Maroque Newsletter - Birthday edition
Welcome to the birthday edition of the Maroque newsletter.
I have to confess I am feeling quite celebratory while writing this: Maroque has reached the grand old age of two, and with so many businesses not managing to reach their second birthday, I am delighted that Maroque and its baby sister company Bhatik are doing so well.
However, this would not have been possible with out the tremendous support and feed back from customers and newsletter readers, and I have a little "something" further on as a 'thank you'.
I will continue with the next room in my Moroccan make over series, this time a traditional themed Moroccan bedroom, let your imagination take wings.
I have an interesting recipe for Ras el Hanout if, like me, you looked at the ingredients list and went "wow, but what do I do with it?" I have just the thing.
And finally a bit of a site up date and the thank you.
Moroccan Bedroom 2 - Traditional
Ok, I admit it: I have always wanted a fabulously sumptuous Moroccan themed bedroom. Swathes of gorgeous silks in vibrant red and rich gold, intricately carved pillars, bed on a raised dais, exotic lighting, dance of the seven veils stuff.
If there is ever a room to let your decorating fantasies go wild, it has to be a traditional themed Moroccan bedroom, with the wealth of rich warm colours available in both fabrics and lighting.
If you want to change the emphasis of your room, raise the bed up about 15cm this will make your bed the focal point of the room, cover it with a silk throw in reds and golds, and add a heap of cushions.
For the lighting, chose something that will give an intricate coloured pattern on the walls and ceiling, this will add an amazing sense of the exotic. A couple of wired table top lanterns will add some subtle light to the corners of your room and some mirrors dotted around will reflect this subtle light.
Paint the walls in a warm muted shade, peach or apricot, which will complement the patterns and colours from your lamps gloriously.
A small chair or stool with moucharaby details will add a traditional touch, or possibly a traditional kilim rug on the floor.
And for those on a bigger budget a moucharaby screen will finish the room. It can either hide a multitude of sins (chair piled with clothes...) or can be placed in front of a window to cast a tracery of intricate patterns across the room.
To see a selection of stunning Moroccan bedrooms have a look at our bedrooms in our "the look" section, or click here.
Food
This simple dish is a great recipe to try, the complex flavours of the Ras el Hanout are very different. Not a quick dish, but not difficult.
Ras el Hanout Lamb
The quantities of the spice make the dish quite spicy, if you like something milder, you may wish to half the spice mix the first time you make it.
Ingredients
Serves 4
2 tbsp of olive oil
500g / 1lb lean lamb cut into bite sized chunks
2 large onions chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
30g / 4oz sliced almonds toasted
2 tsp Ras el Hanout
2 tbsp honey
1 pint of vegetable stock
salt and black pepper
1. Add the oil to a large saucepan or deep-sided frying pan and fry the onions and garlic until brown. Set aside.
2. Fry off lamb until coloured, add onions and garlic back into the pan.
3. Add Ras el Hanout, salt and pepper stir well to coat everything.
4. Add vegetable stock and bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes.
5. Add the honey and continue to cook for 30 minutes, until the lamb is very tender.
6. Serve with rice and scatter the toasted almonds over as you serve it.
Site Update
We are now doing a range of leather and sequin slippers in different sizes. So if you fancy treating yourself to some twinkly slippers, have a look at our range. We have been adding new bits and bobs across the range, the best way to see what is new on the site is to look in the What's New section at the bottom of the catalogue.
A Thank You
As a birthday thank you I am offering a 10% discount on all your orders, both Maroque and Bhatik, from now until October 3rd, 2004. If you haven't checked out Bhatik recently, we have some gorgeous velvets, you may want to have a look at.
You will need to type TWO in the code box at the end of the order page; the discount will automatically apply (I hope). Any problems please do not hesitate to contact me.
I will write again at the beginning of November hopefully with lots of ideas to assist in your seasonal shopping.
Thank you for your continued support. If you have any comments, ideas, suggestions I would love to hear from you. Please email info@maroque.co.uk.
Kind regards
Julie Woodard
Maroque