Peanut Ginger Chickpea Salad Sandwich

My head is in hyper crazy mode lately,and I am sure I am not the only one. There are so many things going on all at once. I can get a little frazzled and fizzled and just plan beat ass tired. And then I think about what to make for dinner.

Boom. My mind melts and my stomach growls. Some nights all I want to do is come home, skip real dinner, and just eat carrots dipped in mustard and call it a night.  But the mr, he can't live off of carrots.(I probably couldn't either) So I make.dinner. (Where is my trophy for being the best?) But nothing to fancy and it needs to be fast ans easy.  I have been thinking more about things that I can make on the fly, things that are healthy and satisfying. Foods I can make that can be wrapped, packed and eaten on a milk crate in between tearing down a wall. And tasty...needs to be good.

Sandwiches. That is where it's at. And this sandwich. Watch out!

Nothing to do with this sandwich but I am sitting here at 8pm on the couch, writing out this post, getting a face time call from a 5 year old little. He really needs to talk to me.... and about what? What does a 5 year old need to talk about this late at night? Well he needs to talk birthday cake, a duh. He needs to show me his cake diagram he made that consists of 9 full sized pieces of paper taped together. (he said the cake didn't have to be that big). And he cannot possibly go to sleep until I am aware of his cake design. Well little dude, I got it. A chocolate/vanilla/red/green/and purple cake only 2 feet high, in the shape of mind craft and flavored like happiness. I am on it. Now go to bed.

So yeah, back to sandwich. This is probably one of the quickest, most satisfying sandwich that I have ever made in my entire life (seriously) Creamy and rich peanut ginger smothered chickpeas paired with crisp, slightly tangy veggies.. Ridiculously fast and easy to make. A sandwich that is worth having a famous person eat it, declare it #1, rename it the (insert cool famous person name) sandwich and forever be known in the sandwich world. But until then, or before then, you can get on this sandwich band wagon and say you ate it before it was famous. You will then be the coolest person ever. (maybe a slight exaggeration)

The stuff. Chick peas in bean juice, apple cider vinegar, a big scoop of creamy peanut butter, some soy sauce, a few cloves of garlic, fresh ginger and a little bit of honey, Also going to need some cabbage, a carrot and a half of ared onion.

Do this first... Slice the veggies as thinly as you can, stick them into a bowl and splash with apple cider vinegar. Give it a good toss and set aside.

Grab another bowl and stick in the peanut butter, soy, and honey. Grate or super finely mince the garlic and about a tablespoon of the fresh ginger and add that in, along with a splash or two of the apple cider vinegar. Grab a little whisk (a fork will do) and start mixing.

As your whisking, add in about 2-3 tablepoons of the bean juice. Whisk until the sauce is light and fluffy.

Strain the chickpeas from the remaining liquid,  toss them into the sauce and mix all around.

Sandwich time.. I think you get the idea. The veggies and the beans get stuck onto the bread.

And closed onto each other. A sandwich to make anyone, anytime, anywhere, all day long....HAPPY.

Bye!

-C

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Peanut Ginger Chickpea Salad Sandwich

makes 2-3 sandwiches

• 2 cups chickpeas (and a few tablespoons of the bean juice)
• 1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter (I am a fan of Trader Joe's)
• 1 teaspoon honey or brown sugar if vegan
• 1 tablespoon soy (I actually used Braggs liquid aminos, but either will work)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (plus another tablespoon for veggies)
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• Abut 1 1/2 cups of shredded cabbage
• a small carrot shredded or thinly sliced
• 1/2 a small red onion sliced super thin
• bread/wrap/whatever you want to sandwich the salad in

Right away stick the carrot, cabbage, and the onion into a shallow bowl and drizzle on about 1tablespoon of vinegar. Give them a good toss and set aside. ( the longer they sit, the better they taste)

In a separate bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, honey, soy, and the other 1 tablespoon vinegar. Grate or mince the garlic and the fresh ginger and add that in as well. As you are whisking this together, add in about 2 tablespoons of the bean juice. Mix until light and fluffy. Strain the remaining juice from the chickpeas and add them into the sauce. Toss to coat.

Note... I did not show it, but i mashed the chick peas a little bit, so they were not all rolling around and completely falling off the bread.. so you might want to do it too.

Now compile the sandwich.. A handful of the crispy sour veggies and a scoop or two (or however much you want) of the chick peas goes in between two slices of bread (or in a wrap). Toast the bread if you wish.

And eat. Smile, lick your fingers, and be satisfied that you can forever make this amazing sandwich in like 3 minutes whenever you feel like it and that it is most likely going to have a cool famous person name.

Lemon Broccoli Biscuits

On my recent shop at the grocery store, I picked me up a bunch of my favorite King Arthur flour, like five 5lb bags because I know that I am probably going to go through it within the next few weeks. (all Christmas cookies) Plus it was on sale. And not just regular all purpose, all of the varieties were on sale, including the self rising flour, which I have never used before. I have been curious so I figured that sale flour meant that I should buy it and try it out. So buy it I did, and I am now a lover of self rising flour.

The first thing I did was look up simple recipes to use and found one on the King Arthur web site for never fail biscuits that were only 2 ingredients. (self rising flour and cream) Well that seems easy enough, except I don't have cream, just soy milk on hand, and I really can't help but wanting to add a little something extra to the mix. So I went with broccoli (in was in the fridge) and lemon. But other then that, still easy biscuits I have ever made.

These biscuits cook up so super fast and take almost not work at all to make.. they seem almost like magic. . Perfect for all of us who rush home before dinner and discover that there is no food in the house. But if you have self rising flour, a quick dump and mix and a little time in the oven, and you got yourself some biscuits thatare super fluffy on the inside, slightly crisp on the outside. The texture is what really surprised me, how tender and biscuit-y they turned out without having to cut in any fat. Amazing!

These biscuits can be turned into any number of dinner options (the mr had buttered biscuits with lentils) and any left overs can be serves up for breakfast.  I wish I had know beforethat self rising flour was so great! It's kinda like have a box of bisquick on hand, but way way better. I think that I am going to have to go back to the store and stock up on this too... I have a feeling that mr is going to be eating all sort of fun flavored biscuits for dinner in the next few weeks.

Oh,  the mr says I have to warn you, . If you don't like broccoli, you will not like these biscuits. But for those who are broccoli people, these will make your day!

The stuff. Some slightly stemmed chopped up broccoli, a lemon, soy milk, ans some self rising flour.

 The soy milkgoes into the bowl with the broccoli and gets blendedup with a hand or (or use a regular blender). And you don't want to make it completely smooth, some chunks are good.

Dump the broccoli soy mixure into the flour and then the zest of the lemon. Add in a tiny pinch of salt.

A quick mix until everything is just incorporated.

And the dough gets plopped onto a baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little lemon juice or water (or a mixture of both) right before they go into the oven... then stick them in the oven.

And after about 20 or so minutes, the biscuits have risen , the tops starting to brown, and the smell from the oven is happy. So you should pull them out of the oven now.

And let cool, just enough to handle, then grab a biscuit, split n half, and smear something buttery on it.

-C

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Broccoli Lemon Biscuits

Makes 12

Adapted from King Arthur's Never Fail Biscuits

• 1 1/2 cups self rising flour(King Arthur flour)
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 lemon
• 1 cup slightly stemmed broccoli *
• salt to taste
• Any additional flavors you want (garlic powder, pepper, some sumac.. whatever)

Note. Slightly steamed broccoli.. Just toss chopped broccoli into a pot with enough water to cover the bottom of the pot. Stick a lid on it, and place on heat until the broccoli is slightly tender and the water is evaporated, or about 4-5 minutes. Just make sure you don't over cook it and turn it to mush.

Preheat oven to 450.

Dump flour into a big bowl. With a hand or regular blender, blend together the soy milk and broccoli. Dump the wet mixture into the flour. Add in the zest of the lemon and mix until everything is just incorporated. With a spoon or a scooper , scoop out 12 similar size blobs and drop onto a baking sheet. Brush the tops of the biscuits with water or lemon juice and sprinkle with a tiny pinch ofsalt. Place in oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the biscuits are starting to brown and look done.

Remove from oven and eat as soon as they are cool enough to handle. Eat as is or smear on some buttery something or another.

Beet- Sweet Potato And Lentil Casserole

Once in a while I make a dinner that the mr does not want to eat, like anything with too much corn or things made with lots of vinegar... not his taste. Don't get me wrong, most of the time, he will eat what I make (casue he loves me) but he clearly doesn't really like it. And that's when pup usually gets left over for dinner. (He always likes everything that I cook)

One of those things that I know the mr doesn't like are beets. Sure, he will eat things that has a few beets in it, but once he found out that this casserole starred beets, his eyes widened and he looked worried, like "oh great, but please don't make me eat this". Not to worry. He was getting pasta for dinner because this casserole was not for him. It was for me. It has everything that I love in the word (food wise ) tossed together and baked into a pretty skillet, just for me. Plus the beets, sweet potato and kale were the last from the farm share.  So it was my good by farm food, casserole of greatness. And I didn't want to share.

So yeah, if you are not a fan of beets, or any of the other stuff in this casserole for that matter, then don't make it. But if you are awesome and know the greatness of the beet, especially paired with lentils and sweet potato, well I suggest you go and make this right away. And bonus... it's super healthy and hardy which make for a great dinner on a cold night and after all the holiday food last week. 

The stuff. A large sweet potato, a couple of big beets and some dried lentils.  Gonna want some veggies, like an onion, carrots, cabbage and kale. Also want garlic, some salt and pepper, water and tiny bit of olive oil.

First thing first, get the beets and the sweet potato in a pot to boil* Just dice then up and toss into a pot with enough water to submerge the roots. Sprinkle in a bit of water ad bring to a boil, stick a lid on pot, and turn hat to medium. 

*Note. I boiled my beets and sweet potato in one pot because well, I just didn't want to have one more pot to wash. But if you do this, your sweet potato will turn slightly pink, whichI think is really pretty. If you want your sweet potato puree to look orange, gonna have to dirty another pot and boil the beets separately.

And chop up our veggies and mince the garlic. Drizzle a tiny amount of oil into a skillet or pot, toss in veggies (minus the kale) and cook on medium heat just until they start to soften a tiny bit. Once the veggies are cooked, remove them from heat, add in chopped kale, and set aside.

And make your lentils. (i used the pot I just cooked the veggies in. The less dishes the better!) Water and lentils into pot with a pinch of salt, bring to boil, cover and place on low until lentils are tender.

Cooked and ready to go!

When the beets and sweet potato are fork tender, drain water into a jar and separate the beets from the potato (if you boiled them together). Blend the beets then the sweet potato until it’s the consistency that you would enjoy eating it (I like a little bit of chunk, not completely smooth) Use the drained water to thin out as much as you need/want.

All the stuff ready to compile.

Grab the cooked veggies and toss them into a oven safe skillet or casserole dish and mix together with the lentils. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Now evenly spread the beet puree on top of the veggies

Then ever so gently, spread the sweet potato on top of that.

Give the top a good pinch of salt and pepper and stick the thing into the oven.

Remove from oven when the sweet potato has browned andis slightly crispy.

And scoop a big old scoop into a bowl, grab a fork, and stuff your face!

Happy today day!

-C

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Remove from oven, let cook for a few minutes then eat it with a fork, a spoon, or your fingers.

Beet Sweet Potato and Lentil Casserole

Make 3-4 servings (or one serving for me!)

• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 medium beets
• 1 cup cried lentils
• 2 cups water
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• a medium yellow onion
• 2 carrots
• ¼ head of cabbage
• a few kale leaves
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Note.. I did not add extra seasoning to this because I love the taste just as it is. But if you are feeling like it needs some seasoning, just add some in.

Start by chopping the beets and sweet potato into medium sized chunks and boiling them until they are fork tender. You can do this either in two separate pots or in one large pot. (if in one pot, the sweet potato will turn a little pink)

Once those are boiling, chop up all the veggies (not the kale yet) and the garlic and toss into a pot or skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and cook on medium heat until the veggies are slightly tender. Remove from heat, add in chopped kale and set aside.

And make the lentils ( I cooked the veggies in the pot, removed them ans used the pot to make the lentils... less dishes). Dump the 2 cups water, a pinch of salt, and the lentils into a pot.  Bring to boil, cover, then turn heat to low. Cook for about 20 minutes until the lentil are tender.

Preheat oven to 400

Once everything is cooked and ready to go, dump the lentils and the veggies into oven safe skillet or casserole dish and mix around. Take beet puree and spread evenly over the mixture. Then do the same with the sweet potato puree.  Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper and stick the casserole into the oven to bake until the top is all browned and slightly crunchy (about 30 minutes)

Remove from the oven, let it cool for a few minutes, then eat it. Fork, spoon, or your fingers work.

Split Pea Casserole

Just about every morning I wake up at the ass crack of dawn (actually its still dark out) make coffee, do a few things, usually read a bit while eating my breakfast and drinking my third cup of coffee, and start a pot of soup for lunch. All before 7am when I yell up to the mr. to get his butt out of bed.  I love it and I look forward to the mornings of me time.

So soup. I like to start the soup early and let it cook for a while. I start the soup, bring it to a boil, and then stick it on simmer with a ton of water. And then I am off for the day. The deal is that I leave, but the mr. leaves about an hour after I do and he will turn the burners off. And he has been so good about it. Sometime I might shoot him a text to make sure the burners are off, but most of the time I just trust.

Well about a week or so ago, I made soup, went about my morning. Upon my return home, before I even walked down the driveway, I could smell the burning soup.

 I rushed in just in time. The house was not on fire! But the pot of split pea soup… it was about to be. The pot consisted of about  three-inches of thick, burnt to a black brick, soup and about an inch of super thick burnt but still slightly green pea goop on top.

Now don’t judge me here, but that goop…. I ate it. And it was so good. I know, I sound kind of gross, but whatever I don’t care. That little bit of super thick burnt pea paste was some of the best burnt food that I have ever eaten.(I love burnt food)

So this casserole gets a bit of inspiration from that goop. No, it is not burnt to almost an inedible state, but it gets thick and a little crispy and is so so freaking good. This is one of those dishes that I will make and continue to eat even though I cannot possibly eat any more. It’s that good.

As for leaving the stove on while I am gone.. That's not really happening anymore.

The stuff.  Dried green split peas, some water, Italian spice blend as well as garlic and onion powder. Also salt and pepper, a bay leaf, carrots, an onion, a couple of potatoes, a chunk of cabbage, and a parsnip. All good, all of what I have in the fridge at the moment. 

Start by chopping up the onion and sticking it into a big heavy pot. Take all the spices and mix them together in a little bowl and dump half of them into the pot with the onion, the bay leaf and a splash of water. Place on medium heat and cook until the onions start to soften and the water has evaporated. 

After the onions have cooked a bit, add in the dried split peas and a bunch of water (split peas suck up water like crazy) Turn the heat up to high and bring the stuff to a boil then turn heat to a medium and place lid on pot. Let cook for a while, giving it a stir every now and then to make sure nothing is sticking and burning to the bottom of the pot

While the split peas are cooking, chop up all the veggies into mouth sized chunks and mix them together with the rest of the spices and toss them into a skillet or casserole dish. 

And the peas.. Once they are all falling apart, they are ready.  Now is also a good time to preheat oven. 

Dump the cooked split peas all over the veggie mixture and mix around a bit. Grab that last potato and slice really thin.

Top the veggies with the potato and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

And into the oven it goes!

Bake until the veggies are all tender and the top is all crispy (about 35-40 minutes) and eel free to even stick under a broiler for an even crisper top.

Pull it from the oven when its ready and let it sit for a few minutes to set up a bit...

And scoop yourself a big helping and eat! All it needs is a fork (But mustard tastes so good with it too!)

Have a great Monday!

-C

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Spit Pea Casserole 

serves 3-4

• 3/4 cup dried green split peas
• 3-1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons Italian spice blend
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 yellow onion
• ¼ head of cabbage
• 3  white potatoes
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 big parsnip

Note… I used the veggie that I had on hand. So say you don’t like parsnips, don’t use them or want to add celery, go for it. Just make sure to have at about 4-5 cups of chopped up veggies.

Take all the spices and mix them together. Dice onion into little pieces and stick into a big heavy bottom pot with half of the spice blend, the bay leaf, a few pinches of salt and pepper, and a splash of water. Stick on stove and cook for a few minutes until water evaporates and the onions are fragrant and starting to soften. Now dump in the dried peas and 3-1/2 cups water.  Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and place a lid on the pot. Cook the peas, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes of until falling apart.

In the mean time, dice up the veggies (leave one potato to top with)into mouth sized chunks and stick them in either a casserole dish or a 12-inch oven safe skillet. Mix in the other half of the spice blend

Preheat oven to 375

Once the split peas are done, take the pot and dump into the chopped veggies and mix around. Take remaining potato and slice thinly. Top the casserole with thin slices of potato and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stick that bad boy  into the oven.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy and the peas have thickened. 

Remove from oven, let rest for a few minutes, and serve it on up!

Cashew Creamed Kale with Pomegranate

  I use to suck the juice out of the seeds (they are actually called arils) of the pomegranate and spit out the actual seeds... I thought that the seeds were poisonous. (I blame my sister for this .She is the one that told me that).  And it turns out that it is an actual thing. That other people think that the seeds are not edible, so I guess don’t feel so duped. But I leaned. The seeds, they are very much edible, and very much tasty. I love biting into a pomegranate seed, letting the juice flood my mouth, followed by a nice little crunch from the seed inside, just like little crunchy red jewels. And the method of removing the seeds just makes them that much better. When you have to whack a fruit for it's edible parts, it got to be good. And to make this clear…. to all the people out there that thick the seeds are poison… the seeds are NOT POISION. In fact, they are quite good for you.

Now that that has been established, we can get to eating these little pearls the right way.  And being all holiday and jolly lala, I was thinking of some classic side dishes that are typical around this time.  Creamed spinach came to mind, but that just seemed a little boring. That’s where the pomegranate comes in.  You add pomegranate to anything and it’s not boring anymore. Also I switched out the creamed part and replaced it with cashew cream, and spinach with kale… cause that’s what I do. And the results are fantastic! Sweet, creamy, crunchy, earthy... All the best flavors. And even though I ate most of it hot, it’s definitely a side that moves from hot to cold and still taste super great. Would even make a nice sandwich or maybe add a little bed of grains and you got yourself a nice little lunch.

But the again, you probably wont have any left overs

The stuff. A bunch of kale, some cashews that have been soaking for a little while,  and a pomegrante  (I only used half of one). We also need us some more fresh water, a lemon, a few cloves of garlic and salt and pepper.

Remove the arils (thats what the juicy seeds ae called) by placing half the pomegranate into a bowl and whacking  it with a big wooden spoon. (martha stewart taught me this)

Strain the soaking cashews and dump them into a blender with the juice of the lemon, the garlic, some fresh water and some salt and pepper.

Turn blender on and blend until a nice smooth consistency

Chop up the kale and place into a really big skillet with a few splashes of water.

Once the kale has wilted, pour the cashew cream all over it. 

Add in the pomegranate  seeds

And get yourself a fork (bowl is optional( and eat. 

Creamed food never tasted this good!

-C

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Cashew Creamed Kale with Pomegranate

makes 3-4 servings 

• 1 bunch (abut a pound) Kale
• 1/2 cup cashews that have been soaking in water for a little while
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 lemon
• 2-3 loves garlic
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (about 1/2 a pomegranate)
• salt and pepper to taste 

Take your pomegranate , slice in half, and place half seed sside down into a bowl. Take a big wooden spoon or something like it, and whack the outside of the fruit. The seeds will all fall out.. but check for any stuck seeds

Strain cashews from soaking waterand dump into a blender with the juice of the lemon, the garlic, ¾ cups of water, and a pinch or two of salt. Blend until a smooth a creamy cream. If you think the cream is to thick, add in another splash of water

After washing kale, chop it up into smallish pieces. (remove stems if you want.. I don't, I like the stems) Stick the kale into a large skillet with a few splashes of water and a sprinkle of salt and place on the oven on medium high heat. Stir around until kale is wilted and the water has evapotated. Pour on the cashew cream, mix around and top with the pomegranate seeds.

and eat..hot or cold. Its all good.