Ahhh, I’m a few days late in putting up a new post, but once again I was in one of my favourite places ever- Whistler. Doesn’t it seem like I just got back from there….? I’m not complaining! This time we got to do one of my favourite Whistler activities….”The River of Golden Dreams” although sometimes this little river is a bit of a nightmare! It’s always fun, but this time was exceptionally fun. There was a bit of beer involved, kayaks flipping into freezing water, a lost and recovered hat and pair of sunglasses (twice!), soaking wet clothes, a lost and not recovered $600 pair of Oakleys, war wounds from getting entangled in surrounding bushes, and an unfortunate duck mama losing two babies that ended with a happy reunion between them.

The guys trying to get all the water out of the flipped kayak…bahaha!

Uh-oh…stuck in the bushes again!

The reunited duck family!

I’m home now, but I can’t say I feel much like cooking anything….I feel like it’s too nice out to be in the kitchen! But when I saw Sweet on Veg post about these falafels, I just HAD to make them! When I was in bartending school, my friend and I would eat at the falafel place downstairs from the school for lunch and we became totally addicted, but I haven’t had any since!

I followed the recipe for the falafels pretty much exactly, but instead of making them in pitas I used wraps, which work just as well. I love how these can be baked or pan-fried. I slathered my wrap with hummus and a bit of tzatziki, and filled it with lettuce, cucumber and tomato. Yummmmm!

Earlier in the week, in one of my culinary classes, we were all asked to bring in a dish that represents comfort food for us. We then headed to the kitchen and go to explain the dish we brought, and then share it with the class. One of my favourites was what my Chef brought in. He is from the Middle East, and he made beautiful, soft, homemade pita bread with hummus, a fava bean dish called Fool Meudane, and wonderful falafel. I was so impressed and inspired that I wanted to make the very same meal for my family! I decided to add a cumin-carrot salad to the meal, as well. Something I love about these dishes is that they all happen to be vegetarian- yum!

I’ll be sharing the recipes over the next little while, and I’d like to start with a basic hummus recipe that gets topped with the fool meudane. My chef informed me that this is not a traditional way of serving it, but hey, he did it….and I liked it!

Basic Hummus

• 1 19 fl oz can of chickpeas
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp tahini
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped parsley

Combine all the ingredients, except olive oil in a food processor and blend until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil and blend. Stir in parsley and top with paprika.

Fool Meudane (original recipe can be found here)

• 2 cups frozen fava beans
• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (add tbsp by tbsp, until you get the amount you want- a 1/4 cup may be too much for some people)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
• 1 small tomato, diced

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the garlic, stir until fragrant. Add the fava beans, lemon juice, and salt. Cover and cook for a minute or two. Add the diced tomato, cover and simmer 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat, and mash the ingredients with a fork until chunky. You don’t want this dish to be perfectly smooth. Garnish with parsely and drizzle with olive oil.

To serve these, spread the hummus in a bowl leaving a hole in the middle, add the fool meudane in the centre, sprinkle with smoked paprika, and drizzle with olive oil.

Looks like I have some explaining to do- it’s been a long time since my last post! I’m not even sure why…maybe it’s just that it’s summer. It’s not that I was lacking motivation, perhaps I was too motivated. I think I was trying too hard to make food for the blog. I decided I would stop trying and let the ideas come to me- and they did. I was so excited when I felt like stepping into the kitchen again. I knew I wanted to use the Cookbook of the Month ‘Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day’. I made a Light Whole Wheat dough because it’s very versatile and can be used in many different recipes in the book. I’ve felt like Indian food lately and so I thought to try making naan bread. The process is so easy- just roll out the dough and pop it into a frying pan, wait wait wait, flip, wait wait wait, eat. Almost like making a pancake! I needed something to accompany the naan and I decided to try a hummus that I’ve been wanting to try for a long time now- Dreena Burton’s Curried Chickpea Hummus. This little appetizer or snack tasted AMAZING. My mom and I finished a whole naan in a matter of seconds! With a dash of coarse salt and a big dip of hummus, I would serve this sensation to anyone!

If you are interested in making bread (of any kind), I urge you to pick up Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day for some fabulous recipes like this light whole wheat naan bread! I’ve included my adapted version of the curried hummus for you to try. I do recommend naan with it (store-bought or homemade) or pappadums which are Indian lentil crackers.

Curried Chickpea Hummus (Adapted from Eat, Drink, Be Vegan)

• 2 cups canned chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp honey
• 1 big garlic clove
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/8 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• pepper (to taste)
• 2 tbsp almond butter
• 4-5 tbsp water (for thinning to desired consistancy)
• 3-4 tbsp raisins or currants

Mix all ingredients except water and raisins in a food processor. Add water tablespoon by tablespoon until desired consistancy is reached. Pulse in rasins. Enjoy!

Oh! I almost forgot- I have decided to start cooking school 6 weeks early and my first class is today. I’m super excited but I’m also freaking out, this is definitely something completely new and it’s extra weird because I haven’t been to school in over a year now. My holistic nutrition is taken through correspondance (and is almost complete, I might add!) so it’s time for me to get back the grind and hopefully learn A LOT and have some fun!!