spring & mung beans

{carrot & mung bean salad}

{restoring the Pond family's faith in legumes, one dish at a time}

I don't want to jinx anything, but it totally felt like spring today did it not? I saw crocuses on my walk home from work. Crocuses in March? In Halifax? Is it too much to hope that we may actually have spring this year?

Every year around this time I become increasingly envious of my West Coast friends. It is bad enough they have both mountains and the ocean, they also experience a bonafide spring on an annual basis. Imagine that. Speaking of the West Coast, I have to thank my good friend Jackie for passing along the recipe for tonights offering.

Jackie and her husband Craig were the first foodies I ever met. They ate things like dark chocolate and plain yogurt when I was still in my mini-egg/mini-go phase. Jackie recently offered to pass along a few of her favourite recipes, I couldn't wait to try something.

I have to be totally honest, it was Jeff not I who made supper tonight. I was just the middle man between Jackie's great recipe and Jeff's culinary prowess. Whatever works, and work it did. The salad, which could easily be served as a main course (and was for half of our family), is absolutely delicious. There is nothing too exciting about carrots or mung beans, I know; it is the salty feta, the warm and surprising fennel seeds, the freshness of the lemon zest and the depth of the garlic that make this dish sing.

Jeff was skeptical. You may recall the Great White Bean and Kale Disaster of 2011. After that Jeff seemed to lose faith in legumes. Slowly but surely, one delicious lentil dish at a time, his faith is being restored. Not enough to stop him from adding these to tonight's menu:

{plan B}

Jeff needn't have worried, the carrot and mung bean salad was gobbled up faster than the turkey sausages, and with Violet and Jeff at the table, that says something.

The texture (both the carrots and the beans retain just enough firmness), the flavour (a welcome surprise of strong, complementary spices and ingredients) and likely the heath benefits (unknown, but presumed numerous) make this dish a winner. The prep time wasn't bad either (30 minutes). Best of all it only looked like a small cyclone had gone through our wee kitchen. Everyone is happy!

xo

Em

tonight's recipe can be found here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/oct/21/bean-salad-lentil-soup-recipes