Aloo Panak & Mochi

Tonight I had potatoes and fresh spinach that needed to be used, so what else was there to make! I diced two small white potatoes and put them on to boil. I diced an onion and sauted it until it was golden brown, then added garlic, cumin, coriander, tumeric, salt, and red pepper. When the potatoes were done, I added in the spinach, let it wilt, then added in the potatoes and let it simmer just a few minutes to let the spices bloom.



I also tried Mochi for the first time (inspired by Bazu!). I found a hemp and flax seed mochi and cut a one inch square. It baked at 450 degrees for 8 minutes, which may not have been quite long enough. It was definitely odd looking after baking. I pulled away the insides, which were still quite doughy, and was left with - well, not much. I was hoping to fill it with cooked apples and peanut butter, but I ended up just cutting wedges of raw apple and topping it with a dollop of peanut butter. I'm sure I can improve on this recipe!


If you haven't figured it out yet, I live in Austin, Texas. I grew up here. Austin is the birthplace of Whole Foods and home to its awesome landmark store. I love Whole Foods and always have, ever since it was the Safer Way grocery store in a tiny little space only frequented by "hippies." There was a strange commentary in our local paper today by a regular columnist about Whole Foods' animal compassion policy. My first thought was "this clearly shows the uncompassionate nature of meat eaters and why they refuse to accept the vegetarian way of eating." If anyone is so inclined, I wish you would read this short article and tell me if you think Whole Foods is hypocritical (but don't hurt my feelings!). I don't fault John Mackey for being vegan and a business person. Perhaps I have a skewed view.

You can find the article here: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/10/27kelso.html

Thanks. And see ya Sunday!