This weekend I'll be spending most of my time at the gym in training, learning how to take my instruction to the next level. Therefore, I don't expect to be cooking much. We'll see what my husband pulls together for the fam. No pressure, G.
February 24, 2011
February 24th: Fiesta Potatoes
I'm not sure how I've come 6 months through this blog without making and posting about Fiesta Potatoes, one of my favourite recipes. It is something we make a bit more often in the summer, so that must be it. All it is, is baked potatoes topped with an avocado salsa. A few diced veggies, lots of lime juice, plus a splash of oil and yumminess ensues. This one comes from January 2003's Chatelaine and I make it several times a year. The only change I make is reducing the salt by a lot. Also, we eat this whole recipe between the three of us. When we used to be a family of two, we would eat it all then too. Not that you need to; it's filling. It's just so very good. I also prefer a big russet potato rather than the wee Yukon Golds recommended.
This weekend I'll be spending most of my time at the gym in training, learning how to take my instruction to the next level. Therefore, I don't expect to be cooking much. We'll see what my husband pulls together for the fam. No pressure, G.
This weekend I'll be spending most of my time at the gym in training, learning how to take my instruction to the next level. Therefore, I don't expect to be cooking much. We'll see what my husband pulls together for the fam. No pressure, G.
February 22nd: Quinoa & Squash (and chickpea) Salad
Day 2 of veggie salad make at home deliciousness experiment. Tonight's salad was inspired by one purchased last week at Cuisine & Passion, a local take out place with awesome food. The recipe came from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I made it as per the book for supper, then added some chickpeas to the leftovers, for the lunch version. Not that we're going full-on vegetarian, so it is probably less important for us, but quinoa is one of the few foods that contains complete protein. Other than quinoa and soybeans (superfoods on their own), beans and grains combined create complete protein, meaning, "the two contain complementary types of amino acids that cannot be produced by our bodies." (HtCEV). If you don't eat meat or animal foods like eggs and cheese, this is pretty much the only way you can get it. That's it for the lesson; now for the recipe:
Quinoa & Squash Salad
1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions (20-30 minutes)
1 small butternut squash*, peeled, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces and gently boiled until tender, 10-15 minutes
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely diced red onion or shallot
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsps balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley or chives
In a large bowl, gently toss together the quinoa, squash, pepper, onion and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk the vinegar and oil together and add half to bowl. Toss and add more dressing to taste. Garnish with parsley.
*I used squash. The original recipe calls for one large or two small sweet potatoes.
For the lunch version, I threw in some cooked and cooled chickpeas. No idea how many. Till I thought it looked like a good amount. Très helpful, no?
Quinoa & Squash Salad
1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions (20-30 minutes)
1 small butternut squash*, peeled, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces and gently boiled until tender, 10-15 minutes
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely diced red onion or shallot
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsps balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley or chives
In a large bowl, gently toss together the quinoa, squash, pepper, onion and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk the vinegar and oil together and add half to bowl. Toss and add more dressing to taste. Garnish with parsley.
*I used squash. The original recipe calls for one large or two small sweet potatoes.
For the lunch version, I threw in some cooked and cooled chickpeas. No idea how many. Till I thought it looked like a good amount. Très helpful, no?
February 22, 2011
February 21st-22nd: 5 Bean Salad
As part of my plan to increase our meatless meals, I have set a personal goal of learning how to cook beans and lentils in tasty ways. I figure it shouldn’t be too hard; I regularly pick up delicious bean, lentil, quinoa and grain salads for lunch. However, cooking out of my head isn’t one of my stronger talents. I rely on resources at my disposal, including How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman.
This excellent book describes what a multitude of food items are (kasha what now?), how to cook them, and tasty ways to create meals with them. Hence, for my first self-assigned project (multi-bean salad), I turned to HtCEV. Turns out, you don’t have to soak beans for a day, as I’ve been doing with my chickpeas. Apparently, a 2-minute boil followed by a 2-hour soak in the boiled water equals an 8-hour soak in cold water. Who knew? I created a 5 Bean salad, including red kidney beans, Romano beans, black beans, Adzuki beans and green beans. Here’s the recipe, plus some thoughts I have for improving it in future:
Part 1: Cooking your beans
Pick over and rinse 2 cups dried beans, any variety. Place in pot and cover with water by 2-3 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, cover pot and let sit for 2 hours. Add a large pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper, bring the pot back to a boil and boil, partially covered, over med-low heat, checking tenderness of beans every 10-15 minutes.
The trickiest part is that some beans cook through more quickly than others. In my case, the kidney beans were almost mush by the time the Adzuki beans were tender enough to eat. I'm wondering if I should cook all my beans separately next time? Perhaps. I could do a large batch of each; apparently to store them you freeze them in some of their boiling liquid.
This excellent book describes what a multitude of food items are (kasha what now?), how to cook them, and tasty ways to create meals with them. Hence, for my first self-assigned project (multi-bean salad), I turned to HtCEV. Turns out, you don’t have to soak beans for a day, as I’ve been doing with my chickpeas. Apparently, a 2-minute boil followed by a 2-hour soak in the boiled water equals an 8-hour soak in cold water. Who knew? I created a 5 Bean salad, including red kidney beans, Romano beans, black beans, Adzuki beans and green beans. Here’s the recipe, plus some thoughts I have for improving it in future:
Part 1: Cooking your beans
Pick over and rinse 2 cups dried beans, any variety. Place in pot and cover with water by 2-3 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, cover pot and let sit for 2 hours. Add a large pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper, bring the pot back to a boil and boil, partially covered, over med-low heat, checking tenderness of beans every 10-15 minutes.
The trickiest part is that some beans cook through more quickly than others. In my case, the kidney beans were almost mush by the time the Adzuki beans were tender enough to eat. I'm wondering if I should cook all my beans separately next time? Perhaps. I could do a large batch of each; apparently to store them you freeze them in some of their boiling liquid.
 |
| I couldn't get a picture to do justice to how cool these beans looked while cooking. The water was completely black. |
Part 2: 5 Bean Salad
2 cups dried beans cooked as per the above, still warm
2 cups green beans, cooked to tender-crisp
1 tbsp red wine vinegar or lemon juice, or to taste
2-4 tbsp minced red onion or shallots
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to taste
1/4-1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
While the beans are cooking, stir the vinegar and onion together in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir in the olive oil. Drain both types of beans and add them to the bowl with the dressing while they are still hot. Toss gently until the beans are coated with dressing, adding more oil if you like. Serve at room temperature or cold, stirring to distribute the dressing. Stir in the parsley just before serving, and adjust the flavour to taste.
I think you need more vinegar than listed, but I love tang. I think if you are going to use shallots (as I did), you need more, as the flavour is subtle. Not sure if using red onions. I used frozen green beans; they're not very good, but what are you going to do in February? I pulled this all together late Monday night and ate it for lunch Tuesday (and likely, Wednesday and Thursday...). Good stuff.
February 21, 2011
February 21st: Mexican chili soup
This is a bean and corn soup that tastes like a mild chili. It's even better than chili because it's not full of ground meat. We love this soup. All three of us. Also good for sicklings in this house this week. From February 1997's Today's Parent: Mexican Blizzard Soup. Soup's up!
 |
| Frying onions and spices. |
 |
| Corn and beans waiting their turn to enter the pot. |
 |
| SOUP! |
February 17, 2011
February 16th: baked & stuffed sweet potatoes
Tonight we had a yummy vegetarian main, from the vegetarian salmon: Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. Basically, roast your sweet potatoes, fry up some onions, mushrooms and spinach and combine the fried veggies with the sweet potato flesh. I topped ours with toasted walnut pieces and herbed goat cheese. When you eat the sweet potato skin, the meal is super filling and yummy to boot! I called it a main, but it was the whole meal; we had no room nor desire for anything else.
[Picture to be uploaded when my computer is feeling more cooperative.]
I'm going out for dinner tomorrow night, then to Montreal for the weekend, so I don't expect to be posting for a few days.
[Picture to be uploaded when my computer is feeling more cooperative.]
I'm going out for dinner tomorrow night, then to Montreal for the weekend, so I don't expect to be posting for a few days.
February 14, 2011
February 13th: soft pretzels, chicken lo mein
Some time ago, Liam got me hooked on this website: Instructables. Although I don't need instructions on building a Lego alarm clock, I have come across a few recipes that sound good. Today I tried out Easy Soft Pretzels, though I am dropping the 'easy' from the name, as they are not simple. They are good though! I made all three versions: salt, Parmesan & garlic, cinnamon & sugar. All three were yummy. If only I had some pork shop mustard for dipping the savoury ones into!
One point of confusion: the ingredient list calls for instant yeast but the instructions call for active dry yeast. Aren't these two different things? I used active dry yeast and I think they turned out okay, but they were slightly doughy and slightly tough, so I'm not sure. Maybe they needed more kneading? (BTW, try explaining need vs. knead to a 3 year old. Not easy.) Maybe I should have left them in the oven a bit longer. Who knows...
Here's the recipe:
For supper, I made Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger Mushrooms, from Grace Young's Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which was in the Ottawa Citizen's Chinese New Year recipe collection. I found the recipe a little dull the first time around, but G&O loved it. When I ate leftovers the next day--at room temperature--I loved it too. We'll try it again. Here's my simplified version:
Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger Mushrooms
12 oz (350 g) egg noodles
2 tsp (10 mL) sesame oil
1 tsp bottled ginger purée
1 tsp (5 mL) + 1 tbsp (15 mL) sherry cooking wine
1 tsp (5 mL) cornstarch
1 tsp (5 mL) + 1 tbsp (15 mL) soy sauce
1 tsp (5 mL) salt, divided
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 oz (350 g) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, sliced small
2 tbsp (25 mL) peanut or vegetable oil, divided
1/4 tsp (1 mL) red pepper flakes
3 cups (750 mL), or 5 oz, thinly sliced Napa cabbage
2 cups (500 mL), or 4 oz, fresh shiitake mushrooms*, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
1/2 cup (125 mL) thinly sliced green onions
Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse well with cold water. Return well-drained noodles to pot, add sesame oil and toss until well combined. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, combine ginger purée, 1 tsp of the sherry, cornstarch, 1 tsp of the soy sauce, 1/4 tsp (1 mL) of the salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in sliced chicken. In another small bowl, combine the remaining 1 tbsp sherry and 1 tbsp soy sauce.
Heat a large wok or frying pan until hot. Swirl in 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the oil, add the red pepper flakes and stir-fry 10 seconds or until fragrant. Push the pepper flakes to the side and carefully add the chicken mixture. Spread it evenly in one layer and cook undisturbed 1 minute. Stir-fry 30 seconds or until the chicken begins to brown. Add the cabbage and mushrooms and stir-fry 1 minute or until the cabbage is just wilted but the chicken is not cooked through. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a bowl and set aside.
Swirl the remaining 1 tbsp oil in the wok. Add the noodles and stir-fry 15 seconds. Swirl the soy sauce mixture into the wok, add the green onions, chicken mixture and sprinkle on the remaining 3/4 tsp (3 mL) salt. Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and noodles are heated through.
Serves 4-6
*can substitute cremini or white button mushrooms, sliced
One point of confusion: the ingredient list calls for instant yeast but the instructions call for active dry yeast. Aren't these two different things? I used active dry yeast and I think they turned out okay, but they were slightly doughy and slightly tough, so I'm not sure. Maybe they needed more kneading? (BTW, try explaining need vs. knead to a 3 year old. Not easy.) Maybe I should have left them in the oven a bit longer. Who knows...
Here's the recipe:
Soft Pretzels
Active time: 30-45 min; Total time: 2 hr 15- 2hr 30 min
Ingredients:
1 tsp instant yeast/active dry yeast (not rapid rise or 'bread machine' yeast)
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
1 1/2 cups warm water for proofing (110°F, at the temperature of a comfortable bath. Any hotter and you risk killing the yeast)
4 1/2 cups All Purpose, non-bleached flour
4 tablespoons of butter, melted
Ingredients:
1 tsp instant yeast/active dry yeast (not rapid rise or 'bread machine' yeast)
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
1 1/2 cups warm water for proofing (110°F, at the temperature of a comfortable bath. Any hotter and you risk killing the yeast)
4 1/2 cups All Purpose, non-bleached flour
4 tablespoons of butter, melted
2/3 cup baking soda
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Kosher salt for topping
Other Topping Options:
Savoury
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Sweet
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Kosher salt for topping
Other Topping Options:
Savoury
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Sweet
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Directions
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Stir yeast, sugar and salt with 1 and 1/2 cups of warm water. Let the mixture sit for five to ten minutes. The yeast is active when the mixture is foamy and smells a bit like bread. In a large bowl, combine flour, butter and yeast-water mixture. Mix the ingredients just enough to create a shaggy dough.
Flour a clean work surface and roll the dough onto it. Knead for 5 minutes. If the dough sticks, re-flour your surface just enough to stop it from sticking.
Oil another large bowl with vegetable oil. Place the dough inside, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size. About a half hour into the rise, pre-heat your oven to 450°F.
When the hour is up, flour a clean work surface. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead again for about 5 min.
Bring 10 cups of water and 2/3 of a cup of baking soda to a boil.
Meanwhile, divide the dough into 8-12 equal size pieces. Roll the pieces out until they are about 2 ft long and thick as the diameter of your thumb. Then:
- Form each piece into a U shape
- Twist them around and roll corners towards the center
- Twist the ends over each other once
- Flatten ends down to the top of the bottom of the dough to make a pretzel shape
Once the pot of water is fully boiling, place pretzels in one at a time for 30 seconds each. You can place three or four in at a time depending on the size of the pretzels. Remove and set aside on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Beat egg yolk with a tablespoon of water for egg wash; brush the pretzels with egg mixture and sprinkle on your toppings. (Unless you are doing sweet; see below.)
Topping Options
Traditional:
Kosher Salt
For garlic cheese pretzels:
Combine 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan with 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
For cinnamon pretzels:
Instead of brushing the pretzels with the egg wash, brush with ¼ cup honey. Combine ½ cup powdered sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon with 2 tbsps water, just enough to make a glaze and not be soupy. Once they have come out of the oven, brush with cinnamon-sugar glaze.
Topping Options
Traditional:
Kosher Salt
For garlic cheese pretzels:
Combine 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan with 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
For cinnamon pretzels:
Instead of brushing the pretzels with the egg wash, brush with ¼ cup honey. Combine ½ cup powdered sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon with 2 tbsps water, just enough to make a glaze and not be soupy. Once they have come out of the oven, brush with cinnamon-sugar glaze.
Bake the pretzels at 450°F for 12-14 minutes. If using 2 baking sheets, rotate the sheets once half way through to ensure even baking.
 |
| L-R: cinnamon-sugar, Parmesan-garlic, salt |
For supper, I made Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger Mushrooms, from Grace Young's Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which was in the Ottawa Citizen's Chinese New Year recipe collection. I found the recipe a little dull the first time around, but G&O loved it. When I ate leftovers the next day--at room temperature--I loved it too. We'll try it again. Here's my simplified version:
Chicken Lo Mein with Ginger Mushrooms
12 oz (350 g) egg noodles
2 tsp (10 mL) sesame oil
1 tsp bottled ginger purée
1 tsp (5 mL) + 1 tbsp (15 mL) sherry cooking wine
1 tsp (5 mL) cornstarch
1 tsp (5 mL) + 1 tbsp (15 mL) soy sauce
1 tsp (5 mL) salt, divided
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 oz (350 g) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, sliced small
2 tbsp (25 mL) peanut or vegetable oil, divided
1/4 tsp (1 mL) red pepper flakes
3 cups (750 mL), or 5 oz, thinly sliced Napa cabbage
2 cups (500 mL), or 4 oz, fresh shiitake mushrooms*, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
1/2 cup (125 mL) thinly sliced green onions
Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse well with cold water. Return well-drained noodles to pot, add sesame oil and toss until well combined. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, combine ginger purée, 1 tsp of the sherry, cornstarch, 1 tsp of the soy sauce, 1/4 tsp (1 mL) of the salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in sliced chicken. In another small bowl, combine the remaining 1 tbsp sherry and 1 tbsp soy sauce.
Heat a large wok or frying pan until hot. Swirl in 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the oil, add the red pepper flakes and stir-fry 10 seconds or until fragrant. Push the pepper flakes to the side and carefully add the chicken mixture. Spread it evenly in one layer and cook undisturbed 1 minute. Stir-fry 30 seconds or until the chicken begins to brown. Add the cabbage and mushrooms and stir-fry 1 minute or until the cabbage is just wilted but the chicken is not cooked through. Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a bowl and set aside.
Swirl the remaining 1 tbsp oil in the wok. Add the noodles and stir-fry 15 seconds. Swirl the soy sauce mixture into the wok, add the green onions, chicken mixture and sprinkle on the remaining 3/4 tsp (3 mL) salt. Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and noodles are heated through.
Serves 4-6
*can substitute cremini or white button mushrooms, sliced
February 13, 2011
February 12th: oatmeal bars
We took O skiing today for the first time. She did amazingly well; after two trips down the bunny hill with our help, she insisted on going on her own, and by the time we were in line up for the fifth trip, she was crying because she wanted to do the big hill. When we finally got her on the big hill, she had a blast.
Skiing works up an appetite. As much as we would like to indulge in poutine and pop at the lodge, I packed a horde of food to keep us full so we wouldn't go down that path: apples, crackers, cheese, salami, water, hot chocolate and oatmeal bars from Cooking With My Kid. I'm not going to try this recipe again, but it definitely hit the spot when we were hungry and needed something filling and healthy to get us through a few more runs on the hill.
Skiing works up an appetite. As much as we would like to indulge in poutine and pop at the lodge, I packed a horde of food to keep us full so we wouldn't go down that path: apples, crackers, cheese, salami, water, hot chocolate and oatmeal bars from Cooking With My Kid. I'm not going to try this recipe again, but it definitely hit the spot when we were hungry and needed something filling and healthy to get us through a few more runs on the hill.
February 11th: shrimp vol-au-vents
Friday night and I am teaching a class at a club in Kanata: a half hour drive on a regular night, up to an hour and a half on game night. Tonight, happily, there was no game. Since I started teaching this class in January, we've worked out a routine where I teach, Greg takes the class and Olivia stays home with a babysitter. Food for O and babysitter needs to be provided and ideally, we would like to eat too, before or after class, or both. The last few weeks we've been doing take out because Fridays get to be too busy and we can't find time to prepare something. Today, after spending the week eating out in Edmonton, I really wanted to cook, so set aside some time. For the girls, I made a salad and pinwheel peanut butter and jam sandwiches. When we got home from the gym, and after putting O to bed, we finished off the salad and I cooked up some shrimp vol-au-vents. I got the idea for this one from an LCBO flyer, although I simplified it a bit. Weirdly, the LCBO website has a completely different recipe for this than the one I made. Anyway, we decided to toss the recipe, as it was too rich with cream and oil and puff pastry. Good, but too much.
We finished the night by watching Never Let Me Go, which was depressing as all get out, but really good. It's been stuck in my head all weekend.
February 6, 2011
February 6th: slow-cooked beef ragout
I'm heading to Edmonton for four days tomorrow and had to get some hearty meat and pasta cooked up for G & O before I take off. This is a favourite slow-cooker meal from March 2004's Chatelaine: Slow-cooked beef ragout. I've made some variations on the original recipe, in that I replace the red wine and the chicken broth with 2 cans of beef broth, and I don't include the olives. Hmm, I should consider adding the olives back in, for Olivia's sake. She lives up to her name with her love of olives. The last time we had this meal was in the summer, when I made it in advance of our camping trip, and we ate it with rigatoni. It was so great having the food made ahead of time that I aim to do that every time we camp now. This time, as a winter meal after skating outdoors, it was well-appreciated again.
Think I'll go out to Alberta, weather's good there...
Think I'll go out to Alberta, weather's good there...
February 5th: spinach dip and white bean dip
Saturday, Olivia and I went to visit Rachel, Maeve and Caine. We brought some pumpernickel bread, pitas, veggies and 2 dips along: spinach dip and white bean dip. I've never made spinach dip before and I can't imagine I'll ever buy it again in future. It was ridiculously easy, requiring just four ingredients, and so tasty. The white bean dip wasn't so much a hit, but worked well as a sandwich spread the next day, when I wrapped up some leftover veggies in a pita with tuna, bean dip and tabbouleh. Good stuff.
February 3, 2011
February 3rd: Pork Chops with Mustard Crumb Crust
This was the sleeper hit of the week! This recipe: Pork Chops with Mustard Crumb Crust comes from December 2010's Canadian Living. It has some similarities with one of my favourite chicken recipes (namely, slathering the meat in mustard and mayo prior to baking), but the overall flavour was new and exciting. Greg was out playing hockey, and I was tempted to eat his pork chop too, but managed to resist.
I was at a loss as to what to serve on the side, and came up with making spaghetti and heating up some sauce from the freezer. I had leftover almond-crusted goat cheese, so heated that up and popped it on top of the spaghetti. The result was a delicious supper!
I was at a loss as to what to serve on the side, and came up with making spaghetti and heating up some sauce from the freezer. I had leftover almond-crusted goat cheese, so heated that up and popped it on top of the spaghetti. The result was a delicious supper!
February 1, 2011
February 1st: Baked Goat Cheese and Apple Salad, Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas
Vegetarian main: from February 2011's Chatelaine: Baked Goat Cheese and Apple Salad. This was good, but not quite as good as I had been expecting. I love goat cheese, and coating it in almonds then baking it was genius; I'll definitely do that part again. The rest of the salad was just good, not great. Be gone, ye.
Rather than using a can of chickpeas, I used dried, soaked for a day then boiled for an hour and refrigerated until tonight. I've decided dried is definitely the way to go with beans; it takes a bit more foresight, but so much cheaper and really not at all hard. I made one modification to the recipe; instead of using the cooked chickpeas as they were, I baked them as per Cooking With My Kid's Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas. I thought the crunchy texture might be a welcome contrast to the salad. As it turns out, I preferred the squishy variety, though both were okay.
Olivia and I seem to have experienced taste bud conversion. We both enjoyed the chickpeas immensely tonight. I've never liked them before, and as I was telling Olivia, when I tried feeding them to her when she was a baby, she spit them out. She thought that was pretty funny, and gamely ate them up as I told her this story. Greg, however, has taste buds stuck in the past; he's still not into them. We'll work on that.
Okay, confession: I LOVE junk food. Chocolate, cookies, cake, ice cream, candy, popcorn and especially, more than anything else, chips. I am always looking for a replacement snack for chips, something salty and crunchy, that goes well with a glass of lemon and Perrier. I have yet to find something that satisfies the craving. However, these crunchy chickpeas were pretty good. If nothing else, as I sit here typing away on the laptop, eating them, they are way, WAY more filling than chips, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't eat anything else right now. Final note: I prefer the way they taste after 20 minutes in the oven, rather than the full 40 recommended in the recipe.
Rather than using a can of chickpeas, I used dried, soaked for a day then boiled for an hour and refrigerated until tonight. I've decided dried is definitely the way to go with beans; it takes a bit more foresight, but so much cheaper and really not at all hard. I made one modification to the recipe; instead of using the cooked chickpeas as they were, I baked them as per Cooking With My Kid's Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas. I thought the crunchy texture might be a welcome contrast to the salad. As it turns out, I preferred the squishy variety, though both were okay.
Olivia and I seem to have experienced taste bud conversion. We both enjoyed the chickpeas immensely tonight. I've never liked them before, and as I was telling Olivia, when I tried feeding them to her when she was a baby, she spit them out. She thought that was pretty funny, and gamely ate them up as I told her this story. Greg, however, has taste buds stuck in the past; he's still not into them. We'll work on that.
 |
| Even if she didn't eat chickpeas, she was a good eater. |
Okay, confession: I LOVE junk food. Chocolate, cookies, cake, ice cream, candy, popcorn and especially, more than anything else, chips. I am always looking for a replacement snack for chips, something salty and crunchy, that goes well with a glass of lemon and Perrier. I have yet to find something that satisfies the craving. However, these crunchy chickpeas were pretty good. If nothing else, as I sit here typing away on the laptop, eating them, they are way, WAY more filling than chips, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't eat anything else right now. Final note: I prefer the way they taste after 20 minutes in the oven, rather than the full 40 recommended in the recipe.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)