chickpeas

Chickpea Caesar Salad Wraps

July 8, 2014 by Erica

Hello hello – it’s been a while!

I hope you’ll excuse my absence. {Insert sheepish face here.} Sometimes the summer weather just ruins all your cookin’ plans, ya know? Like, you really wanted to roast pans upon pans of veggies, then you realized that you could probably roast them on the sidewalk because it is SO HOT OUT and you have no business adding to that heat by turning on the oven. So instead you order a glass of sauvignon blanc on a restaurant patio and leave all those veggies hangin.

I hope I’m not the only one who has been slacking on the cooking front to enjoy the summer weather. It is so worth it! Those roasted veggies can SO wait til fall… and in the meantime, that bottle of white wine is calling your name. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I’m encouraging it with quick and easy meals like this!

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Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

February 26, 2014 by Erica

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

You won’t believe this – I barely believe it myself – but this recipe is inspired by a pre-packaged sandwich I bought in the Salt Lake airport.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit how much I enjoyed that shrink-wrapped airport sandwich… except clearly I’m not, because I led off this post with it.

Airport food is usually to be avoided, especially as a vegetarian. It’s terribly unfortunate, really, because nothing makes me so tired and cranky as travel (just ask my loving fiance…), and those are usually the moments when I could use some good food.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

During one of our many cross-country trips in September, I was digging through a pile of turkey sandwiches in an airport kisok when I found a single mysterious chickpea salad sandwich. I almost jumped for joy (it’s the little things in life) because I was thisclose to taking my chances on a portobello burger from Smashburger. Chickpea salad didn’t sound incredibly appetizing, but at least it didn’t have mayo.

No one was more surprised than me when it turned out to be absolutely delicious! I enjoyed it so much that I promptly snapped a picture of the ingredients, and resolved to make it for you ASAP.

And that was five months ago… but that’s just how these things go.

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Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Apple-Miso Vinaigrette

January 29, 2014 by Erica

Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Apple-Miso Vinaigrette

I haven’t been doing a great job of eating my leafy greens lately. Well, actually, it’s my dark leafy greens I haven’t been eating. For some reason I’ve been on a lettuce kick… maybe using up the the leftover lettuce from all those burgers? Normally, I’d choose kale or spinach over regular ol’ Romaine any day. It recently occurred to me that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d bought kale. Obviously I had to remedy the situation immediately!

And I remedied it the best way I know how – by giving my kale a massage.

Kale Salad with Roasted Chickpeas and Apple-Miso Vinaigrette

A while ago I confessed that I didn’t really get the “massaged kale salad” thing. Aaaand I also confessed that I was immediately sold on the whole deal, because it really makes such a difference in texture. It softens the kale up and makes it way less jaw-achingly fibrous. If you typically skip kale salads, I beg you to give your kale a little massage! You just might turn over a new leaf… har har har.

We’re improving the kale’s texture even more by slicing it into thin ribbons. That way we can make this into a chopped salad, which is my favorite way to eat salad lately because of all the texture you can get in one bite. Start with some kale you can really sink your teeth into, and add crispy apples, crunchy walnuts, chewy roasted chickpeas, and creamy blue cheese to each bite. WHAT could be better, I ask you?! Ah yes… tossing the whole thing with a dreamy dressing of apple cider vinegar and miso.

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Buffalo Chickpea Sliders

January 27, 2014 by Erica

Buffalo Chickpea Sliders

Who’s ready for some vegan football food?!

Well, vegan + optional gratuitous amounts of cheese. The best of both worlds, in my opinion.

Buffalo Chickpea Sliders

Last week I posted quinoa burgers, and this week, we’re doing yet another veggie burger. It’s so easy to get on a food kick and want to try out endless variations, and that’s exactly what’s happening here! This time I really wanted vegan burgers… mostly because I end up eating a bunch of the dough straight from the food processor (and I bet you do the same!), so might as well leave out the raw egg, right? Right. And luckily, it’s not at all necessary here – these babies have no trouble holding together with just some flax egg magic.

Buffalo Chickpea Sliders

But like I mentioned, I topped those vegan burgers with some serious cheese. Blue cheese dressing, to be exact. It’s the same lightened-up blue cheese dressing I used on last year’s buffalo brussels potato skins. This stuff is just too good to be allowed! I couldn’t get enough on this burger, clearly.

Buffalo Chickpea Sliders

To me, there’s nothing that says football food quite like that buffalo wing flavah. Minus the wing part, of course. I think I’ve had wings maybe twice in my life and, well, I’m not into the actual wings. Too messy, and too much work for too little actual food! Meat on the bone is just not my thing, I guess. I could never have been a cavewoman! Beans and veggies, on the other hand – now that I can get behind.

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Crispy Crunchy Roasted Radish and Chickpea Tacos

June 7, 2013 by Erica

Crispy Crunchy Roasted Radish and Chickpea Tacos

You may know that I like to roast things and put them in tacos. But did you know that you can roast radishes?

Beautiful red radishes are just overflowing the shelves at my supermarket, and I can’t resist picking some up whenever I walk by.

Crispy Crunchy Roasted Radish and Chickpea Tacos

I always buy the organic ones – I find them much more flavorful than conventionally grown. (I am usually lured by the low prices of conventional produce, so I only buy organic when it’s cheaper or when I can really taste the difference. Radishes are a prime example!)

I love peppery raw radishes in salads, but I also love their mellowed-out taste when roasted. They lose most of the bite that turns so many people off from them, and instead are sweet and tender with a softer crunch. Try them out on the radish-hater in your life (ahem, Nate); I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I mean, who could resist this little taco rainbow?

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