Crispy Chips: Sweet Potato, Beets, Thyme...

I was at the farmer's market the other day and all of a sudden, a mesmerizing scent breezes through the air. It smells delightfully herby and each step I take hints to me that I am getting closer to this wonderful thing that has perfumed the crisp air of an autumn early afternoon. My olfactory senses continue to guide me to the "source"...and poof! There it is: a mountain of thyme! Simply irresistible, I buy a generous bunch that I'll use in a multitude of ways- namely in these Homemade Crispy Crunchy Oven Baked Sweet Potato & Beets chips! 

Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Wheatberries with a Parsley-Walnut-Lemon Oil

Put your hands up in the air for *drum rolls*..... brussel sprouts!! They might have a bad rep, but not in my kitchen- I love'em, yum!!! These cute looking round little veggies are right in season around this time of the year, so take advantage of it! I recently roasted them and paired them up with one of my favourite grains- wheatberries- and a nice parsley-walnut lemony oil .

Mloukhieh- the leafy green of the Middle East...

My guess is that some of you may be thinking "mloukhieh... what the heck is that?!" (answer: it's the green stuff in the picture above). But seriously, Mloukhieh is a type of leafy green typical to some Middle Eastern and North African cuisines. It can be bought fresh or dry. The taste is so unique, that I'm not quite sure how to describe it- its like a bitter, smoky version of spinach. I really love it, but it's not so easy to find any over here... so if you got connections- use them :) And by that I mean whenever friends or family from the Middle East are over to visit, I'll ask them to bring some dried mloukhieh with them (yes- I'm that kind of friend, the one that asks for food items as gifts or favours). 

Roasted Crunchy Cauliflower

In my opinion, cauliflower has been hiding in the dark for way too long and fortunately, that no longer seems to be the case. This underrated vegetable is now "the thing" to cook and eat, especially lately with the flurry of recipes that illustrates just how versatile it is: cauliflower "rice", cauliflower "pizza", cauliflower "mash", cauliflower "this" and cauliflower "that"- yes we get it, it's cool to eat cauliflower again (By the way- someone is going to have to explain how this whole vegetable trend thing works- first kale, now cauliflower, what next?). 

Anyhow, I've always loved cauliflower. Especially when it's roasted and super crunchy.