Disconnected.

So, I know I promised organic foods today....but I can't seem to find the words. You see, the wonderful petree dishes that I live with brought home their "end of the school year, aren't you going to miss daycare" cold. Yesterday I couldn't breath at all, and today my head feels about twice the size that it normally does. I ordered some eucalyptus and peppermint oils for my cleaning arsenal, but those won't be here until the end of the week (at best). So, today I will suffer in silence.

Yeah, me suffer in silence. Who am I kidding? I will suffer until my husband gets home. Then I will whine and make HIM suffer. (LOVE YOU BUNCHES HONEY!)

In the mean time, I also promised a post every day. Darn it, I'm at least going to deliver on THAT promise.

This last weekend, in an effort to counteract a recent unbelievably large grocery run, I made a couple pots of beans. I made black beans for later in the week, but I also made chickpeas. Chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans.

Now, garbanzo beans/chick peas are often used in hummus (I believe that they are garbanzo beans when dry, chickpeas when cooked up). I have found them to be a very useful bean otherwise. They are quite flavorful, and have a different sort of consistency. They blend up quite nice in hummus, but they also mash for a chunkier texture, or can be eaten whole.

Here, I described the first steps in making your own hummus as actually making the beans.

"Start by soaking the beans all night or day. Wash and toss the ickies.When ready to cook, place beans in a dutch oven, with around a gallon of water.Bring to a boil, cook for 1.5-2.5 hours. You want a bean that can be mashed with a little effort, blended creamy easily, but isn't falling apart. When done, pour into a colander and drain."

When not making chickpeas for hummus, I highly suggest amending this by adding some olive oil, spices, and salt to the boiling beans. A friend of mine suggests the last hour, but I sometimes do it right from the start of cooking (not soaking, mind you) with success. I've tried thyme, sage, and fresh basil. I really love the way the fresh basil turned out recently. Basil has sort of a buttery flavor that worked with the beans. For me, salt is really important to bring out the flavor - and you need a surprising amount. Testing an underdone bean during the cooking process won't hurt you, and it will allow you to get a feel for what spices need to be adjusted. It's better to go light on a spice early, decide the flavor isn't full enough, and adjust. Better, that is, than adding too much of something. In the mean time, I would start with a tablespoon of whatever spice you want to try to start.

So, the beans are cooked, now what?

Chickpea Sandwiches: Mash them with a fork, and make an egg salad or tuna fish-like sandwich. I add mayo, mustard, and dill relish to mine. With my recent basil find, I tried just some balsamic vinegar and mashed it all together, then on a bun. AMAZING, a bit better than they mayo, and vegan if you lean that way.

Add to any salad for a protein burst

Eat with rice, for simplicity. Stealing an idea from a friend, I added some light sour cream to the beans and it worked. It seemed weird, but it worked. Not a ton, just enough to "dress" the beans a bit.

And, lastly, my new favorite - Chickpea Salad. I haven't given orangette any love lately, so here I go. Uber simple, and tasty. I just had this for lunch.

It is time for me to nurse my head cold, but before I go, I wanted to give all of Miranda's friends and family a quick shout out. Miranda told me that she My Spaced you all - and I wanted to say thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you again real soon!