Shopping at Marjane

Today was a quiet day in preparation for the journey to Marrakech tomorrow.  It’s only about a 2 1/2-hour drive, but in Morocco that’s a journey.  Our entourage has grown to 10 people (it almost became 11)…our family of 5 plus Uncle Abdullah to drive us, our two nieces (14 and 16), one nephew (10), and my brother-in-law Hassan to drive the second car.  I made the arrangements for two 2-bedroom apartments at a resort just north of Marrakech about 48 hours ago, and we’re headed out after breakfast.  Both cars needed last-minute repairs today so I’ll have my fingers crossed for the whole trip.

This morning I did some work and Ben took Adlani and Norah to visit a friend for lunch.  Aliya laid around watching TV.  This afternoon my sister-in-law Bahija (the one who lives in Holland) took Aliya and me to the regular market in town (not the weekly souk) because I wanted to buy another couscousiere and a pan for b’stilla.  Mission accomplished.  It’s very weird being the only non-Moroccans in sight…there’s a lot of staring and men saying, “Bonjour” in case I speak French and happen to end up being their ticket out of Morocco.  Or maybe they’re just being nice.

This is the shop where I bought the couscousiere:

Sarah, I thought of you when I saw this pile of “rocks” which is another type of salt.  The vendor breaks off a piece with a hammer and it is ground at home with a mortar and pestle.  Want some, or do you want to stick to the white stuff?

We’ve been having a tough time getting Adlani to eat anything, as he is the pickiest eater on Earth.  His approved list includes hot dogs, chicken nuggets (specific ones), fries, all with ketchup of course, mac-and-cheese (only Kraft), cereal, milk, peanut butter and fluff sandwiches, cheese sandwiches (only American cheese and not grilled), pasta with butter, a specific type of granola bars, turkey sausage, scrambled eggs, apples, oranges, peaches, strawberries, Trader Joe’s meatballs, and the occasional raw carrot (but only with dip), plus just about any cookies, candy, chips, cake, or ice cream.  I’m pretty sure that is the complete list.

We brought fluff, cereal, and granola bars from home, as well as panko to make chicken nuggets.  For the first few days we were hoping that he’d get hungry and eat the delicious Moroccan food, but the only thing he would eat was fried bread called m’smn, french fries, scrambled eggs, and pastries.  I brought vitamins but he was getting almost no protein.  The hot dogs were too pink, the milk was too creamy, and the rest was not on the approved list.  Watermelon and another melon called “sweehla” are in season so they’re served after just about every meal, but he won’t eat them. 

Ben broke down a couple of days ago and took him to McDonalds.  Yes, Mohammedia now has a McDonalds.  Adlani had the sad face on again today in hopes that Ben would believe that he was on the brink of starvation and take him again, but I freaked out.  I think it’s crazy for the kid to be eating food with almost no nutritional value instead of the healthy and delicious food Ben’s sisters make for every meal.  So we went to the European market – Marjane, to look for stuff Adlani would eat.  We bought two types of hot dogs that were less pink, we finally found milk that is not too creamy (although he swears the Nesquick gave him diarrhea so I guess he’ll be sticking to white milk), pasta, and a couple of different types of nuggets (against my better judgement).  I also bought boneless chicken, which I coated with Panko and cooked as soon as I got home.  He wolfed down my homemade nuggets and I felt better.  I guess we could have skipped the processed nuggets but I didn’t know for sure he’d eat the homemade ones.  It should be a lot of fun to find stuff to feed him in Marrakech.

Marjane is just as I remembered it – like a giant Super-Walmart.  They even have a section for adult beverages, although it was closed when we were there.  Here are some photos from today’s shopping trip:

Quail eggs:

Jars of meat in fat (gag):

The liquor store is closed for the day:

I was shocked to see boxed Harira mix and people actually buying it.  This soup is a staple of Ramadan, which starts soon, but I can’t imagine serving up the boxed version after a long day of no food or water.

I was surprised to see gluten-free options:

Dough for b’stilla:

Chicken guts:

The bulk section:

You can even buy undies:

Send us some good travel vibes for tomorrow.  It’s about 100 degrees in Marrakech so I really don’t want to be sitting by the side of the road.