Casablanca-born Kitty Morse, an expert on Moroccan cuisine, warmly coaxes you into her late father’s Moorish mansion. Morse will be discussing her 2012 book Mint Tea and Minarets: A Banquet of Moroccan Memories. Mint Tea and Minarets evokes the legacy of generations of cooks and celebrants at Dar Zitoun, the author’s late father’s painstakingly restored riad (traditional Moroccan home). Dar Zitoun soars above the banks of the Mother of Spring River, within the ramparts of the 16th century medina of Azemmour, south of Casablanca. And Dar Zitoun, the House of the Olive Tree, has many delicious stories to tell.

Kitty Morse was born in Casablanca of a French mother and British father, and emigrated to the United States in 1964. She returns frequently to Morocco to spend time at her family’s riad, Dar Zitoun. Kitty’s career as a food writer, cooking teacher, and lecturer spans more than twenty-five years. She is the author of nine cookbooks, five of them on the cuisine of Morocco and North Africa. They include Cooking at the Kasbah: Recipes from my Moroccan Kitchen, now in its ninth printing (Chronicle), The Scent of Orange Blossoms (Ten Speed Press), and The California Farm Cookbook (Pelican).

A booksigning and reception with themed refreshments will follow the talk at approximately 11:30.

Mark Taper Auditorium, Downtown Central Library
630 W. 5th St.

Free and open to the public.