Nutritionist Rosie Eyre of By Rosie recommends this hearty lamb recipe that’s great for family meals, especially when served with a side of rice.
Moroccan lamb tagine
2 onions (sliced)
4 tsp ginger powder or finely grated
3 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp nutmeg powder
4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp pepper
1 kg diced lamb
3 lg Swedes (peeled & sliced into 1/8ths)
3 carrots (peeled & chopped into 2cm rounds)
3 parsnips (peeled chopped into 2cm rounds)
2 small sweet potatoes (peeled & roughly chopped)
2 handfuls of dried prunes
4 litres of stock
2 tins chickpeas (drained & rinsed well)
3 lg zucchini (sliced into 3cm rounds)
Heat a large saucepan, medium heat, good glug olive oil, once hot add onions, cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
Add all the spices, cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add lamb and brown for 5 minutes.
Add all veg (apart from chickpeas & zucchini) & prunes.
Add stock until everything is completely covered.
Bring to the boil then let it simmer for 2h30, occasionally stirring.
Add chickpeas & zucchini, simmer for a further 30 minutes or more until lamb is tender.
Season with salt and pepper and serve.
A delicious spiced lamb tagine, great to make in bulk on the weekends and freeze in batches. Warming and hearty, goes really well with a bowl of cooked rice.
Love a bohemian and global feel to your interiors? Barefoot Gypsy’s new range is diverse and authentic, full of earthy pieces made by local artisans from around the world. You’ll feel like you’ve just got back from a great adventure!
Take their charpoy stools, for example. These are a modern take on something historically used as a woven bed in India. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t fancy sleeping on these! Instead it’s suggested you try them as a low shelf.
The kilim mats are individually handmade in Morocco, meaning the exact designs available change often. You could even try hanging one on the wall as a feature.
If subtler colour schemes are more you, the Moroccan wedding pouffes and cushions are a bit more neutral. Originally vintage blankets, they are traditionally woven from sheep’s wool, cotton and linen by Northern Moroccan women before a wedding. They give the bride warmth and decoration for her new house, ward off bad spirits and bestow fertility and good luck on the couple. Not a bad thing to bring into your home!
To see all these products and more (have a peek at their leather range, it’s stunning!), visit Barefoot Gypsy here
While it may have started as a blog to document the renovation of her Paddington home (and her subsequent relocation to Palm Beach), Heidi Carter’s blog Paddo to Palmy very quickly turned into a blossoming lifestyle label.
Heidi
Now an online shop that sells beautiful Moroccan homewares and also stocks Heidi’s latest venture, fashion line Gisele, she was inspired to open the store after struggling to find furnishings to decorate her Paddington abode. “I went for a minimalist Moroccan theme,” explains Heidi. “However when it came time to decorate I had trouble finding Australian based suppliers. So I convinced my hubby that we should go for a holiday to Morocco and I came back with over 40 rugs! That is how the online shop began.”
Heidi’s Palm Beach home
Designing some accompanying ceramics, blankets and throws, last summer saw Heidi take the shop one step further, launching her own fashion label: “I have always been obsessed with fashion, in particular the prints of the Parisian designers, and I just felt there was a gap in the market for clothes that were flattering and made with gorgeous prints and colours. I will always be an interiors addict but there are only so many times you can renovate your house!”
Heidi’s Palm Beach home
[contextly_sidebar id=”lOREC3fabh3ONFyvOWXMzRN9IhwUG4QI”]However, it’s not just her Paddington home that Heidi’s renovated, with her Palm Beach retreat also getting a beautiful revamp. “It is a Modernist style house that was built in the 1950s,” explains Heidi. “It was in pretty bad shape when we bought it. I painted all the floors and walls white so I had a blank canvas to work with, then stuck to a palette of white, light blue, tan and yellow. I scoured eBay for unique and cheap furniture and had it renovated and furnished in three weeks!” Can you believe it?!
Heidi’s Palm Beach home
A unique build, the home features a three-story tower, with 360-degree views over Palm Beach and Whale Beach from the top. Unsurprisingly, that’s Heidi’s favourite room. “The bedroom at the top of the tower is so large that we also made a section into a cocktail area where we congregate at sunset, for yes, cocktails!”
Heidi’s Palm Beach home
With the home’s style being a bit of everything — a bit Moroccan, a bit beachy and a bit oriental — the look stays true to Heidi’s own personal style. “I have always been very opinionated about how things should look. My friends always joke and say it’s just ‘so Heidi’ which I hope is a compliment! Although sometimes my taste, especially my use of colour, can be a bit out there which I know isn’t for everyone.” Well Heidi, it’s certainly for us!
Shop at Paddo to Palmy here, or even better, stay the night at Heidi’s Palm Beach retreat, which is available for rent here.
I wanted to share with you the most magical place we visited last week in Marrakech: the Jardin Majorelle. It would have to be one of the highlights of our trip so far. The colours, especially in the Moroccan sunshine, are simply stunning.
The stunning house and garden is a shady and peaceful oasis in the middle of bustling, noisy, dusty (and yes, let’s be honest, pretty dirty!) Marrakech. Once you step through the gates, it’s like you’re in another world.
The gardens were a labour of love for French artist Jacques Majorelle (1886 — 1962), who created them, from 1924. I have never seen so many, or such magnificent and large cacti. Amazing. And that blue! It’s no surprise there is now a colour called Majorelle Blue.
The story doesn’t end there though. Can you believe these gardens and this beautiful villa were almost destroyed and replaced with a hotel complex? Enter Yves Saint Laurent (who needs no introduction) and his partner Pierre Bergé, who, living in the city, were big fans of the garden and decided to buy the place and restore it, adding to its already impressive range of exotic plants.
When Yves died in 2008, Pierre donated the place to their foundation, to ensure it could remain open to the public. A memorial to Yves can now be found in the garden.
The house contains a Berber museum (Berbers are the original indigenous people of Morocco) and also a gallery of Yves’ ‘love’ artworks, which he created each year for many years and sent as New Year cards to clients and friends.
If you ever find yourself in Marrakech, this is a must-visit place.
As I’m in Marrakech this week, I thought I’d share with you some Moroccan-inspired homewares from West Elm and Freedom which you might fancy for your own home.
I look forward to sharing some photos from Marrakech with you next week. Unfortunately, airline baggage allowances will prevent me from coming home laden with carpets and trinkets but I’m sure I’ll find space for some souk purchases…
Paddo to Palmy has popped up at 68 Moncur St, Woollahra, until this Friday 23 May 2014.
There will be discounted Moroccan rugs, blankets, cushions, pouffes, pom pom baskets, placemats and towels with the odd piece of vintage furniture thrown in for good measure. Walter G are also taking part, selling their stunning wood blocked printed cushions, camel tassels, lassie cups, lamps and tableware linens. There’s also jewellery from Rocket & Tess and Fedora hats from My Red Lippy.
Where: 68 Moncur St Woollahra (the old Jones the Grocer cafe – just off Queen st)
