Looking...Waiting

March may come in like a lion, but I say it goes out like a hungry lamb. The next 6 to 8 weeks are the hardest for me food whys, I suffer from a serve case of the culinary blues. The summer stores I put up last year have dwindled to a last meal or two, and the earth is still in a dead sleep. The frustration is as I peel off layers and no longer require the thrice wrapping of my cashmere scarf I start to ache for green. I now the first delicate offerings of the season of renewal will be a verdant saturated plate, and I pine for that chlorophyll intense bite.

On the calendar spring is a mere three weeks away, and because Mother Nature has once again not marked her iCalendar I now a specific date means nothing. So, I will look for signs: white and purple crocus dotting barren parks; slightly swollen green buds popping up in clumps here and there, and stretch of nights where the temperature never dips below a freeze. Reading those signs I can start to plot my first true spring meal and think of grilled ramps or a chervil laced goat cheese turnover – ahh, the thought of it.

I must wait, and I in the interim I will dream.





Whole Wheat Flatbread – yields 8
16-ounces plain yogurt
2-cups chickpea flour
3-1/2 to 4 cups whole-wheat flour
2-teaspoons salt
1-tablespoon canola oil

Combine the yogurt, chickpea flour, whole-wheat flour and salt together to create a dense, but moist dough mass. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, and then rub with a bit of oil. Place in a bowl and cover, or plastic bag and allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Cut the dough into 8 pieces, and form in a ball.

Flatten the ball of dough, and roll them out to about 1/8-inch thick rounds. Make sure to rotate the dough as you are rolling in order to prevent it from sticking to your work-surface. It is ideal not to flour the work-surface when rolling out the flat breads.

Heat a cast iron skillet or flat top over a high heat. Cook the flat breads for about 2-3minutes a side.

Store in the refrigerator or freeze.