Hi All! Today I (Camille) have a story that I want to share. About 9 years ago I was living with a homestay family in a small village near Matam in Northern Senegal. One day a very wealthy ‘uncle’ came to visit the village. We each took turns going to great him. When my turn came, he handed me a bunch of money (like if I were to hand someone $100) and said “for you to buy soda'“. I told him I didn’t need the money and he laughed and pushed it into my hands. I put this money away for a day when I would need it.
Later that night, my 3 year old homestay sister said “look look, Uncle gave me $5”. My homestay mom asked her what she wanted to do with the money and she said, “well I’m going to buy myself some new sandals, and then my brother some new sandals, and new sandals for my sister, and wait how much is left can I also buy new sandals for my mom too”. My mom smiled and told her she was so wonderful and yes there would be enough for all of those sandals and they could buy them next week at market.
This story came back to me as I was listening to Braiding Sweetgrass by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer. Dr. Kimmerer talks about the gift economy and how when you receive a gift you give back to both the giver and to others. In this way the value increases as it is shared.
All this is moving through me because this week I received my stimulus check. For some, this is needed to pay rent, however for me right now this is a bonus. Through COVID I have been lucky to have a job that gives me enough money to be comfortable and also allows me to work remotely. So, when I received this extra money I thought, what should I do with this gift?
I have some of my own answers to that question and for today, I just want to share the question with you all. For those of you who are comfortable and for whom the stimulus check is a gift, how will you choose to share?
Serves: 4
Time: 1 1/2 hours
Ingredients
For the Veggies:
1 bunch lacinato kale
1 tbsp coconut aminos
1 bunch of small carrots
1/2 tbsp of cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
olive oil
For the Crepe:
1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 3/4 cups water
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
For the dill aioli:
1/2 cup vegan mayo (soy-free option)
1 1/2 tsps of lemon juice
1 tbsp dried dill
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Mix the chickpea flour, salt, water, olive oil, and spices. Whisk until smooth and let sit for 30 minutes.
Strip the lacinato kale from the stem, and cut into thin ribbons. Cut the carrots into sticks. Toss the carrots with salt, cumin, pepper, and olive oil. Spread the carrots out on a baking sheet and put in the preheated oven. Cook the carrots until they are soft and slightly golden which takes about 40 minutes (stir every 20 minutes). While you are doing this, heat a pan with olive oil and stir fry the ribbons of lacinato kale for about 3 minutes or until the kale has softened and is a darker green color. Add some salt and the coconut aminos and stir for another 30 seconds. Remove the kale from the heat and set aside.
In a large frying pan, heat a small amount of oil. Once the oil is hot, add about 1/3 cup of chickpea batter to the hot pan. Tilt the pan to spread out the batter, and cook until golden brown and crispy on one side. Be patient, when the bottom is golden brown and crispy, the edges of the top will start to show color. Flip the crepe over and cook until speckled with golden brown on the second side. Cooking crepes to have a crisp but flexible texture takes some practice. Some tips are make sure your oil and pan are hot before you add the batter. Don’t add too much batter. Allow the first side to cook until an even color is achieved before flipping. Remember, the first pancake rule applies to crepes as well. Your first crepe might come out under cooked and crumbly. Don’t be discouraged, keep cooking, be patient, and future crepes will be better.
We often cook as many crepes as we want to eat when we first make this dish. We then refrigerate the batter and fry fresh crepes for leftovers. When cooking batter that has been refrigerated, make sure to stir thoroughly before frying and, if it is too thick, you can add a little water to thin it out.
To prepare the aioli, mix all the ingredients together in a mason jar or small bowl. To serve, top chickpea crepes with the aioli, kale, and roasted carrots. Enjoy!