Hearty “Everyday” Chickpea Salad

I have gained weight and have a little belly which is unacceptable to me! Rich or poor I have always been thin DAMMIT, so why is it every time I am in a relationship I gain 10-15 pounds...Ugggg! I am attributing this to the “Freshman 15”  with a slight variation of a new relationship vs. college. Most associate the term "Freshman 15" with the phenomenon of how college students gain weight their first semester attending a college or university. College freshmen seem to be the most susceptible to gaining weight their first semester (or year) at college, mostly attributed to a severe lifestyle change. While my collage days are long behind me (we won’t go into how long, LOL). I know I have gone through a very severe lifestyle change (for the better). Before meeting S, I was a retired “club/party girl” and single for many years, living the life of a starving artist creating and designing jewelry for several years since I gave up my day job (catering sales manager) . I pretty much ate and slept when I wanted to and only when my body demanded it. I met S and moved to Vietnam to be with him and now we live in France. I LOVE food (actually we both do) and experiencing all the different foods during our travels (Vietnam, Singapore, Bangkok & Paris), not having to work, having the money to really cook  nice dinners again, being rather isolated due to language barriers and therefore marking the time of day with meals and  a more regular sleep schedule; I realized just how out of control this has gotten when S jokingly said I looked a little pregnant. So I am starting a new diet regimen of fresh veggies, whole grains and lean meats. We just walked (burn those calories!) back from the green market (beautiful fresh veggies) and a local Lebanese grocery (dried beans, bulgur and brown rice) and now I am now planning what to do with the treasures we purchased.

Our dinner tonight will be this “Everyday Chickpea Salad” recipe I got from Shutterbean, one of the blogs I am following They in turn adapted it from  Appetite for Reduction, by Isa Moskowitz.  One of the reasons this recipe appealed to me was the fact that no oil is used in the dressing. I have no issue with olive oil but using cashews as a substitute intrigued me and it turns out the oil is not even missed. The other attraction to this recipe is that this seemed like a guilt free “hearty” salad that would fill you up without the eggs, cheese or meat I would normally associate with a "dinner" salad. Diets make me grouchy (just ask S!) and I am doing this diet without any diet pills or any of my old fallback remedies. So I am happy to say that we just finished dinner and my stomach is full, my taste buds satisfied and I am content.  I made a couple of substitutions to the original recipe based on the seasonal fresh produce that I randomly picked up today at the green market and what was in my cupboard, see notes at bottom.

Hearty “Everyday” Chickpea Salad

Makes 2-3 large dinner size servings
For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup cashew pieces
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup white wine or water
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoon natural brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Place the cashew pieces & shallot in a food processor and pulse until totally chopped (chunks are still visible) . Then add the rest of the ingredients. Blend for at least 5 minutes, and scrape the sides with a rubber spatula. Now blend until completely smooth.

For the salad:

• 1 cup Fine Bulgur cooked & cooled
• 1-2 large green onion (including green part), thinly chopped
• 1-15oz. can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
• 1 pepper, sliced (I used 1/2 red and 1/2 green)
• several cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 4 cups mixed mache & roquette lettuce (Mache is otherwise known as Lamb’s lettuce or Corn lettuce and Roquette is Arugula)

In a large mixing bowl, mix all but the greens together. Add the dressing (reserve a bit for the greens later) and toss to coat. Keep chilled in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days. I tossed the greens with the reserved dressing and then added to the rest right before serving.

My Notes:
-Shutterbean's recipe calls for:

• Couscous instead of Cracked Bulgur
• Spinach instead of Mixed Greens
• Shallots instead of Spring Onions
• Water instead of White Wine.
• Agave nectar vs. natural brown sugar ( gee, I was fresh out of Agave LOL…but really many Vegan’s use this as a sugar substitute)
• Original recipe included cucumber and a couple fat cherry tomatoes  that were sitting in my veggie drawer was my addition.

-Shutterbean suggests other possible fixins: avocado, sprouts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, roasted bell pepper, artichoke hearts...whatever your heart desires!

A day at the Parc

We got a bit of am late start today partly due to being on holiday schedule (sleeping in) and partly due to the holiday post office schedule. I just had my first two sales since I moved to Paris and reopened my Etsy shop. Yea!!! After finding a post office that was open in the afternoon we decided to take advantage of the warmer (and dryer…no rain today) weather and go to the park.  In our haste to get out the door we forgot the camera and a picnic lunch but we were able to purchase sandwiches at a small concession stand in the park and I actually got some ok pictures using my new HTC Windows phone. (This shout out is in honor of “S”, a devoted Microsoftee)

I was amazed to see peacocks loose in the parc and they were quite friendly. The white one actually took food from my hand and sat with us for a moment.

As we walked through the park we saw other peacocks but only one like the white one who shared our picnic. As the sun was going down you could hear them calling to one another…mayo…mayo. Very cool!

This parc is also a botanical garden with beautiful gardens wild to formal.





It was getting dark by the time we got to the rose garden but it was spectacular with hundreds of varieties of roses in bloom.



As we were leaving we found this little guy…I think he was tuckered out too.

My Petite Paris Kitchen: Pork Chops w/ Moroccan Spice Rub, Ratatouille & Couscous

It has been almost a month since we moved to Paris from Hanoi.  Our charming (and by that I do mean small, lol) temporary apartment is  a second floor walk up on Rue de la Tour in the 16th District.  We have been exploring our new neighborhood with S giving me direction (as I do not speak French - yet!) to and from the nearest weekly green markets, grocery stores, butchery, cheesery (love that place!) etc. I now feel comfortable enough to try a home cooked meal…now the challenging part…our kitchen. I have had many small and functionally challenged  studio apartments when I lived in  Atlanta, Ga. and this kitchen certainly brings me back to those days. This kitchen is tucked under the eves between the living room and bedroom and features: a 2 burner cook top (no oven), a microwave and a little refrigerator which sits under the counter top between the sink and the bar.  Recently I of been following a cooking blog “Big Girls, Small Kitchen” and have found a lot of inspiration there so I am putting on my “big girl pants” trying out this new kitchen.  Note: I have noticed that prep time takes a bit longer than normal since I have a hard time finding a spot to put chopped up ingredients, being organized and working in steps is how I am going to go at this.  These recipes are my own and are easy to make with seasonal produce in addition to things I found in my cupboard.

Step 1: Spice Rub on the chops

4 pork chops
Apply your favorite Spice Rub, sea salt and freshly ground pepper to both sides of meat, I used  Ras el Hanout which includes: red chili, cinnamon, grey pepper, garlic, ginger, mustard, nutmeg, cloves, paprika 
Rewrap in butchers paper and let rest in the refrigerator while you are assembling everything else.
We (that is a royal we as in I asked  S to actually cook the chops, he he) cooked the chops last after everything else was finished .
Place chops in a dry non-stick skillet on high heat to begin with to brown both sides then continue cooking on medium heat until the centers are no longer pink. Approximately 10-15 min. depending on the thickness of the chops.

Step 2: Home made salad dressing

Make my favorite “go to” summer Lemon Caper Salad Dressing …. light garlicky citrus based with some capers thrown in. I am making this second so the flavors will have time to blend before serving.

2 cloves of garlic mashed through sea salt with mortar and pestle 
Add zest and juice of one good sized lemon and olive oil to the same bowl you used to crush the garlic
Throw in a couple of teaspoons of capers
Pour into a small jar and let sit until ready to use
This dressing will keep for a week in the refrigerator.

Step 3: The Ratatouille

Ingredients:

• 2 medium eggplants
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 medium shallots
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• sea salt
• 3-4 T olive oil
• fresh basil
• fresh Italian parsley
• splash of white wine
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes w/ juices
• additional salt and pepper to taste
• freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional topping on finished Ratatouilli)

Method:

Slice and dice eggplant sprinkle with sea salt and let sit of to the side while you prep the rest of the veggies. I read somewhere that the salt draws out any bitterness that the eggplant may have. I pat the water that is extracted from the eggplant with a paper towel before adding it to the pot.
De-seed, slice and chop red and green peppers and put aside (separate from the eggplant)

Roughly chop shallots, I do not worry about making them into perfect pieces but slice and then chop to roughly even sized pieces. Peel slice and chop the garlic in the same way. An easy way to peel garlic is to place a clove on your cutting board then using the broad side of your chopping knife smash it with the palm of your hand. The papery skin pops right off the garlic and any little bits are easily removed with your fingers. I have always had fun with this slightly brutal method for peeling garlic and find it therapeutic, lol!

Add 3-4 T olive oil to a large enough pan to hold all ingredients over medium heat. Sauté garlic and shallots until they are translucent and soft. Add your chopped peppers and continue to sauté. Using a paper towel pat any moister off the diced eggplant and add to the pot. Stir and cook over medium heat until the veggies begin to soften. Add the two cans of tomatoes with juice. Cover, turn down the heat to low and simmer stirring occasionally until the veggies have cooked down, approx. 20 min.

Chop basil and parsley and add to pot during the last few minutes of cooking along with a splash of wine (I love to have a glass of wine while I cook so I usually add a splash of whatever I happen to be drinking). Salt and pepper to taste.  Stir,  cover,  taste (just to make sure it’s really good) turn off the heat and let rest on the back burner until you are ready to serve. 

In my petite kitchen I am now washing all the dishes I used putting this together while I make the couscous.

As I mentioned before I asked S to cook the pork chops which are ready to go since I did the spice rub in Step 1 and sitting in the refrigerator.

I have a glass of wine, toss the salad and relax while he is doing this… Voila….dinner is served!