Sequestration Meal #191

 

Just when I had some spinach that needed cooking and a half a can of chickpeas languishing in the fridge, I found a recipe for Vegan Spinach, Chickpea, and Lemon Pilaf at Veg News. Perfect. It was on the spicy side, but not too much for me. Even so, I might try this without so much spice next time.

I have been thinking about spiciness lately, though, because I've been running across several recipes that I almost don't want to try because their authors mock people who don't like spicy food. Like I wrote in my post about egg foo young, I think there is room for all sorts of flavors. I look back on a season of my life when even plain cheese pizza tasted overwhelmingly spicy to me because I had to avoid anything spicy at all for about a year because of a digestive tract issue, and I was desensitized to it. The carbonation in sodas was painful rather than fun--which is actually the natural sensation you'd get from it, if you don't experience it for a while or never have. 

The fact is that most of our ancestors encountered nowhere near the variety of flavors we eat, and yet they likely enjoyed their food. So this mini-rant is an encouragement to do you, and if you are daunted by the amount of cayenne in a recipe like this one, just adjust it to your liking or leave it out. It makes you no less sophisticated or virtuous if you leave out the fire.