Walla Walla. Let it begin.

Figuring out what you love and where you belong is a lifelong quest. On that note, making the decision to leave my amazing friends in Seattle, commit to my first year of medical school in Pullman, and move to Walla Walla for the summer was pretty ridiculous. Since making the decision to leave my amazing job at Eastside Dermatology to go to India this past December, I have become a huge fan of drastic change. I realize now that without big live moves we'd only inch toward what we truly want in life. Why not leap and deal with the consequences?

Enough with the philosophy--this blog is about two loves of my life--food and wine.
With 100+ wineries and an abundance of fresh produce--Walla Walla is truly my idea of heaven. A week into my Walla Walla summer, I know that my loyalty to this town extends beyond my four years at Whitman. The people here are friendly, the town has culture, life is easy, and the food is great.

With that I bring you my first true culinary adventure in way too long. Walla Walla is home to some pretty amazing Mexican food and the taco trucks are especially tasty. Though I have been slowly branching from my vegetarian diet, my instincts are to think of meals that don't involve meat.

Moroccan Tacos
Filling:
1 can of garbanzo beans- rinse well
1/2 sweet onion
2 tbs of olive oil
handful of raisins
1/2 tbsp of cumin and corriander (or one tablespoon of garam masala)
few pinches of chili powder (more if you want them spicy)
pinch of cinnamon
Juice of half a lime
salt and pepper to taste

Sautee onions with olive oil and spices. Add garbanzo beans. Mash with a fork. Add raisins. You'll know the filling is done when the bits at the bottom of the pan start to crisp. Add lime right before serving.

Serve on tortillas with grated carrots and/or cabbage and goddess dressing (or another tahini based dressing).



I'm going to work on my presentation and take better pictures in the future... the i-phone isn't the best/where are the grated carrots right?




Cucumber-Mint Quinoa Salad

1 cup of quinoa cooked and then cooled
1/2 a cucumber cut up
1/2 cup of feta
3 tbs of roasted pine nuts
6 leaves of chopped mint

Dressing:
2 tbs olive oil
3 mint leaves chopped finely
Juice of 1 lemon + little bit of zest
2 tbs of orange juice
1 tbs of white wine
1 tsp of rice wine vinegar
pinch of garlic -fresh or powder
pinch of cumin
Salt and pepper to taste