August 12, 2009

I think that if you looked at my genetic makeup under a microscope or DNA viewer or whatever the heck you would use for such a purpose, you would see that I'm 1/8 Choctaw and 7/8 Chickpea!  I eat SO many chickpeas, I'm sure I'm close to turning into one!  I honestly eat a chickpea in some form or another at least 4 times a week.  If it's not hummus, then it's one of these other two go-to lazy vegetarian girl dishes:

• Marinated Chickpeas – Ok, pay close attention because this is super-duper complicated.  Take a can or two of chickpeas.  I actually wouldn't even bother with just one can because I'm such a chickpea piggie.  Dump the chickpeas into a colander.  Rinse them with cool water to get rid of all the slimy gross liquid they've been swimming around in since they were canned.  Drain them well and pour into a bowl.  Add fresh lemon or lime juice, extra virgin olive oil or your favorite delicious healthy oil (could be macadamia or walnut or whatever), sea salt, fresh pepper, and voila!  You're done!  If you want to get fancy, add other seasonings, like Frank's Red Hot Sauce, lemon pepper (Penzey's is my choice), fresh herbs, or even parmigiano reggiano shreds.  Eat it up asap or let it sit for a while.  I'm addicted to this as much as I am to hummus.  You can crush the peas a little bit if you want, or leave them whole.  I like this at room temperature.

• Not-Tuna Chickpea Salad – Here's another high-difficulty gourmet recipe.  Rinse and drain the chickpeas, and then whir them around in a little food processor or chopper til they're crushed up some but still have some texture.  I don't like them completely pureed.   You may need a little olive oil or lemon juice if the mixture is too dry, but usually they mush up fine.  Then, basically make your usual  tuna salad recipe with whatever you like, substituting the chickpeas for the tuna, of course.  I like a dab of mustard, some mayo (dairy-free would be fine), dill pickle relish, a little lemon juice, Frank's Red Hot, lemon pepper, and sea salt.  Pile it onto whole grain bread or crackers, fill a pita, or just gobble it up with a spoon.  It would also be good wrapped up in some lettuce leaves or piled into a hollowed out tomato for lunch.  You may say “weird” right now, but try it and you'll say “hmmm, BigSis was right.  This is yummy!”

That's it guys and girls…two of my easy, healthy, vegetarian staple chickpea dishes.  Certainly not on the menu at LilSis' house, but at Casa BigSis, it's a scrumptious meal!  You know, I like to eat healthy but I don't usually have much time for cooking in the evening so I need fast food that isn't junk food.  I'll have more easy meatless recipes for you later.  Have a tasty day!

~BigSis