Saffron-Garlic Rice

Fall semester finals were last week and final grades were due on Tuesday. The nearly instantaneous flexibility that comes with the end of the semester generally means I can cook more creative meals and/or more time-intensive meals with some frequency. Thus, this week we've had all sorts of fun dishes, including chickpeas romesco, which we haven't had in ages!

To be honest, I'm not sure why we don't make this saffron-garlic rice more often. It's an easy recipe that involves mostly hands-off cooking, and the flavor is seriously good. I could see this rice as a side dish for a fancy dinner party, an option for a night you want something other than plain rice, or our favorite way to eat it - under chickpeas romesco. Regardless, we should eat it more and you should eat it, too! While it does take a bit of time, I'll remind you that it's easy and that your taste buds will thank you.

See that little spot of red? That's a saffron thread!

Maggie's Vegan Challah

Hanukkah is coming up. Neither of us is religious, but we both grew up with holiday traditions. Although Shana's Jewish traditions weren't my own, many of my friends were Jewish while growing up, so they are more than a bit familiar to me. One major tradition at Hanukkah is eating challah bread. Beautiful, braided, sweet, soft, magical challah bread; generally full of eggs.

A while ago I had an idea to try to make challah, figuring there had to be a way to make that magic vegan-friendly. Plus, the way Shana's eyes lit up when I mentioned the idea meant I had to try. More important was the way her eyes closed in pleasure when eating the finished bread. One way I show my love is through feeding people, so feeding my wife a food she'd not had since childhood made my heart overflow. It was only a matter of time before I'd make it again. With Hanukkah coming up in less than two weeks, I can feel the magic coming.