Kale, Chorizo, Sweet Potato Salad

The kale/chorizo/sweet potato combo was first inspired by the Kale Chorizo Soup http://carvedblock.blogspot.com/2013/06/kale-chorizo-soup.html, but my friend Ross and I have been experimenting with this format for quite some time. This round, I heated a couple onions and some garlic in about half a stick of butter for five minutes, then added water and a couple pounds of thinly-chopped sweet potatoes. I covered this and cooked it for about twenty minutes. In another pan, I mixed a pound of sliced chorizos with about a pound of chopped kale and some green peppers and cooked it for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Once the potatoes were soft, I mixed everything together in a large bowl, added two "logs" of goat cheese (probably about 8 oz. each?) and stirred it all together. It's pretty hard to go wrong using the kale+meat+sweet potato+cheese combination.

Egg Bake

Inspired by a Bon Appetit magazine recipe, I decided to make an egg bake for a weekend up at the cabin. I lined the bottom of the pan with chorizo cut in small disks (on sale at Cub $3/lb), and then mixed together a pound of chopped spinach, a pound of chopped kale, a dozen eggs, a can of coconut cream, about ten chopped scallions, salt, pepper, and rosemary and poured this mixture on top of the chorizo. I sprinkled on one container of romano cheese from Aldi ($2) and some parmesan and cooked it for about an hour. Hooey! The flavor from the chorizo permeated the entire dish, creating the greatest breakfast of all time.

Sweet Potato Cheesecake

I'm not going to pretend this is good for you in any way, but there is no added sugar so it could be worse. For the crust, I beat an egg with a little less than a cup of almond flour and some butter, spread this on the bottom of a springform pan, and cooked it in the oven for about 10 minutes. For the filling, I mixed around 1.5 lbs. of cooked and mashed sweet potatoes with an 8 oz. package of cream cheese, a 16 oz. container of Ricotta cheese, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and stevia. After cooking it in the oven for an hour and a half or so I added chopped pecans to the top and then refrigerated it. It turned out pretty tasty with some good sweet potato flavor, but I probably wouldn't make it again. Not a huge fan of "baking."

Pumpkin Tilapia Curry

This dish was originally inspired by a Bon Appétit magazine recipe for pumpkin shrimp curry, but I used tilapia instead. I fried chopped garlic, ginger, and a yellow onion in olive oil and then added a can of pumpkin puree, five tilapia fillets, a head of cauliflower, a couple spoonfuls of Little India's curry powder, and about half a cup of water. Again, not 100% primal, but in these twilight November afternoons it's hard to resist the $.89 cans of pumpkin puree at Aldi... Anyway, I covered the pan and simmered it for about a twenty minutes to a half hour and then added half a can of coconut cream and cayenne pepper. I served it with scallions and lime wedges. I have to say, this was one of my tastiest creations to date; the fish, pumpkin, coconut cream, and curry flavors blend oh so well.

Tilapia & Salsa

It has been a couple years now that I have been making this salsa, originally inspired by the salsas I get on my Chipotle burrito. This round I diced up four medium sized tomatoes, two green peppers, about six jalapeños, a large yellow onion and mixed in a can of corn, a handful of chopped cilantro, the juice from two limes, and a can of pinto beans. Technically not primal, but I feel like pinto beans aren't the worst of splurges? This amount of ingredients fills up a one gallon ziplock tub to the brim; I'll be bringing this guy to food-related events for the next week or so. I then fried two tilapia fillets in butter, seasoning them with plenty of dill and a dash of salt, and then added a scoop of salsa. Probably more suited for a summer evening, this was the perfect meal combined with a simple salad (romaine with parmesan, scallions, and Carolyn's tahini tartar sauce).

Chicken "Pad Thai"

I wanted to make pad thai, but needed a substitute for the noodles so I thought why not broccoli? I cooked a chicken in the crock pot and used the breasts for this dish and the rest for a pretty standard (but tasty) curry. No fat wasted! I cut the breasts in small pieces and fried them in butter, garlic, and a little bit of sesame oil along with four eggs. Later on I added a mixture of water, tamarind paste, fish sauce, and peanut butter (so technically not primal, but the peanut butter was natural and free of sugar and vegetable oils?). I then added some thin-cut carrots, ginger, and broccoli and let it cook for about ten minutes before adding sprouts and the juice of a lime at the end. I went a little too crazy with the tamarind paste, so the end result was a little more tart than I would have liked. Still a great experiment! A little bit of cilantro would fit right in with this flavor combination. Give me another try and I'll have it down.

Apple Banana Crisp

This is the second time I have crafted such a dish, but last time I cheated and used brown sugar so I felt it was not blog-worthy. This round, I chopped up six apples picked from the orchard of the Medveds, our neighbors up at the cabin, and about six or seven bananas that I snagged from a friend who was about to throw them out because they were "too brown." I spread the fruit on a cookie sheet and drizzled on a mixture of almond flour, two caps full of lemon juice (one would have been enough), about an equal amount of balsamic vinegar, half a stick of butter, two spoonfuls of cocoa powder, vanilla, and half a spoonful each of cloves cinnamon and nutmeg. I've discovered recently that balsamic vinegar, fruits, and spices like cinnamon and cloves go extremely well together. I cooked this for about twenty five minutes until it became a little crispy on top and then added a healthy amount of coconut cream. After having made some variation on this basic combination twice now, I would definitely recommend chopped almonds rather than the almond flour if you are interested in the crunchy texture. Also, last round I did not shake the can of coconut cream and got a much more creamy, viscous scoop. The bananas and apples are super sweet as it is, so brown sugar is definitely not necessary!

Banh Mi Cabbage Wraps

Every year coupon books start appearing all over the U of M campus that have an outrageous two-for-one coupon for the Bun Mi Sandwich place on Washington Avenue. I can never seem to get my hands on enough of these golden tickets, but this year I snagged three or four. Getting two awesome sandwiches for $6 seemed like the greatest deal imaginable until I discovered you could get wraps instead that contain more lettuce and tomato for the same price! Anyway, I am down to my last coupon so I figured it's about time to figure out how to make them myself (with my own variations of course). About 5-6 hours prior to making the wraps, I pickled some carrots using apple cider vinegar and salt and marinated some pork chops (birthday present from a friend) in Sriracha, chili powder, granulated garlic, and lemon juice. Later that evening at a Venezuela reunion gathering (maybe should have made empanadas?), I cooked the pork in chopped garlic, green onions, sweet onions, and olive oil and fried up four eggs in the other half of the pan. We wrapped up the pork and egg in a cabbage leaf with cucumber, cilantro, and pickled carrots. Except for the pork, everything in these wraps was local and organic, and man were they tasty! I don't think I'll need to use my last coupon. My friend also cooked up some tilapia, which combined perfectly with the rest of the ingredients.

Love & Turmeric

The title comes from a housemate who, when asked with what he was seasoning his vegetable stir fry, replied, "Love and turmeric." Anyway, I was perusing the "taste" section of the Strib and came across this recipe from Raghavan Iyer's book "Indian Cooking Unfolded." I substituted olive oil for canola oil, just about doubled the garlic and turmeric, and kept the kale stalks (I have no idea why recipes tell you to get rid of them; I think they're the best part.) The turmeric is really the star of the show here; it's just so good!


• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric, divided
• 1 1/2 lbs. skinless, boneless wild salmon fillets
• 1/4 c. cider vinegar
• 4 dried red cayenne chiles (like chile de arbol), stems discarded and ground (do not remove seeds) or 1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. coarse kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 medium-size bunch fresh kale
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 6 cloves garlic, either thinly sliced or finely chopped
• 1 can (13.5 to 15 oz.) unsweetened coconut milk

Sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric on one side of the salmon fillet and press it into the fish. Turn the fish over and repeat with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric. Set the salmon aside as you ­prepare the spice paste.

In a small bowl, combine vinegar, chiles, salt and nutmeg to make a slurry. Set the slurry aside.

Fill a medium-size bowl with cold water. Take a leaf of kale, cut along both sides of the tough rib, and discard the rib. Slice the leaf in half lengthwise. Repeat with remaining leaves. Stack the leaf halves, about 6 at a time, one on top of the other, and roll them into a tight log. Thinly slice the log crosswise; you will end up with long, slender shreds. Dunk shreds into bowl of water to rinse off any grit, then scoop the shreds out and drain them in a colander. Repeat once or twice if kale does not appear clean.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil appears to shimmer, add turmeric-smeared fillet to the skillet and cook until the underside turns light brown, about 2 minutes. Turn salmon over and repeat on the second side, about 2 minutes. Transfer fish to a plate. Add garlic to the skillet and stir-fry it until light brown and aromatic, about 1 minute.

Pour spice slurry into the skillet and stir to mix with the garlic. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes. Add kale shreds and stir to coat them evenly in the liquid. Pour 1/2 cup water into skillet and stir.

Lower heat to medium, cover skillet and stew the kale, stirring occasionally, until the shreds are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in coconut milk. Let milk come to a boil, uncovered. Add seared salmon to the liquid, basting it to make sure it continues to poach. Cook, uncovered, scooping up the sauce and basting the fish occasionally, until it barely starts to flake, 3 to 5 minutes.

Transfer fish to a serving plate. Let the sauce boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour sauce over the salmon and serve.

Cauliflower Pizza

I had assumed my pizza days were numbered after learning more about the dangers of refined grains until a friend suggested I check out cauliflower crust. I used a cheese grater to shred a head of cauliflower and threw in parmesan cheese, two eggs, rosemary and basil from my plants outside, and some salt and pepper. In the future, I will probably consider adding oregano and/or parsley to the crust mixture when my basil plants are no more. I cooked the crust for about 15-20 minutes on the pizza stone and then added sliced tomato, zucchini, artichoke, mozzarella, feta, and crushed red pepper. Needless to say, this was unbelievable. In the second round I got impatient, took the pizza out early, and lost some of the structure as a result. The key is definitely to cook the crust long enough to achieve the crispy texture. I'm glad I can continue to explore the pizza format!

Brule Paddle

This past weekend, four folks and I paddled ~20 miles down the Brule river in northern Wisconsin. Although we saw quite a few trout and salmon, we were not able to snag anything on our lines. Good thing we had stocked up on Aldi's canned salmon! Friday evening, we cooked up some salmon burgers with green peppers, onions, eggs, bread crumbs, and cajun seasoning. We added sliced tomato and wrapped them in cabbage leaves- pretty tasty. Later that night we cut some bananas lengthwise, filled the gap with nutella and marshmallows, wrapped them in foil, and cooked them on the coals. Saturday breakfast was eggs with cheddar cheese and a mixture of sauteed onions, broccoli, and green peppers. That evening I made my "vegetable pasta" (no refined grains included, the vegetables serve as a sort of pasta) with kale, cabbage, onions, green peppers, chopped almonds, parmesan cheese, and plenty of berbere. Gone are the days of eating crappy food on camping trips! The first day my steering abilities were tested by the many rocks in the river; I had to get out of the canoe to navigate some of the gnarlier rapids. There is really no greater feeling than being totally in the moment with one foot in the water paddling long stretches of whitewater. Saturday the logs strewn about the river were the main challenge, but I duffed for most of the day and manned the radio. I was tuning into some bluegrass and blues programs on the KUMD, which comes in better as you move further down the river towards Superior. Just an amazing trip: perfect weather, delicious food, and great company.

Breakfast Zucchini

The dishes keep getting uglier and uglier. I very loosely followed the recipe on Carolyn's blog http://primaltightwad.blogspot.com/2013/08/zucchini-meeny-miny-moe.html, substituting butter for coconut oil and sweetening with coconut milk instead of stevia. In the interest of time, I kept the skin and the seeds in the mix as well. I did not quite achieve the mashed texture, but with a little bit of cinnamon and Holy Land's Ras El-Hanout blend (per Carolyn's recommendation), this ended up being a great late breakfast.

Eggplant & Zucchini Curry

Credit goes to Carolyn again here. I had plenty of eggplant and zucchini left, so I started with yesterday's leftover ratatouille juices (frozen overnight) and then added chopped red onion, red bell pepper, eggplant, zucchini, Holy Land's Curry blend and cayenne pepper, and some coconut milk towards the end (I couldn't resist licking the lid). In retrospect, I may have let it simmer a bit too long and probably could have used more garlic. It ain't pretty, but tastes great! I still have half of the zucchini and no classes tomorrow, so you can look forward to my rendition of (you guessed it) Carolyn's breakfast zucchini.

Ratatouille!

I was at the N Lyndale Farmers' Market a week or two ago and found some of the biggest zucchinis and eggplants I have ever seen. I know the larger vegetables tend to be less nutrient-dense, but the sheer novelty of it all was too much to pass up. I then realized that I had never cooked eggplant before and turned to one of my main sources of culinary advice and inspiration, Carolyn, who suggested ratatouille! I skimmed the online recipes, and decided to include eggplant, zucchini, red and green bell peppers, tomatoes, plenty of garlic, and a large yellow onion and seasoned it mostly with salt, parsley, and thyme. I'm kicking myself because I forgot to add a few basil leaves from my plants outside, which even after a major harvest have nearly returned to full strength. Anyway, this was absolutely fantastic; I enjoyed one serving with a little bit of feta and froze the rest for my future self. Despite its size, the zucchini was not too woody and softened up nicely. On a side note, I love cooking at the Students' Co-op (my new home), especially for the set of cast iron skillets which live on the stove and absorb the flavors from the meals of 25+ Co-opers. It's also fun to have a gigantic spice collection, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil at my disposal free of charge!

Mango Chutney

After we had Mariangela's mango chutney in Mérida, I knew I had to give it a shot when I got back to the states. I mostly went off of her commentary on a fairly standard recipe. After cutting up six mangoes, I mixed them with ground cloves and cinnamon, garlic and ginger paste, red wine vinegar, raisins, a chopped onion, brown sugar, and a Little India curry blend (coriander, turmeric, chili powder, mustard seed, black pepper, fennel, dry ginger) and then cooked it for around twenty to twenty fives minutes until it thickened.  I filled up seven 8 oz. jars and sealed them overnight using a pretty standard canning method (the jars in the photo are on the sunny table for photo purposes only). I then used what was left in the pan for my salmon, to which I added some chopped almonds. This was almost like dessert salmon- I had debated halving the amount of brown sugar given in the recipe, but at the last second I added the full amount and it ended up being pretty sweet. I will probably use just a spoonful for salmon in the future; it's a great sweet and spicy seasoning for fish, but a little bit goes a long way. In Venezuela, we were dipping chorizo in mango chutney with great success, so I might give that a shot sometime soon as well.

Omelette & Greens

I cooked up my usual spinach and green onion egg, but this time used three eggs and made more of an omelette with some pepperjack. For some reason I've been on a real cabbage kick recently, and I cooked up some more the cabbage/kale/broccoli combo in some bacon grease. I've been biking down to the downtown farmer's market on Thursday mornings and spending about $3-5 for more than a weekend's worth of kale, cabbage, broccoli, and green beans. This week was probably the fourth such Thursday and I haven't gotten tired of these veggies yet. It also helps that I tend to eat pretty terribly while I'm on the road for work, so I'm motivated on the weekends to eat better. This was definitely enough for breakfast and lunch.

Bacon, Kale, Cabbage, Broccoli, Feta, Parmesan Salad

I fried bacon, chopped it up, cooked kale, cabbage, and broccoli in the grease and then added some feta and parmesan to the mix. It was almost like a sort of vegetable pasta, pretty great!

Salmon, Bacon, Apple, Feta, Spinach Salad

Can't seem to get enough of that Aldi salmon. I fried up some bacon and then cooked the salmon in the grease along with a lemon. I chopped up the bacon and an apple and mixed it with feta and a hefty portion of spinach. After frying the salmon, I threw it in the freezer for a couple minutes until it was salad temperature and then chopped it into pieces and mixed it into the salad with some balsamic dressing. Fantastic!

Salmon Burgers

Starting with Aldi's canned wild alaskan salmon, we added green peppers, onions, a couple of eggs, and some of the mayo mixture that I threw together for the empanadas. I also had some extra croutons that I mashed up and mixed it into the salmon, which in addition to the added crunch bring their own spice blend to the mix. I have yet to cook the patties in such a way so as to rid them of the interior mushiness, but with the right amount of heat and olive oil, it's definitely possible to get a nice crunchy exterior that gives the patty some structure. We added sliced tomato on top and then some chipotle mustard and more mayo on the bun. Along with a salad, just one of these is the perfect portion for dinner (we made four patties from our mixture). Salmon always leaves me satisfied for hours after.

Fun Week at Work

Despite the heat wave, we managed to have a pretty great week at work. After we had some plots in St. Croix State Park, we discovered that our position allows us to go into any state park for free! Our St. Croix points were on a forest road that happened to lead to a fire tower! From the top, you can see Wisconsin, the St. Croix, and even the Grand Casino Hinckley. Tuesday was even hotter than Wednesday so around 1PM we found ourselves near Banning State Park and took a little break there, walking around and swimming in the rapids. After we had returned to work, we came across a super cool bird hunting for field mice in a field. Simple pleasures make work great!

Namekagon Paddle

This past 4th of July weekend three guys and I paddled 40 or so miles down the Namekagon River. We drove up Wednesday evening, stayed that night at the cabin, and then rolled out early Thursday. Although we had planned on putting in at County K, we ended up putting in a ways above the Trego Dam for some reason and began our paddle in party barge country, pausing every few minutes to rotate the bow in anticipation of the wake. After a few hours of frustrating paddling we arrived at the Trego Dam, confused because a kayaker had said the dam was not for a few more miles. Since we had not planned on portaging, the coolers, heavy stove, and miscellaneous equipment made the schlep that much more haphazard. We came across a real grouchy old snapper hanging out at the base of the dam. After the dam, the river narrowed and picked up some speed, and we started to get into the wilder Namekagon country. The weather was unbelievably pleasant so we sat back and enjoyed the the current carrying us down the river. We came across some campsites around 2PM, hung out there for a while, and then paddled on until about 6 or 7PM. Towards the end we started passing campsite after campsite full of crews, some guys making comments like, "oh you guys camping? well good luck!" We found ourselves a sandy landing and although it was not technically a campsite,  it worked just fine for us. If you want one of the nicer spots, you definitely have to stop paddling around 3PM or so, but if you're looking to paddle the river as much as possible, you can make do if there is nothing else. I did a little fishing and got one on the line, but didn't have any luck after that. The river turned out to be pretty clear and shallow for much of the stretch we paddled so the fishing was not great. We cooked up some walking tacos for dinner, built a fire on the shore, and crashed pretty early. The unbelievable weather continued into the next day, and after some pancakes on the fire we paddled on, occasionally connecting the canoes and "barging" down the river, ruttering every once in a while to stay straight. While I was not at the helm, we ventured into a "river alley", a shortcut littered with logs here and there. We started getting a little too close to one log, so I jumped out and stabled the canoe to avoid tipping, but that instability was enough to send our radio into the river. It had been perched precariously above the gunwales, so it could have been avoided, but hey the river gives and the river takes. It was a real shame since we had been tuning into WOJB out of the reservation nearby, and they were throwing down on some great lazy river tunes. We found ourselves a really nice campsite around 2 or 3, near where a giant red pine had fallen into the river. We spent some of the afternoon chopping off a chunk from a giant birch log that had fallen in the woods near our spot, carrying it back to the campsite, and constructing a bench near the fire grate. We swam in the river for a bit, explored the river tree, and then cooked up some pasta on the fire. The next day we did some real solid paddling through pretty consistent, but mild rapids and then into wider stretches until we met up with the St. Croix, paddled a few more miles and arrived at our landing. After two days and nights on the river, it was definitely a weird experience getting out, strapping the canoe to the car, and driving back the cabin. I'm definitely looking forward to getting to know some of these rivers in northern Wisconsin; there is a lot of awesome land (and hopefully fish) out there!

La Crema

This is my adaptation of a Cointa classic, la Crema. She typically mixed some zucchini, auyama (pumpkin, more like squash), leeks, scallions, garlic, and salt, boiled it for a while, and then blended it into a puree. I did the same but used a butternut squash in place of the auyama (close enough) and spiced it up with some berbere. Don't like to overuse it, but until recently I had not been in possession of my entire spice collection and berbere adds some really good flavor to a wide variety of things. The highlight was using the immersion blender for the first time (gift from Carolyn) and blending the soup right in the pot. Such a handy little device, you can just rinse it under the faucet and bam it's clean! Much simpler than a traditional blender, thanks Carolyn! I have also used it twice already for smoothies. This soup was a little too hot for yesterday, but I ate a bunch of it chilled today and it was fantastic. This guy also ranks pretty high up there on the long-term satisfaction scale.

Chicken Bacon Empanadas

Going off of the advice of la Señora Norris, I have finally recreated the Venezuelan empanada. I picked up a chicken at Aldi ($5) and cooked it overnight in the crock pot with some salt, pepper, and a little bit of lemon juice. For the dough, I found some instant (precooked) corn flour at Cub ($2-$3 for a giant bag that will last me years), threw in a little bit of salt and sugar, and then added water until the dough globbed together. For the filling, I fried some bacon, chopped it up, and mixed it with about a cup of chicken along with cumin, pepper, and more lemon juice. The empanadas needed about five minutes each side frying in bacon grease. I can't remember exactly what Norris put in her sauce, but I mixed mayonnaise with cilantro, cayenne pepper, and red pepper and it turned out great with just a little bit of heat. I have a gallon of chicken and a giant bag of flour so the next step is mass producing these guys. I recently read Minneapolis' City Ordinances regarding food carts which quickly killed my empanada food cart idea I have had for the past couple months. So it looks like for now I'll be making them for myself and maybe friends. I'll probably mix in a little bit of corn, onions, and cheese and play around until I get a good balance. This round was absolutely delicious; the taste of the corn flour brought me right back to the Plaza Bolívar in la Parroquia. 

Egg Sandwich & Grapes

This guy is pretty standard, nothing special. I just wanted to do a sample of my ideal breakfast. The egg is something I sort of adapted from Venezuela. Our second host mom made us these fantastic breakfast arepas with eggs in this fashion. She would usually just throw in some green onions and salt and fry it up. Super simple, but the green onion/egg combo is just so prime. I started adding spinach into the egg mix; I like frozen spinach so I can use a little bit at a time over an extended period, but I have actually been using canned spinach, which becomes less terrible when cooked. I also spruced it up with ham and pepperjack cheese, and then threw it on toast. I can usually cook up one of these guys in about ten to fifteen minutes, so a great breakfast every day is within reach!

Kale Chorizo Soup

Although I had not tried this one before, Aunt Mary recommended it so I figured it was a good bet. I skipped the bay leaves, but otherwise followed the recipe pretty closely. As the title would suggest, I opted for the chorizo, but in the future will probably cook it separately for a while since I got quite a bit of fat in the final product (although that did add some good taste). Sweet potatoes were definitely a highlight as well.

·         1 pound smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, or chorizo (bulk)

·         3 medium Sweet potatoes, chopped

·         2 medium onions, chopped

·         2 tablespoons olive oil

·         1 bunch kale, trimmed and torn

·         4 garlic cloves, minced

·         1/4 teaspoon pepper

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         2 bay leaves

·         1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

·         1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed  and drained

·         1 carton (32 ounces) chicken broth

·         In a Dutch oven over medium-low heat, cook the sausage, potatoes and onions in oil for  15 minutes or until sausage is heated through, stirring occasionally. Add kale; cover and cook for 2-3 minutes or until kale is wilted. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.

·         Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about an hour or until potatoes are tender. Discard bay leaves. Yield: 14 servings (3-1/2 quarts).

Turkey Wild Rice Salad

I first tried this guy up at the cabin with Mary & Tom and thought it was fantastic. I picked up a ready to cook turkey breast at Aldi, and then cooked it over night in the crock pot. It was a little on the pricey side ($7-$8), but just so tasty and simple. The only thing I couldn't find at Aldi was the wild rice, which is also kind of on the pricey side? I ended up using an 8 ounce package of wild rice and then doubling everything else since I had so much turkey and grapes. Even after doubling the grapes, I added some more because it's just not quite perfect until you get the amazing combination of the turkey and the grape in every bite. Per Mary's tip, I substituted lemon juice for the vinegar which worked great. It made about a gallon, and I polished it off in a weekend.

Original recipe makes 12 servings

• 1 (6 ounce) package wild rice
• 3/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

• 2 cups cooked, cubed turkey meat
• 1/4 cup diced green onion
• 1 cup seedless red grapes
• 6 ounces blanched slivered almonds

1.     Cook rice according to package directions. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2.     In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir in rice, turkey, onion and grapes until evenly coated with dressing. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

3.     Before serving, sprinkle slivered almonds over the top of the salad. 

Chickpea Salad and Yucca

Per the recommendation of my Aunt Carolyn, I have opened up the carved block to my hopefully interesting food creations. In the future, I would like to broaden the scope to include all of my adventures and integrate this reflecting and writing process into my life, as it is something I really enjoy. So here we go: In retrospect, a glass of white wine would probably have been a better choice for this chickpea salad, but Summit's Horizon Red Ale worked just fine. I modified Bon Appetit magazine's recipe by substituting feta for the parmesan and opting for more lemon juice and a little less olive oil. The yucca was pretty simple: I picked up a couple roots from Cub, boiled them for about fifteen minutes, and then tossed on some berbere, an African spice recommended to me by Carolyn.

Ingredients

• 1 15- to 15 1/2-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed, drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove, pressed
• 1/3 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Coarse kosher salt

Preparation

• Combine rinsed and drained chickpeas, chopped fresh basil, chopped Italian parsley, fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and pressed garlic clove in medium bowl. Add grated Parmesan cheese and toss gently to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Season chickpea salad to taste with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. DO AHEAD Chickpea salad can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Serve salad chilled or at room temperature.

El Fin

Tuesday afternoon, our host sister invited us to a jazz show at the University. We were supposed to meet at the last Trolley station, but for whatever reason that did not work out, so I took a moto-taxi to la Facultad de Humanidades where the show was. I have been itching to try out a moto-taxi for the whole semester, so I am glad I got the chance before I left. La Universidad de los Andes is spread out throughout the city in different facultades, and somehow I managed to find the building where the concert was. The architecture was pretty awesome and featured a giant courtyard in the center full of tropical plants. It made us a little bit mad that we went to a dinky school in an old apartment building when we could have attended this awesome university, had more knowledgeable professors, and met people our age. The show was great; they lacked brass, but the piano player was pretty phenomenal. That evening, there was a farewell party at Venusa; lots of goodbyes, pretty standard. It was most sad saying goodbye to the Venusa cook, Señora Noris, who had become somewhat of a mother figure for us. Yesterday we decided to go hiking for one last time and took a bus to el Parque la Mucuy outside of Tabay. This park is the beginning of the trail to Pico Bolívar and Pico Humboldt. Since it was Venezuela’s Labor Day, the park had kind of a 4^th of July atmosphere with families grilling and swimming in the frigid river. We found the start of the path to Bolívar and decided to hike it until we got tired. We hiked for a total of about five hours in the cloud forest and then headed home. That evening, Mariangela and Francisco cooked us a farewell dinner of various types of pizza. I probably mentioned this already, but Venezuelans usually put corn on their pizza, something I’ll probably start doing with my homemade pizzas. Today I packed up all my stuff and have been hanging out with my host mom and sister. The taxi is coming at 4AM tomorrow to bring us to El Vigia. From there, we’ll fly to Caracas, to Miami, to Philadelphia, and finally to Minneapolis on Saturday evening.

I have been thinking about this post for quite a while trying to think of how I can describe what kind of experience I have just had. I do not think I have ever lived more fully, more in the moment than in the past three months. This trip has made some things very clear and other things hazy. I have developed a deep love for this country and an eager anticipation of the mysteries that the rest of South America holds. Venezuela really has it all: tropical beaches, towering peaks, steamy rainforests, endless savannahs, and immense tepuis. It is just such a beautiful country and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to live here. We experienced the death of the most loved and hated leader of Venezuela and the election of his successor. I lived Venezuelan politics in a way that I have not experienced those of America. Regarding the United States, I have learned a great deal about its role abroad through my classes, but more through conversations with people and seeing firsthand the influence of American culture and industry. I definitely learned to really appreciate some of the organization and efficiency we enjoy in the states. Although I am somewhat disappointed that I did not have the opportunity to summit the legendary Pico Bolívar, that’s just another reason to return. Hearing about my friends’ plans to travel South America after the program, I was turned off by the brevity of their time in each place. In the past few months, I have realized that I cannot just spend a few days in a city and move on. I need to sit down, talk with people, climb a mountain, and discover what makes their world turn. I know that I will return to South America sooner or later; I got a taste of just one small corner of this vast continent, which only made me excited to get to know the rest. I also learned quite a bit about my inclinations in terms of geography. Although I love Minnesota and all of its people, lakes, and seasons, I have been so happy living in the mountains. Beginning the day with a hike up a mountain is a pleasure I think I will always long for. I remember some advice my Dad seems to live by, something along the lines of, “it’s all about moderation,” and I think this trip has emphasized just that. Every time I go into the mountains and get wet, tired, dirty or lonely, I learn to appreciate the comforts of the city and its people. And every time I grow weary of humdrum city life, I remember the peace of the mountains. I think Spongebob might have actually phrased it most elegantly when he proclaimed, “Fret not, my dear friend, for I have learned the truth. It matters not whether one is dirty or clean, for can cleanliness exist without filthiness? And would we know filthiness without cleanliness?” It’s all about the balance. Although I have always loved mountains, I was really reminded how much I love to wander. There is something absolutely fantastic about looking at a far off mountain, ridge, or valley and thinking “let’s go there.” And when you get there it looks totally different from what you thought, and then you notice the next mountain… This trip also reminded me how much I dislike tour-type activities; for me, the fun is exploring and maybe getting lost occasionally. I feel blessed to have met people like Manuel, the tour guide who lives in Mucuy Baja near his friends El Rojo and Gustavo, the farmer/metal-artist and Swiss Army Knife designer/musician/painter, respectively. It was inspiring to see these groups of people creating their own world where they both contribute to the world and cultivate their own happiness among their family and friends. If nothing else, I met some of my best friends on this trip as well. I could not have asked for a more relaxed group of people with which to travel Venezuela. I have learned that relationships forged in crazy circumstances often do not translate well into everyday American life, but I am confident that a few of the people I have met on this trip will be my lifelong friends. I do not know how I could ever say goodbye to such an amazing place so I’ll go with Bob Dylan on this one: “Goodbye is too good a word, so I’ll just say fare thee well.” Fare thee well, Venezuela.