Ten-Minute Chickpea Salad

May 16, 2013 By Love & Flour in Sides No Comments Tags: chick peas, quick sides

You walk in the door at 5:30 p.m. Your highly lovable but also highly energetic kids are happy to see you and ready to be entertained. Your spouse (who is surely happy to see you even though forgetting to tell you) stares at your hands, which are holding nothing but your briefcase and now-empty lunch sack. “Did you remember to stop at the grocery store and pick up the salad for the neighborhood block party?”

Depending on your day, a blank stare or expletive-laced outburst could follow. Which will it be? How about a different option altogether in the form of whipping up this chickpea salad as did Michael Natkin, who wrote about a very similar scenario which inspired a very similar recipe. He shared both in his lovely cookbook Herbivoracious.(He writes a blog by the same name.) “Born out of desperation” is how he put it.

The desperation (so to speak) I typically face when wanting to create a quick meal is having something I can prepare relatively quickly that is also relatively healthy. I think this fits the bill. And because it is a salad, you can do pretty much anything you want with it. Add a can of black beans in place of one can of chickpeas. Not a fan of peppers or sundried tomatoes? Add olives or artichoke hearts or sunflower seeds.

Nakin suggests using fresh tarragon, dill or mint in place of a handful of basil. I did not use basil at all because I wanted the leftovers to keep for lunch. Like the overall idea of this salad but loathe chickpeas? Toss in cooked quinoa or couscous instead. No matter how you toss it, I am sure you can’t go wrong. Enjoy!

Ten-Minute Chickpea Salad

Author: adapted from Herbivoracious by Michael Natkin

Recipe type: side dish

Serves: 8

Ingredients

For the Salad
2, 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup red onion, diced (about ½ onion)
1 cup English cucumber, chopped
1 pepper or 1 jar of roasted peppers
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
½ cup sundried tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
For the Dressing
3 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Stir together all of the salad ingredients, from the chickpeas to the garlic.
Immediately before serving, stir together the lemon juice and the olive oil and pour over the salad.
Stir to coat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

If desired, roast the pepper over dry heat before adding it to the salad. Do this by heating a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and then adding the whole pepper. Roll the pepper from side to side every few minutes or so until nicely charred. Once cool enough to handle, chop, seed and add it to the salad.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows

May 13, 2013 By Love & Flour in Cookies 1 Comment Tags: chocolate, peanut butter, stuffed, vegan

All I could think about when I walked through the door this afternoon was my head hitting the pillow. I really wanted to take a nap, but instead I baked peanut butter chocolate pillows. Fair trade, I suppose.

When I think of peanut butter and chocolate, buckeyes naturally come to mind. However, unless it is a Saturday in November or the week before Christmas, I will never be found making buckeyes to satisfy a peanut butter and chocolate craving.

I would like to claim I simply eat a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup when the mood strikes. Instead, I stick a few chocolate chips on top of a spoonful of peanut butter. Never a proud moment.

Fortunately, for the sake of my pride, I discovered this recipe over the weekend. At first glance, these cookies may sound complicated. They involve mixing dough and beating filling and wrapping them both together into a cookie.

In reality, the cookies really take very little time to prepare. I made these cookies, snapped their photos and washed the dishes in just one hour’s time. Which left plenty of time for a nap.

Chocolate and peanut butter not your favorite? Try stuffing chocolate cherry cookies with sweet cream cheese or snickerdoodles with dulce de coco instead. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows

Author: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

Ingredients

For the Dough
½ cup canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup agave nectar (or maple syrup)
3 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1½ cups all purpose flour
⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
For the Filling
¾ cup peanut butter
⅔ cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Mix the canola oil, sugar, agave nectar (or maple syrup), milk and vanilla extract together in a large bowl until well combined.
Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and stir again until combined to form a moist dough.
Pop the dough into the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the peanut butter filling.
Prepare the filling by beating the peanut butter, powdered sugar, two tablespoons of the milk and the vanilla extract together until smooth. If the filling remains crumbly and will not come together, add the additional tablespoon of milk one teaspoon at a time until it holds its shape. Likewise, if the filling gets too runny, bring it back together with additional powdered sugar. The filling should be soft and moist but firm enough to hold together.
Roll the filling into 24 small balls. Divide the dough in half, then divide those halves in half so you have four pieces of filling. Roll six balls from each filling quarter. I found this amounted to a heaping two tablespoons of filling per ball.
Assemble to cookies by flattening about a tablespoon (maybe a little more) of chilled dough into the palm of your hand.
Place a peanut butter ball on top of that disc of dough and wrap the dough up around it.
Make sure the chocolate dough ball is well sealed around the peanut butter ball, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Repeat until all of the dough and balls of filling are formed into cookies. I suggest working in batches and refrigerating both the chocolate cookie dough and the peanut butter balls during any down time (see note).
Bake the cookies in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes.
Enjoy fresh out of the oven or warm cooled cookies in a microwave for 10-12 seconds for a warm treat.

Notes

The original recipe did not call for chilling the dough or the filling, but I find this helps stuffed cookies hold their shape much better than baking room temperature dough and filling. The original recipe also called for maple syrup, but I used agave nectar instead.

Weekend Update

May 11, 2013 By Love & Flour in Musings No Comments

I’ll admit, I have a thing for blondes. It started with Starbucks blonde roast coffee. I purchase a drink from Starbucks once in a blue moon because a) I dislike the drain it puts on my cash flow and b) I am convinced they spike their drinks with something that makes me think about them. Every time I drink one, I can’t wait to get another. I have no choice but to stay away because avoidance is my only form of willpower.

I like a nice pint of beer as much as I like a good cup of coffee, and another blonde stole my heart on a recent visit to Heist Brewery. I was oh so disappointed that the Raspberry Porter listed on the menu had been replaced by the Blueberry Blonde, but I tried it anyway. Now I can’t stop thinking about it.

Unlike other blueberry-infused beers I have tried, this one was light and refreshing instead of heavy and sweet. I also really liked Heist’s peach hefeweizen and their IPA mixed with root beer schnapps and cream soda. Fortunately, Heist also serves delicious food so you can enjoy all of those drinks and still walk out of there with your wits about you.

Speaking of blondes, my sister (she’s the creative force behind From Head to Bows) claims she had a blonde moment when she posted the above offer on her Facebook page. I, being the perhaps slightly uptight perfectionist, notified her as soon as I saw it. And this conversation is just one reason why I love and appreciate my only sibling:

When I react with 100 percent seriousness, she reacts by finding the light side in things. Her responses provide a perspective I sometimes forget I need. Not to mention they are highly entertaining. Sometimes she even sends me jokes:

Speaking of owls, I have had a thing for them lately too. Fortunately there are no blonde owls or who knows what I would do. My late grandmother collected owls long before they were cool, and though I never really liked those dull brown owls she had when I was growing up, now I am completely smitten.

I do not understand my rather sudden liking for owls, but I think it is here to stay. I found my white owl cake plate at West Elm, and I have my eye on their owl measuring cups. I’ve even started an owl board for desserts and assorted tchotchkes over on Pinterest. There is not much on it yet, so if you have owl ideas, I would love to hear about them.

While sitting at a traffic light a few weeks ago, I saw a bumper sticker that told me to “Love People. Cook them tasty food.” Cursory research reveals the people at Penzeys Spices are behind this nice thought.

I do not particularly like bumper stickers on my own vehicle. The only one I ever had graced my bumper before the 2008 election and proclaimed “Anyone but Hillary!” I had/have no major qualms with Hillary; I just stuck it on there because I thought it was funny. And I thought/think it is weird for a country founded by people who wanted to stay out from under the rule of one family monarchy to (again) elect a President from the same family.

This bumper sticker, suggesting we can show our love for one another by cooking tasty food and sharing it, is much less polarizing than political views. It brought a smile to my face. I hope it leaves one on yours as well. Have a great weekend!