MOROCCO MONDAYS | THE DOOR OF THE DESERT - THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS & OUARZAZATE

Ouarzazate Province, Morocco | We left Marrakesh to take a three-day trip through the Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert. The sharp mountain switchbacks were kind of terrifying (made even more so after we heard about all the buses that topple over the cliffs). As our driver careened about, we white-knuckled it and tried to savor the view--which was truly extraordinary. 

After patting ourselves on the back for surviving, we got to spend time in Ait Benhaddou, a traditional fortified city nestled on the edge of the Atlas Mountains. If I were a cultured person, I might recognize this place from Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, or Game of Thrones. 

But even without having seen those, I could still appreciate the awesomeness. And I kind of loved how Ouarzazate Province  rests on its film making laurels--it even has a museum dedicated to cinema made in the region, plus toots its own horn for having "the world's largest movie studio"--at least in acreage. Way to use the Sahara Desert to your advantage. 

The city is made out of a bunch of mud blocks that get worn down with every rain. Because of the weather-induced deterioration, the walls and structures are in constant repair by the locals. It seems like a lot of work and I can understand why only a few families still live there. Most have migrated to the new city across the way. 

Ouarzazate means "without noise" or "without confusion" in Berber. I love when languages have phrases for things we don't have in English. It is a rare thing to be without noise or confusion but Ouarzazate was both of those. The quality was illustrated time and time again by the nearly lunar landscapes that pop up as you drive along. Don't these rock formations look like a cross between Mars and a brain? Crazy. 

In which I try to get artsy/meta with the camera. Warren and I totally rocked wearing sunglasses over our glasses the entire trip. Classy. 

I loved the stark contrasts of everything in Ouarzazate Province: the big blue sky highlighting the red cliffs and embedded cities, foiled against the lush greenery that grew out of thin little streams that wove through the canyons. 

In which I sun like a cat, soaking up all that good, healing vitamin D that was so scarce in Spain.

We wound our way from Ouarzazate through the Valley of Roses, where flowers are cultivated for perfume worldwide. 

We lucky ducks got to stay the night in an old chateau that overlooked a bubbling river. It was gorgeous and serene.

Okay, so driving the crazy roads through the Atlas Mountains was not my favorite thing in the world, but I definitely loved how peaceful it was everywhere we went. It was such a different pace from the crowded din of Marrakesh. I'm so glad we were able to see a glimpse of the Moroccan countryside. 

Stay tuned: Next week we'll visit a Berber village where Warren tapped into his true identity as a Berber washerwoman. Plus, we'll show you the ridiculously awesome and beautifully embroidered rug we got.  Can't wait!

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BIRTHDAY PRINTABLE | FROM BLOSSOMS BY LI-YOUNG LEE

Today, this first glorious day of summer, is my birthday. I can think of no grander way to celebrate than to eat peaches on a tropical island while reading my favorite poem. Today I am a happy woman. 

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DECADENT SAMOA CHEESECAKE CUPS | THE STUFF DREAMS ARE LITERALLY MADE OF

This magical dessert unicorn came to me in a dream and, friends, the dream was good: iconic Samoa Cookies transformed into airy cheesecake cups topped with a generous dollop of toasted coconut caramel and drizzled with chocolate. I woke up and frantically composed a shopping list. These had to be made and they had to be made immediately. 

The strangest part about this whole recipe is that I don't even like cheesecake. Never have. And yet, here I am extolling the virtues of Samoa cheesecake high and low. These will not disappoint you.

Do you see how substantial that cheesecake filling is? I took Skinny Taste's perfect cheesecake yogurt cups  recipe and unabashedly de-healthy-fied it by cramming it chock full of toasted coconut and chocolate chunks. Skinny Taste's recipe provides a simple and light base that just begs for ingredient remixing. I can't wait to try new combinations in the future.

DECADENT SAMOA CHEESECAKE CUPS

Inspired by Skinny Taste's Lemon Cheesecake Yogurt Cups 

For the Cheesecake

• 3/4 cup coconut, toasted
• 6 shortbread cookies or vanilla wafers
• 4 oz. neufchatel or cream cheese, softened
• 3 oz. fat free Greek yogurt (half of an individual-sized container)
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 large egg white
• 2 teaspoons flour
• 1 1/2 ounce semi-sweet baking chocolate squares, chopped into chunks

For the Toasted Coconut Caramel Topping

• 1/2 - 3/4 cup toasted coconut
• half a bag of caramel candy, melted
• 1 tablespoon milk
• pinch of salt 

For the Chocolate Stripes

• 2-3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toast all of the coconut (about 1 1/2-2 cups) in a nonstick skillet over medium heat (about 5 minutes). Let the coconut cool on a plate. Line muffin tin with six cupcake liners and place a cookie at the bottom of each one. Mix the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, sugar, coconut extract, egg, and flour. Fold in toasted coconut and chocolate chunks. Spoon evenly into the 6 cupcake liners. Bake for 25 minutes and cool on a wire rack.

While the cheesecakes are cooling, make the toasted coconut caramel topping. Melt the caramel candies over medium-low heat and stir in the milk and salt. Fold in 1/2 - 3/4 cup toasted coconut. Put 1-2 tablespoons on top of each cheesecake and smooth with the back of a spoon until relatively even. If it starts to harden, just put the caramel back over the heat until its easy to handle.

Melt 2-3 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate in a glass bowl in a microwave (will take 1-2 minutes). Use a fork to drizzle over the coconut caramel. If you have some leftover in your freezer, top each cheesecake with half of a Samoa cookie. These are best eaten the day of. The caramel will get rock hard if they sit in the fridge so allow them to come to room temperature if you store them in the fridge. Makes 6 cheesecakes because having a dozen of these in the house would be dangerous. Feel free to double the recipe to suit your needs.

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MOROCCO MONDAYS | THAT TIME WE WERE HUSTLED BY SNAKE CHARMERS IN MARRAKESH

Marrakesh, Morocco | Good gracious, did we ever fall head over heels with this gorgeous city. The only thing we wanted to do after cold, rainy Barcelona was soak up the sun and get lost in the maze-like medina. We knew from the get go that maps were pretty much useless so we just gave in and wandered to bustling Jeema El-Fnaa, the massive city square, for freshly squeezed orange juice from one of the dozens of citrus carts. I cannot think of a better way to start a day.

While I had read ahead of time that you shouldn't take photos without asking permission, I took a chance on an unknown kid and tried to snap a sneaky pic of this snake charmer. Stealthy I was not. One of the snake charmer's colleagues (read: hustlers) saw me snap the photo and pulled me into the circle where he proceeded to drape a pair of snakes over my shoulders. Yes. He draped a pair of snakes on my shoulders. 

I repeat: he draped a pair of snakes on my shoulders. Then he told me to kneel by the cobras while he took some photos of Warren and me. I mean, what else could I do? My super awkward smile was part "get these snakes off of me, like, now" and "this is going to make a super good story when we get home." I drew the line when the snake hustler approached me holding two massive snakes. I made Warren pay the extortionist "photo fee" and we made our way to the safety of one of the many rooftop cafes in the area.

Once we made it to the cafe, I had mostly gotten over the whole being draped with snakes thing and we decided to refuel by ordering maybe the best chicken tagine I have ever had and couscous. We relaxed as the locals do: drinking mint tea and people watching (and stork watching--there were tons of nesting storks in town for the spring. Massive creatures, storks.). 

After lunch--and with some urging from a woman who claimed "I am not a hustler!"--we stumbled upon the lovely Saadian Tombs, which were discovered in 1917. They are absolutely gorgeous. The craftsmanship in the intricate carvings and mosaic work was amazing. 

 

Whenever we got lost in the medina, we either found a touristy looking person and followed them, or gave a kid a few dirhams to show the way. Both ways were surprisingly effective and we never worried about being too lost in the narrow cobbled alleys. Our biggest concern was not getting killed while navigating said narrow cobbled alleys with all the donkeys, scooters, cars, and pedestrians darting about. What I loved most about Marrakesh was the gorgeous architecture. I'm on board with any place that celebrates courtyard living, as illustrated by the meticulous one at Bahia Palace. 

Like the Saadian Tombs, Bahia Palace glittered with beautiful carvings and paintings. It was the perfect getaway for the sultan and his harem. And every corner showed exactly why its name means "brilliance." 

Since we were on a palace kick, we walked over to El Badi Palace, a scorched, rambling structure that was financed (as Warren repeatedly told me--one of the many perks of being married to a Portuguese economic historian...) by Portugal as ransom for some war. 

We climbed to the top to investigate a bunch of storks standing guard around the palace. 

And were rewarded with a stunning view. 

We whiled away the afternoon exploring the medina and buying all sorts of awesome things, like poufs and Berber wedding rugs. It turns out that I really love to haggle--it's like ebay but in real life--and totally scored. We should haggle in American shops. And just look at all the spices and aromatics that overflowed from colorful baskets. The dyed dried cactus flowers smelled amazing. 

By late afternoon, we were bushed so we went back to our lovely riad (traditional courtyard guesthouse) to relax. Our riad was tucked into a peaceful alley and was nearly impossible to find our first night. But getting away from the hustle and bustle of Marrakesh was well worth it. 

Like Barcelona, we used AirBNB to book this beautiful place, So Cheap So Chic Riad. It was perfect--cheap and chic, just as its name promised. They have a few friendly dogs and cats that will nap with you as you lounge on one of the many couches that surround the pool.  

After we relaxed, we went back into the fray to get some of the famous street food grilled up in Jeema El-Fnaa. It's dirt cheap and delicious. We dined on kebabs and pastilla--a savory pastry filled with sweet spiced chicken and folded into a flaky phyllo dough crust and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It's Warren's favorite thing in the world.

It stays light forever in Marrakesh so we spent much of the evening wandering around the many shops while the call to prayer echoed from Koutoubia Mosque.

Dusk in Marrakesh is pretty magical, what with all the lanterns glowing and street performers dancing. We learned some valuable lessons our first day: 1) do not, under any circumstances, take pictures of snake charmers--unless you enjoy being draped with snakes 2) you will be hustled somehow somewhere so just roll with it and 3) eat all the time (and top each meal or snack off with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice). Not too shabby. We went to bed exhausted but excited to do it all over again the next day. 

Stay tuned: over the next few Mondays I'll share some more of our adventures in the Atlas Mountains, the Sahara Desert, and the most delightful and beautiful place in Morocco--Chefchaouen, also known as the Blue City. 

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DOG-EARED PAGES | NICKI CLARK ON MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING BY VIKTOR FRANKL

Nicki Clark just might be the most delightful and buoyant person I have the pleasure of knowing. If you spend even the smallest amount of time with her you will leave feeling refreshed and joyful. She just has that effect on people. Not only is she a stellar graphic designer but she also plays a mean guitar and is an all around great person. I am pleased to share her thoughts on Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

My favorite book stumbled into my life when I became part of a online book club (and it, in fact, ended up being the only book I read as part of that club). We were assigned to read Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, and I had no idea what I was in for. The club mediator, a woman I have deep respect for, said the book was life changing. She was so right. 

It's a short read, but within those 165 pages I found what seemed to me an amazing roadmap to successfully navigate the hardships of life. As I read, life seemed to make more sense. Hardships became trivial. And I felt a greater purpose not only for my own life, but for the role I play in the whole human family. 

Frankl's words brought me insight into how to find joy in life and be at peace despite struggles and obstacles, which was something I personally had never found in a book that wasn't religious in nature. And while some of his thoughts do carry a religious undertone (something that also speaks to me), Frankl does most of his writing in a clinical fashion that is straight forward and truthful, which I found refreshing.

It seems odd to have such a sad book as a favorite, but it really has become one of my most precious possessions and one of my most practical guides to truly finding meaning in life.

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Interested in beefing up your summer reading list? Check out other posts from Dog-Eared Pages on books like Gilead, Unbroken, and Pope Joan. 

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BREAKFAST PIZZA WITH TURKEY SAUSAGE, POTATOES, AND EGGS

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My love for all things tween extends to pretty much all food tweens adore. While I love to try new things when I cook, my true food palette most strongly resembles that of a ten year old boy's. Lunchables? I could eat them everyday. The same goes for burgers with a side of salt-bedazzled fries. I'm telling you, bring on the box mac and cheese. Say no more about pixie sticks or ring pops. I hate to admit it but I have, on more than one occasion, subsisted entirely on a steady diet of Cool Ranch Doritos and frozen chicken nuggets. 

And then, of course, there is pizza. Pizza is my soul mate (sorry, Warren). 

This breakfast pizza is the answer to so many of life's woes. Crispy, salty sausage mingles with smooth potatoes and cheese. The contrasts are enough to put anyone in brunch heaven. The sunny side up eggs don't hurt either. 

The glory of all pizza, and this breakfast pizza in particular, is how customizable it is. Hate sausage? Leave it out or sub bacon. Can't stand red sauce? Try pesto or white sauce. No matter how you spin it, any version of breakfast pizza is going to make you feel all sorts of good. 

BREAKFAST PIZZA WITH TURKEY SAUSAGE, POTATOES, AND EGGS

• 1 medium russet potato
• 6 turkey breakfast sausage links
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• pizza dough (we use Smitten Kitchen's really simple homemade pizza dough recipe)
• olive oil and 1 teaspoon garlic salt (for the crust)
• pizza sauce or marinara
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or fresh)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 3 large eggs
• a few fresh basil leaves, chopped
• red pepper flakes, optional

Preheat oven to 475 F. Poke the potato a few times with a fork and microwave for 5-6 minutes, until it cuts easily with a knife. While the potato is cooking, crumble the breakfast sausage into a skillet and brown. Let sausage drain on a paper towel and set aside. Slice cooked potato into thin circles and set aside.

Sprinkle a rectangular baking sheet with cornmeal and stretch the pizza dough to fit. Brush the crust with a little olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt. This will make the crust so good you might cry. Spread the pizza sauce over the dough and sprinkle liberally with mozzarella. Place the sliced potatoes over the cheese and then the cooked sausage. Crack the eggs on top of everything and sprinkle everything with Parmesan. Pop the whole shebang into the super hot oven. 

Bake for about 7-10 minutes (keep a close eye on it so it doesn't scorch) then broil for another minute or two until the eggs look pretty set and the cheese is bubbly. Take out of the oven and sprinkle with fresh basil and red pepper flakes. Makes one thin crust pizza, enough for 2-3 people if you serve this gorgeous thing with plentiful salads. 

*Check out other breakfasty/brunch ideas such as the divine hash brown crust quiche or lemon blueberry cheesecake swirl rolls. 

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BARGAIN BARCELONA | 5 CHEAP & AWESOME THINGS TO DO IN BARCELONA, SPAIN

Barcelona is, hands down, one of the coolest cities I have ever visited. This was my fourth trip there and Warren's first (we spent a week in Spain before going to Morocco). I was so excited to show him why I fell in love with the city. Unfortunately, we arrived during an unseasonably cold snap so my visions of beach lounging quickly dissipated. Luckily, Barcelona is home to some lovely and unique sights that are virtually free.

When I backpacked around Europe in my younger days, bargain traveling was a necessity. Now it's just plain fun, mostly because I live for the thrill of finding awesome things on the cheap (this explains my thrift store addiction). So, in no particular order, here are five amazing and cheap (or free!) things to do in one of my favorite cities, lovely Barcelona.

1. Parc Guell (free!) - Designed by the ridiculously imaginative Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi, Parc Guell is a maze of undulating mosaics, grottoes, and quiet pathways. While Parc Guell's main entrance (pictured above) is constantly packed with tourists, there are smaller, less densely populated paths that lead through the beautifully forested inner park. And you definitely need to climb to the very top in order to see the gorgeous view of Barcelona and the ocean. 

Totally worth it, right? Barcelona is right on the water, which leads to the second awesome and free thing to do:

2. The Beach (free!) - We managed to score a few hours of sunshine and spent them reading on the beach and eating sorbet. There are a ton of (mostly man made) beaches  a short walk from downtown. If you have an extra afternoon or so, definitely take a bus out to some of the pretty beach towns--we spent a night in Badalona (metro accessible). I also love Sitges, which is known as "Ibiza in miniature." It is also where I saw a man dressed in nothing but a Speedo ribbon dance for two straight hours. 

3. La Sagrada Familia Exterior (free!) - Okay, La Sagrada Familia is insane. From a distance it appears to be melting but it is actually totally jam packed with sculptures and pieces of flair. Gaudi also designed this basilica and there is always construction going on. It is pretty expensive to go inside and climb (but worth it if you can spare it and wait the eons it takes to get inside) so this time we just examined it from the outside. There is a lovely park with a perfect view. I imagine it would be even more perfect if you brought a picnic lunch here.  

4) Flamenco (affordable, if you don't get dinner) - There is always a flamenco show happening somewhere in Barcelona. It's kind of like hardcore clogging with lots of clapping. And the skirts are ruffly works of art. While the dinner and show option is pricey, if you just do the show, you'll be set back $15-20. Not too shabby for two hours of live music and dancing. 

Plus, if you're lucky enough, you'll get pulled onstage to dance. Notice how seamlessly Warren blends in with his jeans and flip flops?

5. Churros and Hot Chocolate (cheap) - Barcelona loves chocolate so much they have an entire museum dedicated to it, Museu de la Xocalata, which always seems to have impressive chocolate sculptures on display. But you can go pretty much anywhere to have churros and delicious, rich, thick hot chocolate. It's basically chocolate fondue, which is to say, it's awesome. 

Since it was pouring rain, we ducked into one of the classier (but still affordable) hot chocolate establishments--Caelum. The basement is a renovated medieval Jewish bath house. It oozes charm and romance, plus there are rows after rows of delicious pastries (the almond cake is my favorite). Caelum's hot chocolate was stellar. Truly. Dark and fragrant, it took a good half hour to savor since it was so gloriously rich. 

*Bonus Cheap Awesome Thing - If you're in Barcelona, or anywhere in Spain, please do yourself a favor and order patatas bravas, a delicious potato tapas dish served with a lightly spiced tomato sauce and mayo. Over the course of a week, we probably devoured ten pounds of this. So good. So cheap. Perfection. 

To cut down on costs even more, we used Airbnb with great success. We absolutely loved Ramiro and his place just off La Rambla. In short, you can fill your Barcelona adventure with tons of awesome things and not break the bank doing it.  Plus, you might get as good at selfies as I have. Jealous?

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