Sur La Table

"I write. I travel. I eat. And I'm hungry for more." - Anthony Bourdain

I can't believe it took me this long to tap into the secret foodie society within Peace Corps Morocco. Within the last few weeks I've found others, like myself, who are volunteers by day - food aficionados by night. Sharing a common bond of all things Food Network, Top Chef, and Food & Wine Magazine, I've been able to let my gastronomic geek side of me run free for a bit.

For the last few nights my friend Kathryn has been staying with me and after a few dropped cues - her Marrakech article in Food & Wine, my Anthony Bourdain t-shirt, and a mutual decision to have huevos rancheros for brunch - we realized we had much more in common than we originally thought. Thus, our morning quickly turned into a Top Chef season 7 download session and a heated debate on whether Angelo, Ed, or Tiffanie was going to win.

Debate then turned to discussed frustration on the inability to cook pretty much anything seen on the aforementioned Bravo program. Any given dish on this series requires at least one key ingredient that is nowhere to be found in this village, this province, this country, let alone region of the world. If it doesn't consist of a base of onion, potato, carrot, or green bell pepper, I can pretty much guarantee you it can't be done. Don't get me wrong, I'll experiment and substitute until almost no stretch of the imagination can get you back to it's original identity, but I'll still make damn sure it tastes good.

Between Kat and another few foodies at camp, I've gotten my momentary fill of Paula Dean, Two Fat Ladies, and Tom Colicchio, followed by marathon viewing sessions of No Reservations and a late night screening of Julie & Julia.

I think I'm going to bake today.