A Culinary Sneak Attack

Zach got me the Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant cookbook for my birthday and working through this book has quickly become my new favorite hobby. It is organized into regional cuisines, my favorite of which have been Armenia (tapas and Mediterranean, mmm!) and Africa South of the Sahara. Each section is written by one of the chefs at the restaurant and gives a brief background on the family and cultural significance of the food, which has allowed me to appreciate the importance of these dishes to other peoples.

Last night I decided to make Capetown Fruit and Nut Curry. Surprisingly, I had most of the ingredients except for green beans, green apples and zucchini. As I was lining up my troop of spices that were going into this curry, I felt a sense of pride in my spice cabinet. Finally! After years of purchasing obscure spices like Cardamom seeds and recovering from the devastating divorce from my former roommate, Elise's wonderful spice collection, I was able to reach into the cabinet without having to purchase a new member of my spice family!


Zach was home early, so he jumped in for garlic mincing and brown rice duty. I always love kitchen experiments, but it's always more fun with a sous chef :) As we began dumping the ingredients into the pan, the kitchen blew up with amazingly fragrant spices... ginger, curry, garlic, onions oh my!


The rice was simmering and the anticipation brewing... Zach looked into the pan and asked, "Did we just make a vegan dinner?" Bah! Vegan! "Vegans are silly," was my immediate reaction. A minute passed. "I think it's gluten free too." Gluten free?! That's even more ridiculous. But alas, we accidentally made a Vegan, Gluten Free dinner. And it was the bomb.