Chickpeas Stew with Roasted Cumin and Tomatoes

So far, it's been a pretty spectacular April. It actually reached 70 degrees here in Seattle last weekend; last year the first time that happened was May 20th. I started lead climbing again, after taking a year-plus long hiatus. I'm loving my job and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I've brought lunch to work every single day.

I've been trying to cook something healthy, hearty and virile enough to last a week in tupperware. Last week it was a red quinoa & sweet potato pilaf (that sadly went un-photographed). This week I am thinking up some concoction with kale, caramelized onions, carrots, avocado and whole wheat pasta. But two weeks ago… two weeks ago I made this delicious Indian-inspired chickpea stew.

I would say the dish was easy to make, but it was slightly time consuming. I could probably attribute this to the fact I have two stove burners and a tiny oven (ah, the joys of living in a studio) but I would like to say all the ingredients were cooked with a coordination usually reserved for Thanksgiving dinner. There was some roasting, toasting and reducing going on and I just can't do that all by my lonesome that quickly. In reality though, there wasn't too much skill involved - a 19-year old dorm-dwelling collegiate guy could do it.

It was substantial enough that on it's own I could fill myself up at lunch. Usually though I tossed in some brown rice to avoid a serious case of the snack attacks at 3pm. I have a snack drawer full of almonds and trail mix at my desk for a reason, but I like to reserve those for desperate times. Like when I feel the urge to stress eat or am very actively trying to avoid the communal candy bowl.

Chickpeas with Roasted Cumin and Tomatoes

Adapted from eCurry

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger
• 1 green cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• fresh cilantro/coriander leaves
• 2 hot green chile peppers, chopped – Optional
• salt to taste
• ½ teaspoons of turmeric
• 1.5 cups fresh or canned tomato puree
• 1.5  teaspoon roasted ground cumin

Directions:

1. Combine turmeric, salt, and the roasted cumin with the tomato puree and 1/2 – 1 cup water and stir it to mix.
2. Dry roast the cardamom, clove in the pan. You will know they're done when you start smelling the spices roasting.
3. Add the oil and the cumin seeds.
4. Add the chopped peppers if you want it spicy. Once the cumin seeds start turning dark add the ginger paste. Cook for about a minute.
5. Add the tomato puree mix, stir it in, and let it let it cook for about 4-5 minutes at medium heat.
6. Add the chickpeas, cover and simmer for for 7 – 10 minutes. Uncover and mash up a few chickpeas with the back of the spatula. This should be like a soup, not dry. So if the water dries up, add more water when you are boiling. Simmer for couple of more minutes. Switch off the heat and keep it covered until ready to serve.
7. Garnish with fresh cilantro/coriander leaves.

Chickpea, Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Stew

This soup is neither red, heart shaped nor will it make your beau swoon. Ok, well, it might do the last part because I think I saw 'A' teetering on swooning when I made this for dinner last week. He may have also been falling asleep sitting up but I'm going to be positive here and settle on swooning. Regardless of the holiday at hand (Valentine's Day for all you people reading this any other day but 2/14), I think this soup is fitting for the one who makes your heart beat a little faster because it will keep your heart healthy for all valentines to come.

To help save money, I've become that lady at the supermarket checkout with bags upon bags of bulk items. Nuts, grains, peanut butter filled pretzels… you name it, I have it in a twisty tie bag or old glass jar somewhere. As my pantry was starting to seem a little overwhelmed, I lightened the load and put some lentils and chickpeas to good use. Along the way I may have picked up a butternut squash the size of my head but hey, who are we kidding here, they're delicious.

With all our key players at hand, I crafted the most magnificently large pot of stew ever. Even after sending 'A' off with leftovers for work, I had enough to feed me for about a week. Towards the end the stew was probably a bit questionable, but as it goes with stews, the longer it is left to age the better it tastes. True story. As the soup is 100% vegan, my logic was that the lack of dairy meant it would last longer. Right? Even if I'm wrong, let me float along in blissful ignorance.

So if you want to keep you and your valentine's heart strong for years to come, save money AND have a delicious dinner, why would you want to make anything else?

Chickpea, Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon chili flakes
• 2-3 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 1 cup red lentils
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 1  28-oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into ¾ inch cubes
• 1 can chickpeas
• juice of one lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• small bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped (save some for garnish)

Directions:

1. Heat a large dutch oven (or saucepan) and dry-fry the cumin, chili flakes and garam masala for 30 seconds or until they start "jumping" around the pot and release their aroma.
2. Add the olive oil, onion, carrot, garlic and jalapeño and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion and carrot are softened.
3. Stir in the lentils, stock, tomatoes and butternut squash, then bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils have softened.
4. Stir in the chickpeas, lemon juice and salt/pepper to taste, heat gently. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro. Serve and finish with a garnish of cilantro.

Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas

I fell off the blogging bandwagon.  As in fell off in the middle of a desert that's on an island in the middle of the Arctic Ocean and the nearest cell phone tower is 30 billion nautical miles away.

And I apologize.  My camera is back loaded with pictures... as is my Aperture library.  I'm pretty sure my "To Do" list for blogging is longer than my "Don't Forget to Pack for Seattle" list.  I swear I didn't mean to do it!  I... I... got addicted to 30Rock (it is impossible to deny the awesomeness that is Liz Lemon).  And I'm moving to Seattle in, oh, T-minus 10 days.  Enough of the excuses!  I will do better!  Pinky promise!

At least this recipe is worth it!  I clipped this recipe out of Real Simple last summer with the dream of making it sometime during the school year.  Jump to almost a year later and I finally made it!  It's a easy dish to make with a feasible ingredient list - perfect for someone who is health conscious and on a tight budget!

One night I decided to make dinner for my mom to give her a night off.  When I told her what I was making she insisted that she does not like zucchini... cut to that evening and she ate a double helping of the topping!  Score!  What I liked most about the dish is how the bite of the crushed red pepper contrasts perfectly with the smoothness of the Parmesan and Chickpeas.  It gave it just the right amount of kick.


Linguine with Zucchini and Chickpeas
Adapted from Real Simple (August 2009)

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. linguine
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 small zucchini, cut into thin half moons
• Kosher salt
• 1 15oz. can chickpeas, rinsed
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoons crushed red pepper (more or less to taste)
• ½ cup (2oz.) of grated Parmesan (separate into two bowls)

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Before draining the pasta, set aside ½ cup of the pasta water (it helps the cheese stick to the pasta later), drain and return the pasta to the pot.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the zucchini and ½ teaspoon of salt.  Frequently toss the zucchini, until tender (about 4 to 5 minutes).  Add the chickpeas, garlic, and red pepper until everything is evenly heated (about 2 to 3 minutes).
3. Toss the pasta with the reserved pasta water and half of the Parmesan.  Serve the pasta and zucchini in two separate bowls; top the pasta top with zucchini mixture and some Parmesan.
4. For storage for leftovers, let the pasta cool before tossing it with the vegetables and Parmesan.

Hummus with Olive Oil Chips

Every Tuesday night some of my neighbors come over (mainly Jake and Sarah), Cory, my housemates, and I all crowd around the television and watch LOST.  Now, I don't watch LOST.  I never have, but now I probably will.  Due to the fact that is it on every Tuesday night, and I always home, I began watching it (in its final season).  And it's in my basic instinct whenever there is a large gathering of people, I feel like I must feed them.  Now every Tuesday night - I feed them.

Two weeks ago I made the dinner "Middle Eastern/Greek" themed.  I made my tried and true Spanakopita recipe, but I thought they might want something else - Hummus and chips.  I'm always so shocked when people try homemade hummus for the first time (it's always so much better) and then when I told them how easy it is, they are even more shocked.  I also felt that it would be appropriate to dip homemade chips in my homemade hummus.  The chips were so easy to make and it made a pretty large batch - enough to feed my friends and co-workers when I brought them into The Environment Report the next day.

Hummus

Ingredients:

• 22 oz chickpeas, canned
• 1 cup tahini paste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
• Extra virgin olive oil, to serve
• Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning, to serve (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, add the tahini paste, water and lemon juice and mix well until it forms a uniform paste. Add the minced garlic to it and mix it well.
2. Now add the chickpea paste to the tahini sauce a little at a time, making sure everything gets incorporated evenly.
3. In a plate, spoon the hummus and create a canal with the back of the spoon to hold the olive oil, as seen in the photograph.
4. Sprinkle with sumac and serve with crackers.

Olive Oil Crackers

Adapted from: The Purple Foodie

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Freshly ground pepper (I used a mix of black, white and pink!)
• Sea salt to taste
• Coarse sea salt for garnish (I used pink Himalayan salt)
• More olive oil for brushing

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 220C.
2. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a Kitchen Aid add the flour baking powder, water, olive oil, salt and pepper. Knead the dough for 5-6 minutes until it all comes together.
3. Make walnut sized balls and roll them out as thinly as you can into long, oval shapes.
4. Place the rolled out crackers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush with olive oil.
5. Bake for 5-6 minutes, or until the crackers are golden brown in color (I had to bake mine for about 10 minutes - but that's because my oven is kinda finicky)
6. Serve with the hummus!

Falafel

I love falafel, but I usually have to shell out $4 to Pita Kabobs when I want some.  Now, I know there are “falafel making devices” out there for making sure every falafel is the same size and perfectly flattened… but I used my medium sized cookie scoop and my hands.  It seemed to turn out really well.  This is a relatively quick side (or main...) dish to put together and is quite impressive.  While I did really like the flavor and texture of these, next time I make them I think I will chill the ‘batter’ before cooking them in the oil; they were a little soft when I pan fried them.  I brought these to a LV potluck – but sadly once I got to the cabin the falafel had cooled significantly.

Falafel

Adapted from The New Moosewood Cookbook

Ingredients 

• 2 15-oz. cans of chickpeas
• 4 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. salt
• 6 scallions, minced
• ¼ cup (packed) minced parsley
• ¼ cup water
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• A few dashes of cayenne
• ⅓ cup flour
• Oil for frying

Directions

1. Rinse the chickpeas, and drain them well.
2. Combine all ingredients except flour in a food processor until you have a uniform batter.
3. Add flour, and stir until thoroughly combined. You can cook the falafel right away, or store the batter in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for several days.
4. Heat a heavy skillet and add about 3 Tbsp. oil. When it is hot enough to sizzle a bread crumb on contact, drop tablespoonfuls of batter into the pan, flattening each slightly, like a small thick pancake. Sauté for about 10 minutes on each side, until golden and crisp. Add small amounts of extra oil to the pan as needed throughout the cooking.
5. Place the cooked falafel on a plate lined with paper towels and, if necessary, keep warm in a 300-degree oven until serving time.

Curried Chickpeas, Onions, and Kale in a Tomato Sauce

This recipe should be called "I bought a whole bunch of kale for a recipe and then forgot the recipe I needed it for, and now I need to use it asap."  But I have been making variations of this recipe for the past two years, and because I have yet to meticulously measure everything, it is different everytime.  Even in this attempt to write it down, every ingredient is an estimate.  While I do recommend using all the spices I listed, the amounts of certain spices are flexible (especially the spicy masala curry powder, and to a certain extent the mustard seed).

This is a quick meal to put together - I cut the kale and onions this morning before I went to class so that in my short break between classes and work I was able to make a warm, absolutely delicious, and satisfying meal.  It has a taste that is reminiscent of Indian food, but the tomato paste makes it a little more savory.  But you still get a nice delightful tingle of curry & sriracha sauce in the back of your throat… Mmm.  And the best part of this recipe?  It's low ingredient (and possibly pantry) friendly!  Maybe next time I make this I'll add some green onions...

And to John (the Kale-less wonder), try this to ease yourself into Kale.  Or have Sam make it for you.

Ingredients:

• a dash or two of Olive Oil
• 1 onion, diced
• half of a bunch of kale, chopped
• 1-15oz can of organic chickpeas, drained
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 2-4 TBSP (approx) Hot Masala Curry Powder
• ½ tsp yellow mustard seed
• a dash of cinnamon
• a dash (½ tsp?) coriander
• 2 gloves of garlic, crushed
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 or 2 TBSP Sriracha sauce

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook onions with the mustard seed for a minute or so.  Then add about 1 TBSP of curry power, cinnamon, and coriander to the onions and continue cooking until translucent.  Add in chopped kale and cook down (it will shrink dramatically in size, this is good).  Sprinkle a few pinches of kosher salt and grind the black pepper over the kale - mix in.
2. Stir in chickpeas and crushed, cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.  Reduced the burner to medium heat and stir in tomato paste with the rest of the curry powder.  Stirring this in will take some effort, but just work to make sure "break up" the tomato paste and incorporate the vegetables/chickpeas into it.  Once all incorporated, drizzle Sriracha sauce and stir to incorporate.  
3. Serve hot, but it also works wonderfully heated up the next day (trust me, I know, I'm not so good at "cooking for one").  I usually cook rice to serve this over, but I ran out of time.  While rice compliments this very well, it is also delightful on its on.

Chickpea Salad

Today was the first Les Voyageurs potluck of the season. Not only does this mean that there were a bunch of new faces down at the cabin, but there were a LOT more mouths to feed. Hence, I needed to make a substantial amount of food without breaking the bank or my back cooking all day in the kitchen. This recipe was quite easy to make... but you need to make sure that you use VERY good ingredients because there are so few in the recipe. I recommend Trader Joe's organic Chickpeas - they are nice and meaty and are never mealy. Also (as I have mentioned before) use Greek Olive Oil - it has a much richer flavor. The manchego cheese is a nice soft cheese, but it is hard to find and isn't inexpensive - so if you must you can substitute parmesan for manchego.

Chickpea Salad
Adapted from Orangette

• 3 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons best quality olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely diced red onions
• 1/4 cup minced cilantro
• 1/4 cup loosely packed shredded manchego cheese
• big pinch kosher salt, plus more to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and stir gently to mix. Taste, and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve immediately, or chill, covered, until serving.