Growing up I was always the adventurous eater when compared to my brother. At first I would be timid, sometimes for years refusing to eat icky things (like mushrooms). But then one or either of our parents would encourage us to not pick around the things we feared. So I slowly started to eat those icky things, as long as they were mixed in, like mushrooms in hot and sour soup. When we went abroad I was the one who wanted to eat (mostly) traditional fare; my brother kept asking if we could eat McDonald's. 

When I went off to college I decided that I wanted to like nearly everything. I had heard once that it took a baby at least seven tastes of an odd food to like it. So I started eating things I had never liked, over and over, hoping that I could also acquire tastes. I can now eat tomatoes, whereas when I was little I once waited hours for my Dad to leave the table so I could shove the hated things down the disposal. He had threatened us to sit there until we ate them. 

Now, whenever I see something I have never tried, or at least, never tried to prepare, I get the itch. It is much the same itch when a new book comes out, or a new exhibit to a much-loved museum. You must try it, see it, experience it for yourself. This happened to me the other day at Whole Foods when I was meandering the aisles with the little shopping carts they have. There, displayed amongst the other produce, were the humble looking fava beans. I had never actually cooked fava beans before and couldn't really remember ever having eaten any either, so I picked some up. 

I shelled them, boiled them for a couple minutes in salted water and decided to make a summer salad out of them. A little internet browsing told me that they do best when prepared simply, so that is exactly what I did. 

Once the beans were cool I mixed them with some chickpeas, cilantro, a little lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and Maldon salt. Lucero brand olive oil is my favourite for things like salads and drizzling. It is a very green oil, which means you can really taste it's rich, sunny flavour. This is not a cooking oil; leave that to the cheaper ones. Maldon salt is a flaky sea salt, perfect for garnishing. It is like (and probably sometimes is) the salt you see sprinkled on top of salted caramels and chocolates. It is also something you want to refrain from cooking with; you lose all the flavour and texture of the salt that way. 

It was a very delicious summer salad, perfect for a hot July evening. I added a little smoked paprika to give it a deeper flavour. If I ever make it again I am going to use dill instead of cilantro and add a dollop of sour cream, which sounds divine. 

Like a movie you would rent again, I will definitely be returning to fava beans. They were easy and fun! to prepare. They look ever so humble but are really quite impressive. If you have a good farmer's market and see these, I recommend picking some up. You will be much happier than if you went to McDonald's. 

I would characterize myself as an Anglophile. No, I cannot list the names of all the royalty and, surprisingly, I did not watch the recent nuptials between Kate and William. But I love the United Kingdom and want nothing more than to move back there. 

So no doubt you will see why a holiday like the 4th of July would be distressing for someone who so desperately wants to be an expatriate. If we were still British I wouldn't have to move anywhere! So instead of celebrating the holiday my Anglophile roomie and I held a sort of wake instead, so we could mourn the passing of our mother land. 

Now, no doubt someone will get on my case about how come I didn't make an overly British meal for this occasion and I will tell you now it's because it is the sentiment behind the action that matters, not the action itself. That being said, I will move on to the important things- the food. 

I wanted to use my new grill and since the weather decided to cooperate with us everything went according to plan. Bamboo skewers were soaked while I was at work, being unpatriotic in an outfit that didn't even remotely hint at the old red, white and blue. I managed to light the charcoal somewhat quicker than the last time, still without using lighter fluid, but it takes a while nonetheless so as the briquettes sat and smoldered we made kabobs. First we stuffed basil leaves into mini peppers (a trick I would now highly recommend and then encourage you to try with other herbs as well). Then we strung up our other veggies: mushrooms, onions, garlic, potatoes and tomatillos. 

Oh man, were they good. The garlic pieces were sheer genius (my roomie's idea) but my favourite was definitely the onion. Once they were sufficiently browned we salted them and added a bit of hot sauce. I like marinades but sometimes it is better to let the grill do most of the flavouring. 

For dessert my roomie, Lis, made Sad Lemon Cake, which she named after our feelings towards the holiday. There was nothing sad about the actual cake, however, which paired perfectly with rum laced whipped cream. If you are still using canned whipped cream, shame on you. 

So a very unmerry birthday to you, America, and long live the Queen!