Pulse Pledge: Chickpea and Lentil Curry with Kale and Sweet Potatoes

Eleven days into the new year, and how is everyone doing?  Apart from the clothes fitting noticeably tighter than perhaps a month ago, things are swell here.  I also just got back from Toronto, where I was fortunate to meet up with old friends and pretty much eat all the things.  If you were following me on Instagram, you probably saw the divine burger from Burger's Priest, or the crispy chicken bun from Momofuku, or my first ever Krispy Kreme doughnut.  I totally wasn't messing around.  Then there was the fantastic private lunch with Chef Michael Smith and a handful of other Canadian food bloggers at the beautiful Fairmont Royal York.  We enjoyed a bit of a tapas menu featuring pulses - lentils, chickpeas, dry peas and beans - and one day I hope to recreate a chickpea beignet like the one I tasted there.  So good.  Then there was Pulse Feast, a party to kick off International Year of Pulses.  I mingled with pulse growers from the prairies, other food media and chefs.  It was a grand time, full of inspiring conversation and fantastic food, featuring pulses of course.  I swear there was a platter of lentil fritters following me around all night.  Sweets!  I can't escape them!  
 

Good Feeling: Sweet & Spicy Rosemary Pecans

"Anything can happen, anything can be!"  ~ Shel Silverstein

One of my favourite songs ever is "Good Feeling", by the Violent Femmes.  The general gist is how you wish for that good feeling to stay with you, just a little longer.  I suppose that's how I feel about this bright and shiny new year.  All of the good stuff that came my way in 2015, I want it to stick around for as long as possible.  2015 will be remembered as the Year of My Amazing Luck, which is a nice upgrade from the years of "Enough Already", and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"  2013, 2014, I'm looking at you.  I like the turning over of a new calendar year.  Like our buddy Shel said, anything can happen.   That's the brilliant thing about a blank slate - you can set intentions for how you want your life to unfold.  Obviously you won't always get what you want, but then again, you very well may.  I hope that 2016 is full of magic and adventure, courage and creativity.  May there be more laughter than tears, and more hellos that goodbyes.  I'm sending off 2015 with a grateful heart, and I'm eager to see what this new year will look like.  No doubt it won't always be smooth sailing, but I've got a good feeling we're all gonna rock it.  Happy New Year!