Am I dealing with not being content with what I am doing, or do I have an entrepreneur-type spirit and am always thinking about creative business ideas that could work? I love this business. I love meeting new people and teaching them some amazing recipes, as well as this great culture. I love what I am doing and the opportunities that will come with this business. I love filling my map with push pins from various places throughout the world where my customers fare from.
But my mind seems to always keep roaming to various new ways to make money. I believe that God has given us an ability to be creative and the means to be so. I really do believe that we can do many of the things that we want to do. And I love creating opportunities to provide jobs for other people.
What are some things that I can do here? A fried chicken stand, Putt-putt Golf, portable Snow-cone carts with cookies and drinks, a recycling center, community center ... and my mind keeps thinking about ways to impact this country and provide jobs.
I love to dream ... but for now, I will keep being faithful in my job and try to grow it into a very successful business.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Eggplant Salad Recipe
I have been known to be really generous in my life at times. I guess if I have a chance to receive or experience something special, then I really want those in my life to have a chance to partake. No one should go without. I guess my momma raised me well. Plus living in this culture helps to draw that out in people.All that to say, I am passing along the recipe to one of our cooking school's most popular dishes, Zaalouk. It seems as if every other class, we have customers itching to make this. It consists of eggplant, tomatoes, garlic and lots of spices. My wife and I love to eat it since it is so healthy, depending on how much Olive oil you want to put it.
Hope you enjoy making it yourself. If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to contact us.
ZAALOUK
yields: 4 servings
2 Med. Eggplants2 Med. Tomatoes, diced
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 tsp. Paprika
1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
1/4 tsp. Cumin
2 Tbs. Tomato Paste
Salt to Taste
Sprig of Parsley to garnish
Fresh Bread
1. Roast eggplants over open flame, turning often until skin turns flaky and grayish in color. Remove from heat. Cut off vine and remove charred skin. Place in bowl and mash with fork.
2. In saute pan, add olive oil, tomatoes and garlic. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add spices and mix thoroughly.
3. Add eggplant and mix together. Cook over low heat for a few minutes, stirring often.
4. Add tomato paste and combine well.
5. Remove from pan and serve in bowl immediately. Top with sprig of parsley and serve with fresh bread.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Branching Out
Recently, I have embarked on a new adventure that was a vision of mine when the business got started: teaching other people non-Moroccan food. We have a great facility and the means to reach more than just tourists. I enjoy cooking and I have the patience it takes to be a teacher. Putting those 2 together helps me expand the business and build stronger relationships with some of the Nationals.
Our first "guinea pig" class was a success last week. I had 2 "very rookie" guys standing in front of me and we set out to make a fabulous Home Country meal. The dishes were:
Fried Chicken Nuggets and Steak Fingers
Mashed Potatoes with Gravy
Butter-Basil Corn
Three Dipping Sauces:
Spicy Wing Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce
Sweet Honey & Soy Sauce
The best/challenging part of the entire class was that we did everything in ARABIC! Needless to say, I learned a few new words that day that I haven't heard on the streets. Words like: to batter, the skin of potatoes, to fry, etc..
By the end of the class, I was making my mental menu of the next 6 gatherings that we will have. Obviously we will touch on some Italian, some Mexican, maybe some Chinese, but also thinking about Lebanese. Not only am I trying to teach them how to cook, but I too want to challenge myself with some new dishes.
Our first "guinea pig" class was a success last week. I had 2 "very rookie" guys standing in front of me and we set out to make a fabulous Home Country meal. The dishes were:
Fried Chicken Nuggets and Steak Fingers
Mashed Potatoes with Gravy
Butter-Basil Corn
Three Dipping Sauces:
Spicy Wing Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce
Sweet Honey & Soy Sauce
The best/challenging part of the entire class was that we did everything in ARABIC! Needless to say, I learned a few new words that day that I haven't heard on the streets. Words like: to batter, the skin of potatoes, to fry, etc..
By the end of the class, I was making my mental menu of the next 6 gatherings that we will have. Obviously we will touch on some Italian, some Mexican, maybe some Chinese, but also thinking about Lebanese. Not only am I trying to teach them how to cook, but I too want to challenge myself with some new dishes.
Friday, January 2, 2009
2008 - Year-in-Review
This has definitely been a fun and adventurous year. So many things have happened that I need to write them out in order to remember them. We started out the year having already seen around 30 different places, still not knowing if we were going to rent a place or buy one. I felt so much pressure to have a location in order to obtain our residency card. So I went out and found a nice little room to make into an office to have an address to be able to fill out my papers to get my residency so I didn't have to take my family on a 5-hour drive to Spain for a weekend just to get out of the country to enter back in (that's a long sentence for ya!)
Only 3 weeks later, I took a local friend with me to look at some places. The next morning he ventured out on his own and had found the ideal place for us before noon. In some ways, that still is very sickening. Me = 6 months of seeing 40 places. Him = 2 hours of seeing 3 places. We now have a location for the biz that we never imagined having, plus being locked into a year long contract on another office. Covering your bases.
We then spent the next couple of months renovating the place (new tile in the kitchens, toilets and showers in each bathroom, heavy duty glass roof to replace the dark blue plastic covering and some touch-up paint.) All in all, it was a very easy renovating session, being highlighted by lowering a bathroom 6 inches to make the toilet fit a little better.
The beginning of May saw our very first cooking class with 5 guinea pigs (3 of whom were my sisters.) The next class was a month later with 3 more "testers" (1 of those being my wife.) Then I felt like we were ready to open the doors to some real customers.
We really aren't sure how we got off to such a great start considering our website wasn't operational until October. But somehow we managed to coax a good number of people to our school and log 20 classes in our first 6 months. Still pretty shocked about that. At the same time, we worked hard on all of our decor and ammenities and have gotten our Guest House fully functional (all that remains is authorization). Can't wait to start advertising that for our guests.
As you can read below, we have had some great clients learn about the culture and cuisine of our country. This past month, we welcomed folks from the US Embassy in Morocco and the Congo. It's always great getting your foot in various doors.
Day 2 of 2009 has already seen our first class and the arrival of a shipment of cookbooks. The calendar is starting to fill up for the cooking classes as well as for the Guest House. I can't remember the last time I entered into a new year with as much excitement and expectation as I am this year.
Only 3 weeks later, I took a local friend with me to look at some places. The next morning he ventured out on his own and had found the ideal place for us before noon. In some ways, that still is very sickening. Me = 6 months of seeing 40 places. Him = 2 hours of seeing 3 places. We now have a location for the biz that we never imagined having, plus being locked into a year long contract on another office. Covering your bases.
We then spent the next couple of months renovating the place (new tile in the kitchens, toilets and showers in each bathroom, heavy duty glass roof to replace the dark blue plastic covering and some touch-up paint.) All in all, it was a very easy renovating session, being highlighted by lowering a bathroom 6 inches to make the toilet fit a little better.
The beginning of May saw our very first cooking class with 5 guinea pigs (3 of whom were my sisters.) The next class was a month later with 3 more "testers" (1 of those being my wife.) Then I felt like we were ready to open the doors to some real customers.
We really aren't sure how we got off to such a great start considering our website wasn't operational until October. But somehow we managed to coax a good number of people to our school and log 20 classes in our first 6 months. Still pretty shocked about that. At the same time, we worked hard on all of our decor and ammenities and have gotten our Guest House fully functional (all that remains is authorization). Can't wait to start advertising that for our guests.
As you can read below, we have had some great clients learn about the culture and cuisine of our country. This past month, we welcomed folks from the US Embassy in Morocco and the Congo. It's always great getting your foot in various doors.
Day 2 of 2009 has already seen our first class and the arrival of a shipment of cookbooks. The calendar is starting to fill up for the cooking classes as well as for the Guest House. I can't remember the last time I entered into a new year with as much excitement and expectation as I am this year.
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