Mermez

There were no beans on toast this Easter. No chocolate either. I had a toasted cinnamon bagel for breakfast,  a soft-boiled egg for lunch and Tunisian mermez for dinner. Until today I'd never heard of mermez, which is a simple lamb and chick pea stew. A good friend gave me a middle-eastern cookbook and a selection of spices (best Easter present ever) and I selected mermez because I had all the ingredients already.The curly parsley and onions were our own, home-grown, the lamb was in the freezer and the rest was store cupboard. It was delicious. 

Despite the lack of chocolate I have had a very good Easter Sunday. There was also a lack of religiosity, no harm although I did have to argue some sense into a young friend who found himself perturbed by the Ramadan lights celebration in London. His argument, that we are a Christian country, why are they doing this at Easter?. Mine. Perhaps historically, we are a Christian society, but we celebrate diversity, we try to be an open-minded and inclusive people. Also my argument - why are you allowing right-wing, populist platforms telling you what to think? 

I tried and will keep on trying. 

 Looking forward very much to seeing my Katkin and her beloveds on Tuesday. Beyond excited.