I probably wouldn’t have liked okra as an adult if I hadn’t grown up eating it.
It’s not like I really liked it growing up, in fact I’ve always been wary of okra.
Okra is one of those vegetables that divide people, some love it and some hate it.

Not everyone appreciates okra’s mucilage, but I remember my mom’s okro stews and soups… rich thick stews full of vegetables, meat and crab, and savoury tomatoey soups loaded with smoked fish.
Okra isn’t readily available in these parts, but every once in a while I’ll find them at the store, imported fresh from Mexico.
I buy it mostly for nostalgia reasons, and while I can’t recreate my mom’s awesome soups or stews, I still try…

Roasted okra and black beans – I’m all about simple recipes; which is why I love roasted vegetables, it’s easy and delicious.
Roasting cuts down the slime of the okra, it caramelizes and turns slightly crispy.
Combined with the other vegetables and black beans, it creates a perfectly intense melody of flavours.

Try it over rice or quinoa…

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Have I ever mentioned that I was baptised in the Presbyterian Church?
No? That’s ok; it’s not something that usually comes up in conversation.
Unless you find yourself on a long train ride, with a group going to a conference on baptism – then, you’ll have tell your baptism story and even say; “I guess I’m a Presbyterian, sort of.”
Do you know what else is ‘sort of Presbyterian’? Graham flour! (I know, stay with me for a second).
So back in the 19th century, Presbyterian Minister and presumably health food nut Rev. Sylvester Graham was convinced that processed white flour was ‘teh evilz’.
He invented Graham Bread believing that the bran and germ were healthiest and most nutritious part of the wheat and vital to health.
With Graham flour, named for Rev. Graham, the bran and germ of the wheat kernel are coarsely ground and added to finely milled endosperm to create coarse-textured flour.
I buy graham flour mostly because I like the texture; it’s similar to whole wheat but has a higher bran content and not as dense.
It makes the most wonderful bread; nutty, lightly sweet and soft.

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I watched an amusing little French movie the other day called L’Italien. It’s about a man of Algerian descent who passes himself off as an Italian in order to work at a Maserati dealership in Nice. His dotting parents on the other hand, think he works in Rome.
He agrees to honour his ailing father’s request to fast for the month of Ramadan – and thereon, the hilarity and hijinks ensues.
And while the movie has nothing to do with chickpeas or cumin, there’s a subtle food theme in the movie that had me thinking about food… aromatic, hearty and flavourful dishes from the Mediterranean. There’s a funny scene where the protagonist almost slips and brings up couscous to his girlfriend whom he’s also deceiving.

I’ve already written ad nauseum of my love of chickpeas; so l knew this chickpea salad was going to be one of my favourite salads the moment I found it.

There’s usually a jar of cooked chickpea in the fridge, cooked from scratch – it tastes so much better and it’s so much more economical than canned.

It’s spicy and filing and uses simple and wholesome ingredients.
Cumin seeds add warmth to the flavour; I used ground cumin because I didn’t have any cumin seeds.
It’s a great wintertime salad, convenient, with plenty leftover to eat over the course of a week, for lunch or quick dinners.

On a particularly cold dark night like today when I got home tired, I paired it with a side of savoury couscous, it works pretty well with quinoa too, or bulgur wheat.

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I woke up very early this morning to get to work for a 7AM conference call; living in a time zone hours behind the rest of the world is a pain sometimes.
I still wish I were an early riser though; just before 8, I saw the sun shimmer and glow, bursting its way onto the morning sky, and thought “so that’s what sunrise looks like” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a sunrise, It looked so yellow and dramatic.
Speaking of meetings… we usually have team meetings on Mondays at my place of work.
We take turns chairing these meetings, and whoever’s turn it is to chair is supposed to bring treats – usually muffins, bagels and the sort.

And for as long as I’ve been there, like clockwork I’ve always brought banana bread!
This isn’t because I love banana bread, or that I make killer banana bread; on the contrary, I don’t make it – I buy it from Capers and it’s easy.
Whenever it ‘s been my Monday to chair, I’d pop into Capers on Sunday night and pick up a loaf of banana bread, or better yet beg someone to get it for me.
I’ve literally been this lazy for years – until last month.
Maybe it was the excitement of the season but it suddenly seemed ridiculously boring to do yet another store-bought banana bread.
Perhaps I was in festive baking mood, I thought about the oatmeal coconut and almond cookies I made for the half-marathon and figured it’ll make a pleasant morning snack
This time I opted to add pomegranate molasses. I’ve been on a pomegranate molasses kick lately; I put it in everything for that sour tart taste.

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The microwave is on the fritz, so I had to make other plans for dinner.
AB&J… almond butter and jam bagel for dinner