Day 30 - Knives

I once heard, "a great knife makes a great chef."  Well, I'll bet there are a few other things that make a great chef, but we'll focus on the knife for now.  We got all our knives sharpened recently, so I figured I'd become the chef extraordinaire overnight. 

Well, at 7:00 in the a.m., chopping up spinach to add to today's stir fry, I nearly sliced my finger off.  Luckily for me it was on the nail.  So, I made a very nice wedge in my nail (confirmation - our knife sharpener was very good).  Note to self - you are not the chef extraordinaire, you can't chop like you have a show on the Food Network, so BE CAREFUL and GO SLOWLY!  Ha (this was not my first accident since the knives were sharpened a week ago).

So, we ended up with:
- Hoppin' John (black-eyed peas and rice)
- Baby Cukes
- Kiwi

Hoppin' John is a vegan take on early African-American food, traditionally cooked with a ham bone or pork flavoring.  To get a similar taste, liquid smoke and salt are used.  I made it a couple of nights ago.  It was a little bland, so I added some extra tamari (soy sauce) for me.  For my husband, who I'm starting to convince to take his lunch, I added hot sauce. The kids preferred the original, more bland taste. I also had that tasty spinach that was about to go bad, so I added it (albeit way too quickly and early in the a.m.) to the dish.  In the photo below, you are also seeing peppers and tomatoes.

Hoppin' John

Baby Cukes

Kiwi