Easy Chickpea Salad

Easy Chickpea Salad

This is a light, healthy & hearty dish.  Sure to please any crowd for light lunch or scrumptuous snack!  This colorful recipe can be easily converted to a vegan version by substituting yoghurt for extra virgin olive oil!

Ingredients

• 1 can garbanzo beans or chickpeas
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 1 green or yellow bell pepper
• 3 tablespoonful finely chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 good squeezes of lemon
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoon Greek yogurt or plain yoghurt**Leave this out for VEGAN version**

• Optional *1 teaspoon tahini sauce*

Method

• Drain the liquid in garbanzo bean can and put in a colander.  Give the garbanzo beans a quick rinse in cold water.  Set the rinsed garbanzo beans aside allowing the excess water to drain
• Chop tomatoes and bell peppers finely
• Toast cumin lightly  and mix into the yoghurt.  For VEGAN version, mix the cumin in the tahini sauce.  If you are not using the tahini sauce then set the toasted cumin aside for now
• Mix garbanzo beans, chopped tomatoes and bell pepper, chopped parsely, toasted cumin, olive oil together in a large bowl
• Squeeze lemon and give a gentle toss
• Add yoghurt.  For VEGAN version, skip this step
• Add tahini sauce if desired
• Add salt to taste

Waffle Baklava

Waffle Baklava

It was a chilly, raining & lazy December evening.  I was frivolously surfing through channels on TV when it suddenly attacked me!  Although I’ve had this happen in the past, my sugar-attack never came down on me this strong!  With the sugar pang blistering in its full glory I made my way to the refrigerator…and the rest is documented in this recipe!  The start of my waffle baklava creation has become one of my favorite sugar fixes!  I hope you enjoy this satisfying recipe as much as I do!

Note: For VEGAN verison, buy Trader Joe’s wheat free & dairy free waffle.  The result is yummylishcious!

Ingredients

• Handful of almonds ( you can also mix pistachios, pecans, walnuts if you have, but almonds are a must)
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• One waffle
• 2-3 tablespoons of honey

Method

• Toast the nuts for a minute or less.  Do not let it burn or brown.  Warming up the nuts will bring out its tasty goodness even more
• Grind the nuts for a couple of seconds in a mini food processor.  You can use the coffee grinder but that will result a very fine grind…which is still good.  Just depends on your taste whether or not you prefer it crunchy
• Add the ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg to the almonds
• Toast the waffle
• Sprinkle the ground nuts mixture over the toasted waffle
• Drizzle honey over the nuts & enjoy!