Persian Chickpea Rhubarb Curry

How utterly Canadian of me to talk about the weather, but it's hard to think of little else these days.  Although the calendar is creeping toward the end of May, the weather feels nothing like summer.   Josilin played soccer in the pouring rain and temperatures close to 3 degrees Celsius last week.  Prior to heading out she packed herself a little bag of essentials.  Two sweaters, a coat, a head warmer and her favourite blanket. 

Cauliflower, Chickpea and Potato Curry

 This is a tale of two curries.  This past week as the weather cooled, the kitchen heated up.  Seeking out comforting  fall dishes, I ended up making two different curry dishes.  One was my favourite.  The other was Don's.  So today I will post one favourite and in the days to come the other.  I'm so tempted to say which I think is best, but am hoping perhaps some of you will comment to tell me which one you like best.  There is no doubt, both are simple, tasty and nourishing.

Chana Masala with Curried Spinach

In the summer of 2011 Josilin was able to participate in a global village program for a month in Denmark.  When she was preparing to go we were worried about many things.  Would she be safe? Homesick? Lonely?  I never once considered: would she be hungry?  In recent years there have been multiple stories of what a food revolution is happening in Denmark, including the best restaurant in 2012 and 2011. The night before she left I offered to make any meal she wanted or take her out to any restaurant.  She chose to eat at home and the meal she wanted was this one.  Chana Masala has been a favourite of hers for years, so I was not that surprised she wanted this.  Leftovers pack nicely in her thermos for lunch and it can be made days in advance.

Chickpea Beef Stew with Orange

 We don't eat a lot of meat at our house.  Partly for health reasons and partly because Don and the kids don't really like it very much.  Recently I read a new blog where the author is aiming to complete 30 things before her 30th birthday.  It's an inspiring list and there were quite a few that had me excited to create my own list.  One of these items is to go vegetarian for a month.  My immediate response was "I could do that."

Almond Butter Chickpea Wrap

It’s funny how some foods just by smell or taste can take us back to a place we’ve been or people we were with.  This Chickpea Almond Butter Wrap is full of bittersweet memories for me.  The first time I tasted these flavour combinations was out for lunch with a dear friend.  Both of us were anticipating it would taste like hummus and we were pleasantly surprised to be wrong. That first serving was actually in a pita and I found the bread a little too much when it was really just the filling taste I wanted.  Not long after that lunch out our local newspaper ran an article highlighting this café and included a recipe for the sandwich.  It wasn’t long before I was making the sandwich at home with my own adaptations and every time remembering the lovely lunch when I first had it.