Al Meida Fine Algerian Pastries by Warda Bouguettaya

Photo courtesy of Warda Bouguettaya

The sky was unrelentingly gray last Wednesday as I was trying to decide whether to get out to the second shift Farmers Market that goes from 4:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays through September. It was one of those cold and rainy fall days when the air smells like wet leaves.

My friend Jason was going because he'd committed to setting up Slow Food Huron Valley's "Local Libations" - the little beer garden at the market with Michigan beer and wine. He sounded discouraged at 4:25 when he called and said, "There are only four vendors here, and I think I only saw one person shopping."

But I got myself over to the market because I knew that one of those four vendors would be Warda Bouguettaya, who recently started Al Meida, a small business bringing her "fine Algerian pastries" to the Wednesday evening market. Thanks to the new Michigan Cottage Food Law that allowed Warda to realize her dream of starting a bakery (and the Wednesday market that had space available for her), I've become addicted to a world of pastries that was entirely unknown to me two months ago.

This has led me to the delicious realization that pastries are another avenue toward universal peace, love and understanding.

I'm now extremely familiar with orange-flower scented almond Kaab El Ghzal, date-filled honey-dipped Makroud, and delicate chocolate and buttery vanilla Dwiyrat.

You can see just by looking that these are special pastries. A place that has desserts this good has to be a wonderful place to visit. Besides being one of the loveliest people I know, Warda is an incredible ambassador for Algeria.

But the real reason got myself out of the house on a rainy afternoon last week was that Warda had posted photos of her Nana's Jam Tarts, and I knew I had to try one.

Handing me my beautiful tart, Warda told me that she uses a secret ingredient: tomato-vanilla jam. She said "I took the seeds out, and took the skins off and then cooked them just like any jam. It's so much work. But it's worth it. In the winter when I taste that, I have summer."

"Al Meida" refers to the low table around which Algerian families gather.

Photo courtesy of Warda Bouguettaya

On the Al Meida Facebook page, Warda explains the origins of the name: "Al Meida in Algeria is a traditional low table (the green ones in the photo), similar to the traditional Japanese table. It can be either round, rectangular or square and was, and still is in many Algerian families, used for dining and tea ceremonies. The photo is of a very traditional living room, with colorful handmade wool carpets and floor seats to accommodate large families and make it easy to eat from the low tables (al meida). As higher benches replaced on-floor-seats, meida gave way to modern coffee tables and western style dining tables and chairs."

For a brief trip to Algeria, I suggest that you take yourself over to the Wednesday evening farmers' market. If you want some Al Meida pastries, don't be late. From the line at Warda's table, I could see that I'm not the only one who appreciates these amazing handmade pastries.

Kim Bayer is a freelance writer and culinary researcher. Email her at kimbayer at gmail dot com.