A Very Special Post

Lunch today was a bit of an experiment. I grabbed a kohlrabi from the market on Wednesday, and decided, after reading about its relationship to broccoli stem, to grate it with some carrots and serve it in an afternoon salad. To go with the salad, I put together an Asparagus and Leek soup before heading to the gym. K was already whizzing her up when I ran in the door.


Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad
Ingredients:
-1 Kohlrabi (grated)
-5 large market carrots (grated)
-1 granny smith apple (diced)
-a handful of raisins
-a tiny bit of greens for the base

How To:
K grated the Kohlrabi and carrots and dressed them in a little vinegar, citrus and oil. It sat for a while while I did my best to destroy the stairmaster. Upon my arrival, we topped it with the remaining ingredients and ate it up.

After clearing away the lunch dishes, I cracked open my bright and shiny new copy of Veganomicon and decided to start in the most appropriate of sections: The Cookies. I picked the Rosewater and Pistachio recipe, because I had never worked personally with Rosewater, but I had eaten enough baklava to choke a horse - so I thought it best to learn how to work with this ingredient. After dabbing some of the main ingredient (the water, not the nuts) on my neck and behind my ears, I got to work on Isa's scrumptious recipe. In the end I changed the all purpose white flour to a whole wheat. This decision wasn't based in health or whole grain purposes - it was what I had in the house. I also went with less oil and sugar. The end product is delicious. I am really happy with these cookies. They are crisp, chewy, yummy and cutely decorated with pistachios. The book is satisfying me already.

Birthday Dinner
Dinner tonight is in honour of someone special, someone who I can't be with tonight. Work, the limiting speed of current travel options, and life in general make it impossible for me to be with my little sister tonight as she celebrates her 19th birthday (a big day for any Canadian). Emily, I miss you and love you so much. I made hummus, babaganous fatoush and mushrooms tonight - all for you. (K and I will do the honours of polishing it off for you).

My sister is pretty cool, exceptionally beautiful, and wickedly smart. One of our favourite haunts back home is a Lebanese restaurant: La Luna. I remember thinking that I had the coolest sister on the planet, when at the fresh young age of 12 and 13 she was ordering falafel, hummus and other Middle Eastern goodies. Over the years Emily became a fan of the hummus and would do just about anything for a taste of La Luna's hummus.

Happy Hummus Birthday Emily. I am wishing you all of the happiness and adventure that you might be able to find as you work your way towards 20. It isn't La Luna, but I thought you might like it: