.

Living on the Mediterranean coast, I have the sea, palm trees, the Maritime Alps, tropical gardens – but no dense, enchanting forests. I had not realized that I was forest deprived. I was in awe of all the fabulous German greenery.

I mentioned this to Andrea, so we visited yet more. “I’ve never been to so many forests in one day,” she said. Gerlinde told me that Stuttgart has more green space than any other German city.

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep…,” and a treasure.

Thank you, dear friends, I loved my return to Germany –especially seeing all of you.

Below: Heti’s superb creations. Each was mouthwatering.

I will add a new recipe next time. Meanwhile, for an easy, tasty dessert, try my recent discovery, RUM-SOAKED MANGOES. Sinfully delicious.

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Swedish holiday “orgy”

Following is a guest blog with photos by Swedish friend Lars who recently journeyed to his home country to celebrate his sister’s birthday. It was more than an over-the-top birthday party: the Julbord, a holiday overdose of food – and akvavit (a popular and strong Scandinavian spirit. See below for more on this beverage). The Julbord is a must at Christmas, but can be repeated during the festive season including on New Year’s Day. The eating can go on all day, Lars says. “It’s supposed to be drawn out. It’s an orgy. You need time to recover.” He recalls that housewives used to “slave for two weeks” to prepare the food, but many now celebrate in restaurants.

By Lars Sjöström

On the topic of Christmas food traditions, Sweden is in a league of its own when it comes to sheer opulence embodied in the institution of the Julbord, which is a king-sized jumbo version of the famous “smorgasbord” with extra bells and whistles and a bow on top.

The canonical way of eating your way through a Julbord is to start with a plate of cured salmon, several varieties of smoked salmon, and at least three — preferably 5-7 — different kinds of pickled herring , mackerel, smoked eel and various sauces eaten together with boiled potatoes and “special Christmas edition” crisp bread.

The first of several shots of akvavit is consumed in conjunction with communal singing of a snapsvisa — an often humorous ditty extolling the virtues of (heavy) drinking. There will be many more of these and they become naughtier as the evening progresses…

Next up is assembling a plateful of cold cuts, where the glazed ham is the centerpiece. There should be a minimum of ten, but usually many more different dishes ranging from sausages, patées and meats in jelly, to smoked reindeer and smoked lambs leg and whatever else is traditional in various parts of the country.

Another shot, another drinking song, and a swig of either Christmas ale or julmust, a nonalcoholic soft drink only available at Christmas time.

The third round consists of hot dishes, and here is where the famous Swedish meatballs enter the scene. There should also be tiny hot dogs made from premium ingredients, spare ribs, different kinds of stews often based on game such as deer, moose or reindeer. At this point vegetables like red, green and brown cabbage, cauliflower and Brussel sprouts are introduced.

Another shot, another song— you know the drill.

There is a cheese round, a dessert round and a Christmas sweets round, all with songs and shots.

If you are still able to function after all this, you can enjoy Julgröt — porridge made from rice boiled in milk and flavoured with cinnamon. There should be a single peeled almond hidden inside, and if you happen to find it, it will bring you luck in the new year.

Akvavit/Aquavit is a distilled spirit (at least 37.5 % in alcohol strength) produced in Scandinavia from grain or potatoes and flavoured with spices, especially caraway. Dill is also used in the Swedish version. The obligatory toast, *Skål*, precedes each shot.

Happy New Year! Let’s hope that the devastating wars ragging in too many parts of the world will come to an end. I especially grieve for Gaza that has and continues to be destroyed by US bombs, with some 45,000 lives lost. This has to stop. Let’s try to be optimistic and hope that somehow sanity and morality will prevail in the U.S.

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Check out my tried and true recipes — keep scrolling down on a phone, or, if on a /PC or tablet, up to the column on right then down to “Recipes.” I will add new recipes soon.

Croatia Calling

**Terraced beach on the Dalmatian coast near Dubrovn**ik

Last September I had the good fortune to accompany my friend Karen to her apartment on the Croatian island of Milna. She insisted on doing all the driving, about 1,200 kilometres or 750 miles. I felt like chauffeured royalty.

En route we detoured to Varenna along Lake Como in northern Italy for a two-day break. (See a previous post, “Bellissimo Lago di Como,” with many photos of the stunning area.)

Serenity on the Dalmatian coast

***The island of Mljet. There is a National Park on the western part of the island***.

The journey from Varenna to Milna was long. We waited in a line of cars for almost two hours to cross the border from Slovenia into Croatia. When we reached Split after a day and half of driving from Varenna, my dedicated driver finally had a rest. We boarded our first ferry for the trip to her island.

Sunset on the Adriatic

Ferries, all sizes, are the mode of transport among the Croatian islands. The country claims more than 1,000 islands, but most are small and uninhabited. Some ferries transport cars and people. Some are for passengers only. Backpackers, families with kids and dogs in tow, old and young – all aboard. We rode many during our week’s stay.

Karen’s apartment sits atop a hill not far from the ferry stop in Milna. This was her last visit. She had recently sold the apartment which she had owned for 13 years. The long trips to reach Milna were getting to be too much.

During our stay we visited other islands, swam in sparkling waters at idyllic beaches, and ate very well. Croatia is paradise for fish and seafood lovers. We savored monk fish with truffle sauce, black risotto with shrimp, fettucine with seafood, mussels, calamari, and scrumptious seafood platters.

I was keen to visit Dubrovnik where I had been many, many years ago on assignment for the newspaper Stars and Stripes. I remembered those monumental city walls.

**Le Stradun, main artery in the old city of Dubrovnik**

Instead of staying in the city, we splurged on a luxurious coastal hotel. A bus took us to town where we joined numerous other visitors to walk atop the walls which are considered one of the best-preserved medieval fortification systems in Europe. Wall statistics: 1,940 meters long encompassing five forts, 16 towers and bastions. And steps: 1,080.

***A Dubrovnik must: A walk/climb on the ancient walls around the town***

**Get your exercise climbing 1,080 steps on Dubrovnik’s walls.**

More steps, a grand total of 4,343, are within the city perimeter. And cats. Everywhere. As a cat lover, I was thrilled and spent too much time trying to get the perfect feline photo. The kitties are accustomed to all the attention and seem to pose for photos as they lounge in the middle of plazas, take a cat nap on restaurant chairs, curl up in flower pots, saunter through cobbled alleys.

Dubrovnik cats are considered its oldest citizens. Their ancestors helped fight the bubonic plague carried by rats. The plague ravaged the city in the 14^th century when Dubrovnik, known as Ragusa, was a main trading hub between Europe and the Ottoman Empire. Trading boats, coming from all around the Mediterranean, brought goods to the city, ship cats who disembarked — and the plague. The cats were welcomed and treated well for their help in fighting the disease.

**12th century cathedral of Saint Tryphon in Kotor**

Even more cats wander freely in Kotor, a coastal town in neighboring Montenegro. I had read about the country’s spectacular coast and wanted to visit since it was so close We set off to Kotor with scenery photo opps the entire way. Those travel articles did not exaggerate. Kotor, like Dubrovnik, has a medieval old town, lively squares and twisty streets.

***A stop for a stroll in Perast on the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro***

The Kotor cat is a symbol of good luck. As in Dubrovnik, cats originally arrived via ships. They helped control the rat population, as well as snakes and other nasty critters from nearby mountains. Today the cat also contributes to the Kotor economy. Cat shops selling feline souvenirs and cat paraphernalia are popular. There is a cat museum. As one blogger wrote, Kotor is for “cat-o-holics” (me).

Before we returned to Milna, we spent a day lounging at our hotel, marveling at the beauty of the surroundings, swimming in the clear water, and taking too many photos. We did not want to leave.