Chickpea Salad Recipe

Chickpeas are so versatile. They are good in soups like minestrone, yummy in Indian food like Chana Masala, and I rarely make a salad without throwing in a handful. Years ago I used to make a chick pea loaf with gravy to substitute for turkey at holiday dinners (great with mashed potatoes!). I will be sure to post that recipe at some point. Oh, and how could we forget the basis for hummus and falafel!

Another great thing to do with chickpeas is mash them up slightly and make a cold salad like you would with tuna or chicken. My daughter and I love this! Then spread it in a pita or flour tortilla, add the lettuce and tomato and cheese and whatever else you love in a wrap, and voila!

I like to use a pastry cutter because it’s easy and because I happen to have one in my drawer. You could probably use a potato masher too, and I saw a friend of mine just use a fork one time to mash them up. You don’t want them too pureed, just crushed up but still chunky for good consistency.

I feel silly even posting a “recipe” because everyone knows how to make tuna salad. Just chop up some onions and celery, add some mayo, and mix it all together. For the chickpea salad I also throw in some cayenne pepper but not too much. Just for a little flavor (and health benefits) but not overly spicy. Parsley is good in there too. And don’t forget the salt and pepper to taste!

Whole wheat pitas stuffed with Chickpea Salad, shredded lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, shredded cheese, and dressing.

My whole life I have kept blank checks in the check box in a cabinet in my office. For my personal accounts I rarely have to access that box anymore, thanks to the convenience of debit cards.

But I run a small business from my home, and once a month have to pay the printshop in the form of a check.  I hated having to open that cabinet, get out the box of checks, rustle through the stack of check packs from all my various checking accounts looking for my business account.  I guess I was thinking that somehow the blank checks were more “secure” if they were kept all together in the same box they came in.  LOL.

Well today it hit me. Why not pull out that little pack of checks, and put it in my file box with the folder of invoices for my business?!  Why does it have to be kept in that “special” box hidden away in the cabinet.  Sometimes I would even pay the bill late just because the thought of digging out that box was too much work.  LOL!  Silly me.

I discovered this same idea long ago for things in my kitchen.  For example, keeping the box of trash bags in the cabinet closest to the trash can.  It is much easier to make yourself empty the can when the fresh bag is sitting right there next to you!  Keep cooking utensils next to the stove, whether in a drawer or a utensil holder. You don’t want to have to look too hard for that spatula when the pancake is ready to be flipped!  Oh, and a friend visiting one time commented how impressed she was that I kept my coffee filters in the cabinet right above the coffee maker.  She was amazed she had never thought of that!

Why make extra work for yourself and make things extra hard?  Keep things where they make sense.  Where they will get used without having to dread looking for them.  The less motions you have to go through to accomplish something, the more likely it is to get done.  From now on those business checks will be kept right in the file with the invoices, for easy and quick bookkeeping next month.  Who knew it could be so easy?  The trick is to allow ourselves to let go of doing things “the way we’ve always done them” for whatever reasons.

I’m excited about posting some of my recipes, but haven’t taken the time to do it yet. Mostly I’ve been looking for a theme that I like. I haven’t found it yet but in the meantime I’m going to start posting stuff. I love Wordpress and being able to change the theme at any time without affecting the content.

I have been very busy lately with work…. typing jobs and a design job. Which hasn’t left much time for working on my blog. But I’ve decided not to keep waiting for some “magical” day when all my work is done to leave me time for hobbies. You just have to squeeze in the hobbies here and there. Balance out your day with a little bit of everything instead of devoting too much time to any one thing.

So as my first “real” post I’m going to put up something that I originally wrote as a testimonial to send to Flylady. I don’t know if she will publish it in her email list or not, but she did write me a very nice thank you note for sending it to her.