I wish I had a more sophisticated palate, sadly, I don’t think my palate developed beyond that of a ten-year-old’s.
I wish I was more open to all the wonderful varied food out there, yet there are so many things I just can’t bring myself to like – such is the plight of the picky eater.
I was at a fancy restaurant recently where everyone was excited to try roasted bone marrow, everyone but me, “I’m a vegetarian” I said – I’m beginning to hate that label, it feels limiting.
“That’s ok,” says the waiter, “We’ll find you something equally special.”
I ended up with an un-special plate of pasta with tomato sauce, and watched my dining companions literally moan with pleasure at every bite.
I should be eating that! I thought to myself, my people were sucking marrow from bones centuries before Fergus Henderson put roast bone marrow on the culinary map.

For over a decade I wouldn’t eat soup because my family kept reminding me that I hated soup as a child.
And then one day I was stuck in a cabin and all we had was minestrone, I didn’t want to seem irrational so I ate it. I realised then that maybe I didn’t hate soup after all, and now I can’t imagine why anyone would hate soup, especially with so many kinds out there.
Soups aren’t only heart-warming and nourishing; soups warm and nurture the soul.
Soups are healing, uplifting and comforting, there nothing more satisfying than a warm bowl of homemade soup on a cold dreary day, or when sick or feeling a little down.
I wish I made soup often – especially around this time of year when every day feels like a soup day; did you know that January was national soup month in the US?
I’ve been collecting soup recipes and working my way through them this winter…
I knew I was going to love this soup the minute I saw the ingredients; carrots, coconut milk, ginger and curry powder.

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Prep and cook time for this easy recipe is 30 – 40 minutes and serves about 6 – 8

This is by far one of the best meals I’ve ever made; the thing about this soup is that, it’s not just good… it’s really, really good. It‘s spicy, creamy, and savoury with a hint of sweetness from the carrots.
It’s also soothing, the week I made this, I had a bowl every night at dinner and could just feel my worries slip away with every spoon – it’s restorative.

I have a sweet tooth, there’s no denying it, and I don’t make excuses for it –
I own it… which is why I’m always ten pounds away from my ideal weight.
I love healthy food too, almost as much as I love junk food, so I’m constantly on the lookout for food that is all healthy, sweet and junk-ey.
Because let’s face it, as blasé as I am about my sweet tooth, the potential health implications aren’t lost on me.
So while I’m trying to put my days of polishing off a pint of ice cream in two servings behind me, I still like to indulge.

This is where recipes like this sweet cashew cream comes in; it satisfies the sweet tooth but it’s not all junk food.
Cashew cream is used mainly in raw-food diets as a substitute for dairy; raw cashews are soaked overnight, and blended into a smooth cream that can be used in both sweet and savoury recipes.
For this sweet cashew cream, I used roasted and salted cashews –
Roasted cashews are sweeter with a rich nutty flavour.
And salt is the greatest flavour enhancer.

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This sauce is amazing! It’s delicious; I slather it over bagels, toast and crackers.
It’s wonderful over ice cream, cakes, and other pastries, and as a dip for fruit.
I like to experiment with other nut butters too, almond butter, peanut butter, etc.

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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