Chick Nuts

I usually like to exercise first thing in the morning- it keeps me grounded and based in reality for whatever may be coming for the remainder of the day- but I had a couple of appointments to go to yesterday. My plan was to take care of some stuff I had to do, come home, work a little and then go to my friend Diana's yoga class in the afternoon in town. Exhausted after running errands and appointments, I finally got home and wouldn't you know...... my All-Wheel-Drive "Vermont" car got stuck......in my own driveway....so after almost an hour of insisting I wasn't stuck, and after Claudine and me dug the thing out, I was finally...unstuck........but IN NO MOOD..... to say the least. I came inside feeling all wiggy, off and displaced. After all was said and done it was around 4 o'clock.

I needed to figure out dinner because if it was not addressed, I could see my mood going from bad to worse. So we decided on Rosemary and Garlic Chick Peas- they came out delicious but I have to tell you how I got there because what happened along the way was what was REALLY amazing....

So I drained two cans of beans (no time for dried to start), and in a hot pan, sauteed some garlic and chili pepper. I put the chick peas in and tossed them in the oil garlic mixture and covered them with water. I got the Brown Basmati rice ready in water and on the stove. I was reconciled that I needed to move, I needed to do something especially after feeling so agitated, so now my plan was to go upstairs and spin for 30 minutes, 40 at the most. So off I go, chick peas are on low and when I went upstairs, I just didn't feel like doing much- so instead of the spinning, I rolled out my mat and went into Down Dog. It felt simple and amazing so I just started to flow on my mat. I started doing inversions and balancing poses and my practice just kept coming- I did big poses that felt absolutely incredible, Queen Pigeon and Splits- it just poured out of me voluntarily which was surprising seeing I had felt pretty benign about practice some time earlier.....so about AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER .....I came downstairs to an incredible smell and Claudine at the stove- literally scraping out the chickpeas from the bottom of the pot!

All of the water had cooked out of them and they were "roasting" in the oil on the bottom of the pan- she had been out walking with the dogs only to come into the hissing sound of the pot. She salvaged about 1/2, unscathed by the heat and was transferring them into another dish when I walked in.
I tasted one the "burnt" ones.....IT WAS SO FRICKEN DELICOUS! I ate almost ALL of them- saving the few Claudine could get to. So today, I am "roasting" chick peas...ON PURPOSE.....

• two cans of organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  
• 3T Olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed, minced
• 1 chili pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
  

Toss everything together in a bowl and transfer to a cookie sheet and bake for 50 minutes in a preheated oven at 450. These should taste just as delicious before going into the oven so season them to your taste.
You could spice them with cumin or different tastes but they are SO satisfying. They are an amazing source of protein (7 grams) and fiber (5 grams) per 1/2 cup. They are nutty, crunchy and are perfect as a quick in-between snack.


Dinner last night was indeed delicious- Garlic Rosemary Chickpeas with Brown Basmati Rice Pilaf (I tossed the cooked rice with the 1/4c of leftover lentil soup I had in the fridge- let it heat altogether in the last 5 minutes of cooking) with Sauteed Lacinato Kale.

After dinner and clean up, I immediately put dried chickpeas in a pot to soak over night to make the
Chick Nuts today......All 4 cups of them!