Chickpeas and Swiss Chard in the Style Tunisian Sahel, Blogiversary and a GIVEAWAY!

I am going to start a new tradition on my first year blogiversary. My blog anniversary has come and gone Nov. 4th with no disasters to speak of, unlike my birthday. I am not talking about chipping a nail or a ruined manicure but disasters of epic proportions, maybe not every year but every leap year for certain. Every year as my birthday approaches, I wonder not so much with anxiety but somewhat resigned, what disaster of epic proportion awaits in the cards for me this year? Maybe nicknaming me Kali playfully as opposed to my sister Gori throughout my childhood was not the best karma. On this blogiversary, I am reigning in old karma and holding it by its horns and starting a new tradition. Just like the little girl I was at nine years old, taking control of my life and my five little brothers and sisters, and spending my entire summer at the ministry of education. Every day I would wake up just before the offices would open and plant myself in a chair by the door until close of business hours, every day that summer, a tenacious little nine year old Indian girl that was I! The last day of summer before the school year was about to open, is when they switched me and the entire school age brood to a better school. My parents wouldn't sign the papers as they believed the religious school we were attending would preserve their conservative Indian values and their girls' virtues better than a secular one would. I had started at nine years of age a new tradition, and wrangled karma. As you all know, the cards dealt me Jonathan and Sagie...speaking of much good fortune! Only a small matter of leap years still remains, was it a leap year this past birthday, I wonder?! This year I was surrounded with all my twitter friends and their well wishes, as well as my friends and family's congratulations, and on this blogiversary I want to share with you, my wonderful supportive friends, some giveaways to celebrate my quiet uneventful good karma blogiversary. Giveaways will be spread throughout the next few weeks so stay tuned. Without further ado, let me introduce you to:

My first American cookbook author love, the much revered icon Paula Wolfert. As you can tell from my blog, I am partial to food photography just a smidgen but what I end up falling in love with are books and an author of substance. My first purchase of her books was Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco without a single photograph as you leaf through the pages.
 Paula Wolfert's words paint such beautiful pictures of faraway exotic places, souks and bazaar and alleys which lead you into homes and give you windows into kitchens of old and new world artisans whether in Marrakesh or Istanbul. Her recipes take you through amazing narrative and culinary journeys. Of course I was happy when I saw her later works and the beautiful food photography that goes with it. I own most of Paula Wolferts books, but the most recent one, and as you can imagine my delight when Paula and her publisher at Wiley Publishing, agreed to donate not only a review copy for me, but also, not one, but two copies of her most recently released book, Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking. It was also a great excuse for my way ovedue purchase of a clay pot! Now that I got the book I had to have a tagine to go with it! As I am reading Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking's introduction, I am reminded why I got entangled in her culinary story telling web in the first place! Please visit Paula at her site.

To enter giveaways:
1. Please follow Paula Wolfert on twitter @soumak. Disclaimer:  I received the review Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking copy and two extra giveaway ones at no charge, and was not solicited for my opinions or my review.
2. Please follow either @foodwanderings on twitter or LIKE foodwanderings Facebook page or both. If you are already a follower, see step 3.
3. Leave a comment on this post! You are encouraged to share a comment about Paula Wolfert's recipes or books or any other thoughts.
4. If you RT or post on your Facebook page this giveaway post link, you get an additional entry. Please drop me an additional comment on this post saying that you did so.
5. Drawing will be done randomly from all comments recorded by Mon.,Nov. 15 at midnight and two lucky winners will announced on Tue., Nov. 16 in the morning
6. Shipping only in the US. Sorry my friends overseas, but I hope one day I can afford the mailing.

There are so many recipes I want to make from Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking. Should I make the Grape Leaves Stuffed with Rice, Rose Petals, Currants and Mint, which will be perfect for holidays first course or New Year's eve cocktail party. Should I skip directly to dessert and make the Crema Catalana, or a soup, Moroccan Harira. I was also tempted by a couple of Corsican and Sicilian dishes as well as simple waxy potatoes called Baby creamer Potatoes Cooked in Devil's Pot. Couple of nights ago a side of green was needed, as it happened I had chard and the ground coriander added was a nice dimension to this   Chickpeas and Swiss Chard in the Style Tunisian Sahel (Morshan) recipe here.

*photos: Courtesy of Wiley Publishing and Paula Wolfert