Pepper Paints

Thursday’s Recipe …. Roasted Chickpeas-Now That’s a Healthy Snack!

I cooked up a pot of dry chickpeas and let them cool. I drained them well and even dried them off some. In a large bowl I mixed the chickpeas with some coconut oil, salt and pepper–lots of salt and pepper!

I turned the oven up to 450 and spread the seasoned chickpeas in a single layer onto a cookie sheet.

I roasted them for a long time–stirring them up occasionally. Kind of like making pumpkin seeds–they are wet and take a long time to dry and then roast. You can decide how dry or crunchy you like them. I took them out and tried them but thought they were just dry and not too crunchy. So I put them back in for a little while longer.

Just right! I think these will be a perfect snack for a long car ride!! These definitely need to be accompanied by a nice cold drink!

I am thinking of trying some different seasonings next time—with onions and garlic powder or hot and spicy spike or fresh herbs or even a little cinnamon and sugar…so many possibilities!

Thursday’s Recipe …. Countertop Sour Pickles

My kitchen has been smelling like a deli this week! It brings back fond memories of the years I spent hanging out at Bernie’s!

I shared on my twitter and face book about how great my countertop pickles tasted and was then asked by so many people for the recipe–So here it is!

I belong to an organic produce co-op. One of the other members spoke of her counter top pickles and was also asked by many of us for the recipe. She referred us to Wild Fermentation.  I linked to this website back when I made fermented carrots and sauerkraut.

Basically this is what I did–Because these were not just picked out of my garden -I soaked my cucumbers in cold water in the fridge for a few hours to crisp them up. I had regular old large cucumbers not pickling ones so I cut them in half and then quartered them. I dissolved 1 Tablespoon of salt for each cup of water. I think I did 8 cups of water for the 3 large cucumbers I had. I did not have a large enough jar so I used the inner crock from one of my crock pots. Perfect!!

After stirring and stirring to dissolve the salt I gently crushed several heads of garlic-say 4 or 5 with the back of a spoon-just to crack them open and threw those in the water with a small handful of peppercorns , 4 heads of flowering dill and a small handful of fresh dill and 2 freshly washed oak leaves from the big tree. The oak , grape, sour cherry or horseradish leaves are to help keep the crunch.

I mixed all of that around and placed a plate on the top to keep the cucumbers submersed in the brine.

I then put the lid on very loosely–leaving it slightly cracked open on one side.

The next morning I noticed a few bubbles–IT”S  ALIVE!!! Then there was a film that I scraped off over the next couple of days-then we tasted on day 2–delicious!!  Actually we ate several!

It has been really hot here so the fermenting went quickly! I left them 1 more day and then moved them into jars (that I have been saving from our Bubbies pickles) and put them in the fridge to slow down the process.M more were eaten this morning as I moved them into the jars–lucky I ordered several more pounds of cucumbers this week!

We might need to add some Rubens to the menu!!

Thursday’s Recipe …… Gado-Gado (only it’s friday)

This recipe is from Moosewood Cookbook

Sauce Ingredients:

2 T butter

1 cup chopped onion

2 medium garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

1 to 2 t freshly grated gingerroot

1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt

1 cup good peanut butter (although any nut butter would work)

juice of 1 lemon

1 T honey

1 T cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste

dash of tamari

Other ingredients:

shredded cabbage steamed or raw

carrots

broccoli

mung bean sprouts

tofu-raw or sauteed with sesame seeds

hard cooked egg quarters

fresh spinach leaves

Heat butter-add onions, garlic, bay leaf, ginger and salt. Cook until onions are tender. Stir in 3 cups of water and remaining sauce ingredients. Simmer on lowest heat 30 minutes-stir occasionally. Pour sauce over veggies.

My 2 cents—-decrease the water by at least a cup. I wished the sauce was a bit thicker. As I said above any nut butter can be used.  I used all raw veggies and included kale and chard but no cabbage or spinach this time. This is good cold too! It travels well-always a good addition to a pot luck. I have had this over noodles too-yummy!

Thursday’s Recipe Spinach & Chickpea Casserole

This is so easy it’s ridiculous and so simple that it’s hard to believe it could be so good!

Spinach and ChickPea Casserole

serves 4 (or me two times)

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

about 2 cups cooked of chick peas

3 large garlic cloves

1 (heavy handed) teaspoon tomato paste

1/4 cup of water

salt and pepper to taste

2 lbs spinach

Pre-heat oven to 400

In large casserole dish/pan heat the olive oil in the oven

In a bowl mix all other ingredients except the spinach

Add to the hot oil

Cover and cook about 15 minutes

Add the spinach, gently stirring it in (you may need to add a bit more water)

Cook until spinach has wilted–about 15 minutes