• Introduction
    As a result of a recent conversation in the "Other Software" forum, I bethought myself to put together an example of my workflow using Scrivener with Nisus Writer Pro in case it would help anybody in future. NWP is, of course, Mac only. Sorry, users of Windows, but you could certainly do the same thing it Word — or OpenOffice/LibreOffice/NeoOffice — though I haven't used Word or the others to any extent since about 2001/2. The same goes for users of Word, etc. on the Mac, or Mellel. I don't use ...

  • Setting up the Scrivener project.
    The first thing to do is to set up your Scrivener project so that the compiled text will be easy to perform a search and replace on in NWP.


    • The binder hierarchy
      Apart from the 'Introduction'—which is a Level 1 document—each 'chapter' or 'section', whatever you want to call it, is a Level 1 folder. Its title will become the title of that section, and any text within the folder will also be compiled.
      In this project, I don't use any further folders, as I won't be going deep enough to need them. In any case, Scrivener folders can be converted to files and vice versa at the click of a menu item, and as files can have children—at which point they acquire a d...

    • The texts
      In the past, I tried setting up presets for individual paragraph types for tabs, margins etc. and applying "Preserve formatting" to them so they would compile without being changed. More recently, with my work I really didn't need that, and in the recipes, there is only one area which needs special consideration, and that is the ingredients list.
      The first thing to be aware of is that italics and bold-face are not usable as distinguishing features for quick selection and style application in NWP...

    • 'Compile'
      To me, 'Compile' is the very heart of Scrivener, and though people find it daunting, once it has clicked, it is actually quite straightforward. Understanding Levels and the various formatting options for each of them is what matters. Scrivener creates a truly vanilla RTF file on compiling. It currently has no style system attached, though different parts of the file can be in different fonts/sizes/colours, and that is what you need to ensure at compile time. I have already mentioned the use of b...


      • Level 1
        Level 1 in the binder has a single file and three folders. These two types need to be set up separately in the compile dialog, but essentially, they are set up to give the same output. So the headers are set, in this case to Cochin Bold 18pt, and the text to the body text format.

      • Level 2
        Level 2 files are actually files with children, so they have the icon to indicate that. In compile, their titles are set to Cochin Bold 16pt, left justified. The body text is in the body text format.

      • Level 3
        The headings for Level 3 files are set to Cochin Bold 14pt, left justified, and of course the body text is in the body text format. There is no Level 4 so Level 3+ covers it all.


  • Working in NWP
    The RTF file that is exported from Scrivener from this project, like all such exports, is truly vanilla, with only a "Normal" style, a "Note Reference" and a "Note Reference in Note" style and for some reason, a "Footer" but no "Header" style, even though there is a header shown. The various headings in the text and the text itself have the attributes assigned in compile, though looking at the "Styles" palette, they all seem to be assigned to "Normal". However, they are not actually in a "Normal...


    • NWP style sheets
      With NWP you might be tempted to create a .dot file template ready set up with the styles you want, which you can open and copy and paste all the content from the exported file into it—you can't export into a specific NWP template. Don't do it! Doing so will probably turn all your text and headings into the "Normal" style, or perhaps the "Title" style of the template and you will have lost all ability to change things quickly and easily.
      Document styles in NWP are best managed in "Style Sheet" v...


      • Creating the style sheet
        It is worth starting with a small document that includes all the styles you think you will want; if you find later that you need any other styles, it is easy to add them.In your small document, start by highlighting a paragraph in what is going to be your body text style, go to the "Style Sheet" view and click on "Normal" in the list on the left and then set it up with the font, leading, inter-paragraph spacing, first line indent or not, etc. how you want it. Continue to set up all your text sty...

      • Importing the style sheet
        As soon as you have opened your vanilla RTF file in NWP, choose "Style Sheet" view and click on "Import from Style Library". From the dialog that appears, click in the box beside the style sheet you want to import and click "Import".
        An alert will come up saying that a number of styles you're importing have matching names with existing styles; choose "Replace Existing", and the styles you have now imported will now be available in the styles palette.
        For the purpose of this example workflow, I'...


    • Adding styles to the text
      Now you have the styles you need available in the styles palette, you are ready to start applying them. The keys to this process are:
      1. The status bar at the bottom of the NWP window is the quick way to do it. You can use NWP's very powerful search and replace to do it, and you can use "macroize" to build up a macro that would do it all in one go. I did work on such a macro some months ago, but I came to a sticking point with footnotes and note numbers, and in the end, I find it just as quick ...


      • Making the changes
        Working from the lowest level of "Section" headings, place your cursor within one of the appropriate headings, then go to the status bar at the bottom of the window, click on the "a" icon and choose "Select All". Now go to the styles palette and click on the appropriate heading style. You will find that all the headings at that level will now have the attributes for that style. Do the same in succession for each higher level of headings. You can put your cursor within any of the titles of that l...


  • Recipes
    Now for the example recipes, which I'm including as they include the different "Ingredients" style giving more scope for demonstration. I've taken a few Moroccan recipes. We lived in Morocco from January 1960 until my father died there in July 1967. It was a wonderful time; Morocco had just gained its independence and it was open, stable and friendly, and we variously travelled all over the country, sleeping in the most extraordinary places. Most importantly, our time in Morocco was before touri...


    • Baked Rabbit
      This recipe comes from Rebekah Hassan*, who says that the subtle spices make the perfect accompaniment to rabbit.


      • Ingredients
        675 g/1½ lb prepared rabbit pieces
        pinch saffron
        1 clove garlic, crushed
        pinch ground turmeric
        1 tsp paprika
        good pinch ground cumin
        1 onion, grated
        25g/1oz butter
        1 tsp fresh coriander, chopped finely
        50g/2oz raisins
        1 tsp ras-el-hanout
        salt
        black pepper
        2 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted

      • Method
        Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF and place the rabbit pieces in a casserole.
        Blend together the saffron and 2 tbsp boiling water and stir to dissolve. Add the garlic, turmeric, paprika, cumin and salt and pepper and rub the mixture into the rabbit pieces.
        Add the onion, half the butter, the coriander and 600ml/1 pint of boiling water. Cover and cook in the oven for 50 minutes, then transfer the rabbit pieces to a shallow heatproof dish and rub with the remaining butter.
        Increase the oven temperat...


    • Adam's Café pickles
      I ate pickles like these in many places in Morocco, notably one evening in Meknès where, I am ashamed to say, I overdid both the pickles and the wine. This recipe comes from Diana Henry*, who persuaded Frances and Abdel of Adam's Café — in Askew Road, Shepherd's Bush — to part with their recipe. This recipe is not strictly Moroccan, as Adam's Café is in fact Tunisian, but the Adam's Café pickles are as delicious as the ones in Meknès. Diana Henry advises, "It is not a true pickle so it won't kee...


      • Ingredients
        ½ cucumber
        30ml coarse salt
        3 carrot's, peeled.
        1 onion, roughly chopped
        1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
        1 very small head cabbage, chopped
        150 g olives, mixed black, violet and green
        1 lemon
        500 ml olive oil
        500 ml white wine vinegar
        3 sprigs thyme, leaves only, chopped
        5 ml dried oregano
        15 ml caraway seeds, ground
        15 ml coriander seeds
        30 ml harissa

      • Method
        Cut the cucumber into rounds about 3mm thick and put them into a small, non-reactive bowl. Sprinkle them with the salt and put them in the fridge for 3 hours. Drain them of the water that has leached out, then rinse. Gently pat them dry and put them at the bottom of a 1 litre jar.
        Cut the carrots into rounds about the same thickness as the cucumber and add these to the jar together with the rest of the ingredients. Mix everything well to distribute the spices.
        Cover and leave for a few days at r...


    • Moroccan Chicken
      This is our family version of Tagine of Chicken with Pickled Lemons and Olives, which came from our maid Saadia’s family. This is the Rabati dish, rather than the Fassi style found everywhere. Everyone we know who has eaten it has always raved about how delicious it is. My mother, like Saadia and her family, made her own pickled lemons, so the recipe includes how to make them. Shop bought pickled lemons can be substituted.
      Cookbooks giving North African recipes always suggest eating a tagine suc...


      • For the pickled lemons
        lemons, unwaxed
        suitable quantity salt

      • For the sauce
        1 Kg (2¼ lbs) tomatoes, chopped
        1 onion, chopped finely
        2 cloves garlic, chopped
        bunch fresh parsley
        bunch fresh coriander
        pinch saffron
        salt
        pepper
        ½ pickled lemon, chopped very finely

      • For the chicken
        1 large chicken, cut into even sized serving pieces
        salt (do not over-salt, as the pickled lemons will add saltiness)
        pepper
        oil
        large pinch saffron, soaked in a small glass of water or chicken stock

      • For the olives
        quantity green or purple olives

      • To pickle the lemons
        Wash the lemons and cut them into quarters almost to the bottom, leaving them attached at one end. Fill them with salt and put them on a flat dish, cover with a plate and put a heavy weight on top so that the lemons are squashed. Leave them in the refrigerator for four or five days then put them into a jar, filling the jar with water and leave them hermetically sealed for about a month, after which they should be ready for use. They can be kept for a long time, but will eventually begin to taste...

      • To prepare the sauce
        Fry the onion lightly in a little oil in a deep pan. Add the chopped tomatoes, garlic and the parsley and coriander. Add salt, pepper and the saffron and cook until all the ingredients are soft.
        Blend and/or rub through a sieve so that the sauce is smooth. Add the chopped pickled lemon, bring to the boil, turn off the heat and set aside.

      • Cooking the chicken
        Put some salt and oil mixed together in a casserole, heat to very hot and brown the chicken pieces on all sides, turn down the heat. Mix the pepper and saffron together and add it to the chicken pieces in the casserole. Cook the chicken gently for about 30 minutes until it is well cooked.

      • To serve
        Meanwhile, warm the sauce, rinse the olives in cold water, stone them if necessary, then put them into a pan with water and bring to the boil, so that they are hot and so that the preserving fluid has been washed off.
        Lay the chicken pieces on a heated flat dish, sprinkle the olives over the top. Pour on the sauce and arrange thin strips of pickled lemon on the chicken. Decorate with a few sprigs of parsley.

      • Cook’s notes
        The sauce can be made in advance. If wished, a larger quantity can be made and the balance frozen for future use.
        The quantities given are a guide, and the amounts of garlic, parsley, coriander and pickled lemon can be adjusted according to taste and the quantity of sauce required. If a lot of sauce is being made, up to one whole lemon can be used but be careful that the resulting sauce is not too acid.


    • Tajine of Lamb with Quince
      This recipe is based on that given by Diana Henry in Crazy Water Pickled Lemons*. Her recipe is a modern, restaurant-style take on traditional Moroccan cooking, in that, first of all, it uses lamb shanks rather than diced lamb, claiming it makes it "more elegant", and it also departs from tradition — see Madame Guineaudeau, Fès vue par sa Cuisine* — in that she cooks the spices and the meat lightly in butter before adding the stock, where traditionally, the meat and a finely chopped onion are pu...


      • Ingredients
        1 kilo diced lamb
        75 g butter
        ½ tsp ground cumin
        ½ tsp ground coriander
        1 tsp ground ginger
        ½ tsp cayenne pepper
        3 cloves garlic, crushed
        2 onions, roughly chopped
        400 ml stock or water
        1 tsp ground cinnamon
        60 ml honey
        1 large bunch coriander, roughly chopped
        1 large quince, peeled, quartered and cored
        2 strips lemon rind
        ½ tsp saffron, dissolved in a little water
        salt and pepper

      • Method
        Melt the butter in a casserole. Add cumin, coriander, ginger, cayenne, garlic, onion and lamb and cook for about a minute. The meat should not brown, but get coated in the buttery juices. Pour on the stock or water and add the cinnamon, half the honey and a third of the coriander leaves. Season, bring to the boil then turn the heat down very low, cover and cook until the lamb is tender.
        Put the quince in a saucepan with enough water to just cover. Add the lemon rind and the remaining honey and b...