Crunchy Chickpea Snacks

I came across a recipe for these years ago, made them, loved them, then promptly forgot about them. But today, while purusing the cupboards for something snacky and coming up short, I somehow remembered how good these were.

Crunchy little bite sized snacks that are so versatile and absolutely delicious. My kids quickly relieved us of any leftovers.

Ingredients:

2 cans chickpeas, drained well

olive oil

2 tbsp. multi-seasoning mix (like Mrs. Dash)

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp chili powder

In a bowl, combine the chickpeas and seasonings. Drizzle with enough olive oil to coat and toss well. Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet so that it sits in a single layer.  Bake at 400 degrees, turning occassionally, until crispy (about 45 minutes).

Other ideas I have but haven't yet tried:

BBQ: brown sugar, olive oil, mesquite seasoning

Spicy: red pepper flakes, oil, chili powder, cumin

honey mustard: oil, honey, mustard

Pizza: tomato sauce, oil, italian seasoning, parmesan cheese

Curry Rice with Garbanzo Beans and Spinach

Ahhh the end of the month. When the fridge is bare and making dinner feels a bit like MacGyver, except instead of diffusing a bomb with an apple, a bit of twine and a rock, I'm trying to make dinner out of 6 seemingly incongruent ingredients.

Plus, I have to get my kids to actually eat it. Right.

After some time spent in the kitchen scratching my head and wracking my brain, I came up with this and let me tell you, it was both delicious and a HUGE hit with the kids. And yes, my kids do actually eat like this. Hard to believe, I know. I could regail you with all the things they don't eat, but let's just get to it already.

Ingredients:

Rice:
1 cup jasmine rice
1 tsp yellow curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 cups water

Garbanzos and Spinach:
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste
3/4 cup of fresh spinach, chopped
1 to 2 cups garbanzo beans, cooked or canned
dash of water or veggie broth

Combine all of the ingredients for the rice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute the onion and garlic in a large skillet for about 2 minutes. Add in the cumin and stir, cook over medium-low another two minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the garbanzo beans and a dash of liquid to deglaze the pan and heat the beans through. Stir in the spinach, cook another two minutes.

Serve with the rice.

Chana Masala

I fell in love with this dish at my local Indian restaurant. Made of garbanzo beans, tomatoes and lots of spices, it is filling and satisfying. While my recipe isn't quite as perfect as the restaurant's  (I'm pretty sure their secret ingredient is "nectar of the Gods" and geez...I'm fresh out...) it does come pretty darn close.

(*Garam Masala, listed below, is a spice blend available at your local grocery store that usually consists of cardamom, coriander, pepper, and cinnamon. But blends vary, and it doesn't really matter what blend you get.)

I like mine very spicy (read: as in spices, not particularly heat level) so I put some options in there to allow for your preference.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
1-2 tsp ground cumin (to taste)
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp ginger, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp chili paste or 1 chopped fresh chili (optional)
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp turmeric or curry powder
handful of chopped spinach (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala plus a bit more for final seasoning, if necessary

Heat oil in a large skillet and saute over medium heat: the onion, garlic, cumin powder, coriander, turmeric or curry powder, ginger, garam masala and chili paste (if using) until soft and aromatic, being careful not to burn the spices.

Stir in the chopped tomatoes. Add in a little (1/4 cup or less) water, if necessary to make a thin sauce and simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes to combine the flavors.

Stir in the garbanzo beans, chopped fresh spinach and take a taste. Adjust spices or add a small amount of water as necessary (I usually add a bit more garam masala here) and then cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

This dish does well made in advance, even the night before and can be left to simmer for a bit longer on the stove, if necessary.

Hooray for Hummus!

One thing I get asked a lot, particularly from my carnivorous friends and family, is how I find the time to cook the things I cook.

This question always kind of leaves me without an answer. I guess, like most things, we make time for the things that are important to us. For me, it's cooking, creating, and avoiding highly processed foods. There's a kind of satisfaction to be found in watching all these yummy ingredients come together, don't you think? And it seems to me that cooking from scratch really doesn't take any time at all, certainly about as long as it would take for pizza delivery or to heat up a frozen lasagna. All in all, I would say I never spend more than about 40 minutes making dinner. Less time than it takes to watch Grey's Anatomy :)

So today: hummus! I almost feel silly posting such a simple recipe, because most people I know make their own hummus as well. But maybe someone will find it useful?

This is my basic recipe. From here you can get all kinds of crazy, trying different ingredients like roasted bell peppers, spices or herbs...the sky's the limit!

A note on tahini--I didn't always use it in my recipe, so if you don't have it, don't worry about it. Just add a little extra olive oil for texture.

1 cup garbanzo beans (canned or sprouted)
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp tahini
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
2 cloves of garlic (more if you like it SPICY!)
a big bunch of parsley or cilantro
2 tbsp. lemon juice

Mix it all up in the food processor. You can adjust liquid to make it more creamy or more chunky. Enjoy on crackers, with veggies, your favorite sammie or, my husband's favorite: on rice cakes (and usually for breakfast).