Forecast: Overcast

John Butler- Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

It's a cloudier day in my kitchen today. The Ottawa weather has dropped back down to an average of below zero, it's Monday, I'm looking at a hectic week ahead for an April 1st move, and last night I burnt my last stash of dried chickpeas whilst preparing my weekly supply of hummus.

On that note, here is my second playlist- during which you may find your spatula microphone prefers to be held a little closer to you.

Easy Peasy Lemon Garlic Hummus

I think I might have gotten too creative on my first hummus post. Despite the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed it, it's really not one to keep in the fridge for a week's usage. I've gone on strike from buying hummus from the grocery store and have been using only dried chickpeas to make my supply. This hummus can be whipped up in under ten minutes and keeps great. I also had to share this comic with you- which made my morning once- as I'm sure a few of you can relate. It used to be me. Every potluck, every barbecue... but I like to think my friends were a bit more welcoming. Although, I should mention that my uncle still refers to the frozen veggie burgers he stores year-round in case I pop in as "hockey pucks," and considers lettuce to be a type of wide grass.

Sweet Potato Pierogies with White Wine, Garlic and Fresh Chives

I've just recently finished reading 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon. It was fantastic. I loved the way it was written, I loved their honesty and I loved the idea of letting the season control your diet. That being said, I eat one banana daily and consider mango to sometimes be the absolute best part of my afternoon. I could, however, relate to the grieving stages they went through during their largely unsuccessful quest for wheat. Their experience has also left a few ideas floating through my daydreams. For example: I have big plans on harvesting dandelions this spring, and their sangria will surely accompany me while the sun freckles my skin in the upcoming summer months (stay tuned for recipes).

Potatoes, on the other hand, for their high yield and excellent storage properties- 'tis always the season. More than once they mention a pierogi-making party. These sound way more fun than my first attempt at gluten-free pierogies. Unlike their parties- which paint a picture of laughter, friends and wine- mine was more of a solo frenzy of boiling water, patting, scooping, scraping and frying in a cloud of flour for three hours. My dough-encrusted glass of wine went largely untouched and forgotten during this process- always the sign of a recipe that needs serious work in my eyes. Oh, and I learned afterwards: if you're going to freeze them, hold off on cooking them. My memory kicked in much too late. Right, like when I was a kid and I would pull them out of the freezer, drop them in boiling water and fry them. You mean, those weren't already dropped in boiling water and fried ahead of time? I didn't really think that one through. Good thing it wouldn't yield a huge batch. Good thing it wouldn't feed me a dozen times over, and I wouldn't have to endure defrosting, re-frying, and watching them fall apart for about two weeks on and off. Well. I wouldn't make that mistake a second time. And I was determined to make these calmly and organized enough that my glass of wine would not face such shameless neglect.