hEArT

Things I have made this year that I have never made before:

Rumaki 

... sort of: Instead of wrapping chicken liver in bacon, I wrapped chicken heart in bacon. I had a bunch of frozen chicken hearts from the farmers' market and I wasn't sure what to do with them.
   The hearts in my freezer were much larger than the ones in my memory. I had had chicken hearts before (Brazilian BBQ) and I remembered them being wee. I cut these ones into three or four pieces before swaddling them in bacon.
   It wasn't bad! I mean, wrapped in bacon, what can go wrong?
   I think maybe liver would be better f(even though the first time I had chicken liver — a couple of months ago — I didn't like it much). I also think that no matter what offal I used I'd marinade it next time.
   Props to LF.

Artichoke

I'd eaten this heaps o' times ... mostly on pizza ... but never prepped it. The heart really is the best bit.

Sea-Cucumber Salad

This is a joke name. Like Dorf Salad. My dad doesn't like walnuts so when my mom made Waldorf Salad she would leave out the walnuts, and my dad called it Dorf Salad.
   Until this very year, yea, the year of our good lord 2013, I thought that the "wal" in Waldorf came from "walnuts". I didn't know it was a salad born in the Waldorf Astoria.
   Anywho.
   No sea cucumbers were eaten in this salad. (I don't know if sea cucumbers are even edible.) Seaweed and cucumbers, however, were main features. The salad's alternym could be Weed Salad.
   In keeping with the heart theme in both dishes above ... um ... It was yum and I shall make it again! ♥  
   Props to this recipe and others like it (to which I made, comme toujours, significant modifications) and this TEDx talk. After we watched it Jorn asked "will you make me seaweed salad?" and I said "yes".