Spring seems to have finally arrived, but soups and stews are enjoyed in our household year round. The birds are chirping, the days are longer and the sun is shining after a rather dismal Canadian winter.

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Sweet and tart are the terms my husband used to describe this most healthy Indian chickpea salad with mango, spices and pomegranate seeds. Tangy chat masala pairs so well with the chickpeas and sweet tamarind and pomegranate seeds. Perfectly suitable for vegans as well as vegetarians, and if you serve this with rice (I am smitten right now with Jasmine rice) you are in for a balanced and satisfying meal. Easy to assemble once you are done the chopping and fight with the mango, this is one fine salad that would go well with almost any Indian entrée. If you want to fill out the meal, considering serving with some homemade rotis.

This salad is not too spicy and so might be a good introduction to dinner guests that are not used to many of the more fiery dishes so common to India. Decent quality chat masala blends are easily available at Indian and most Asian grocers, but I highly recommend making your own homemade spice powders when possible. The chat masala for this recipe I blended myself, and as for ground coriander the best way to make your dishes special and especially pleasing is to grind up your own coriander seeds as well.

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GingerBread

My sweetie adores gingerbread. I looked through some of my cookbooks and baked this up for him as well as for my best friend. Easy to prepare and, although I am a savory gal myself, this must be one of the best gingerbread recipes I have ever tasted. You might want to serve it with fresh whipped cream or a cream cheese frosting, but my friend Basil said he enjoyed it more just on its own because he could get a better sense of the flavor. Either way, gingerbread fans won't want to pass this recipe up.

Adapted from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, a book that challenges politically correct nutrition and diet dictocrats, I am fortunate to own a copy of this. A vegetarian I will remain, but her recipes and researched advice is well worth the read. The use of preservatives, low-fat dairy and additives certainly contributes to poor health in the modern age. Not everything in our present time is a good thing, and looking back to ancient times is worthwhile sometimes. The book includes more than 700 recipes along with nutritional advice and guidance. No actual pictures, but some cute illustrations are included.

Gingerbread

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats Published on March 23, 2012 A rich, flavorful and healthy gingerbread treat made with fresh ginger Print this recipe Ingredients: 2 2/3 cups spelt flour 2 cups whole fat yogurt 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup Demerara sugar 1/3 cup molasses 2 large eggs 3 tablespoons fresh grated ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 2 teaspoons baking powder Instructions: Combine the flour and yogurt in a large bowl, and let stand at room temperature for 12 - 24 hours. In another bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, molasses and eggs. Stir in the fresh ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ground ginger, dry mustard, salt and baking powder. Transfer to the bowl with the flour and yogurt, and blend. Butter and flour a 9 × 13 inch glass baking pan. Preheat the oven to 350°. Transfer all of the ingredients to the prepared pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 -15 minutes. Slice and serve with fresh whipped cream if desired. Makes 8 - 16 servings

Other sweet treats you will enjoy from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:
Chocolate Brownies with Fresh Ginger
Chocolate Nut Butter No Bake Fudge
Nigella's Fresh Gingerbread with Lemon Icing

On the top of the reading stack: Short stories and novels of Shirley Jackson

Audio Accompaniment: Klaus Schulze + Pete Namlook

After pad thai, green curry is one of Thailand's most famous contributions to world cooking. The paste from which it derives both its color and its name forms the base of a wide variety of vegetable and meat dishes in the form of stir fries, dry curries and soups. Commercial green curry pastes are easily available, but as time goes by I've more and more adopted the practice of making my own homemade pastes — just as with spice blends, the additional time spent preparing your own is rewarded with incredibly fresh, vibrant and authentic flavors and aromas that the commercial varieties can't really compete with.

And this green curry paste recipe is no exception — the aroma alone is astonishingly clear, pungent and exotic, and the taste is extraordinarily vivid. Green curry pastes are typically made with fish sauce and sometimes shrimp paste as well, so this homemade version presents another advantage to vegetarians.

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