Make-Ahead Chickpea Salad

Vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters all love this tasty, colorful dish. 

Make-Ahead Chickpea Salad:

1/4 c. (60 mL) olive oil

3 tbsp. (45 mL) cumin seeds (or 1-1/2 tsp. (7 L) dried, ground cumin)

1/2 tsp. (2 mL) dried chili pepper flakes

4 garlic cloves, crushed
8 oz. (225 g) mixed sprouts

Two 19-oz. (540 mL) cans chick peas (garbanzo beans), rinsed, drained

1/2 cup (125 mL) sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained, slivered, blotted dry

1/4 c. (60 mL) fresh parsley, stemmed, packed, finely minced

2 tbsp. (30 mL) fresh mint leaves, stemmed, packed, finely minced

1 lemon, zested and juiced

3/4 lb. (0.34 kg) English cucumber, unpeeled, in 1/2-in. (12.7 mm) dice. 

Salt, to taste

In heavy skillet over medium setting, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add cumin seeds (or powder) and chili pepper flakes. Cook 1 min., stirring constantly, until the seeds are golden brown. Add mixture of sprouts, lentils, peas, or whatever you find interesting. I buy mine in a small box in the produce department. 

Whatever the brand, mixed bean sprouts add “crunch”!

Adjust heat to medium low. Add garlic, stirringly frequently, cooking 3 min. or until the garlic is soft. Remove from heat. Add chick peas and sun-dried tomatoes, mixing well. 

Stir into seasonings and chickpeas until heated through.

 

In small bowl, combine minced parsley and mint. Add to chickpeas, mixing well. Add juice and zest to chick peas, also mixing well. Add cucumber, also mixing well. Add salt, to taste.

Chill several hours, allowing flavors to blend. Serves 8 as a main course and 12 as a side salad.

With the addition of well-drained sun-dried tomatoes,
you’ll be on your way to a refreshing warm-weather salad! 

Cilantro-Lime Salad Dressing

This superb recipe uses a food processor on the “pulse” setting. Don’t use a blender: The sought-after effect is to chop - rather than liquefy - the cilantro. You’ll find this dressing perfect for summer salads of almost any type - vegetable, fruit, or coleslaw. 

Cilantro-Lime Salad Dressing:

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped

1 garlic clove

3/4 tsp. (7 mL) powdered ginger

1/4 c. (60 mL) lime juice

1/3 c. (80 mL) honey

2 tsp. (10 mL) balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp. (60 mL) salt

1/4 c. (60 mL) cilantro, stemmed and packed into measuring cup

1/2 c. (125 mL) olive oil

Add all ingredients except olive oil to food processor. Add olive oil drop-by-drop while very briefly pulsing (the feeding tube for newer food processors will do this for you); pulse until all oil is entirely added and cilantro is in small leaf form. Don’t strain this dressing. Rest dressing in refrigerator 30-to-60 min., so flavors can blend. Remove from fridge several minutes before serving, allowing olive oil to return to room temperature.

Yummy Vanilla Ice Cream

Do yourself a flavor. Buy an ice cream maker. But be sure it’s an electric one - not the hand-crank kind, unless you enjoy building up enough muscle that your upper arm (singular) looks as if it’s sprouted a potato. 

Not the hand-crank kind, unless you want to blog about living “the simple life.” Not the hand-crank kind, unless you want to turn your family and friends - who’ve already experienced the misery of hand-cranking at your place - against you and against ice cream, in which case you can eat all the homemade ice cream you can crank, all by yourself.

Buy an electric ice cream maker unless you’re Amish, in which case I respect your stoicism and strength even though you won’t be reading this recipe online. 
Hand-cranking homemade ice cream is a whole lot of work and not a whole lot of fun. An electric ice cream maker is foolproof and plenty of fun. I recommend it.

Yummy Vanilla Ice Cream:

2 eggs
3/4 c. (180 mL) sugar
2-1/4 c. (560 mL) cream (10% milk fat, also called “coffee cream”)
1 c. (250 mL) whipping cream 
1 tsp. (5 mL) vanilla extract

As with all ice cream recipes, the canister and plastic blade of your ice cream maker must be deeply frozen, having sat in your deep freeze at least 7 hr. Do not store ice cream in canister. 

With an electric mixer, beat ingredients 5 min. or until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is frothy. Pour into canister with blade pre-positioned inside. Place canister on ice cream maker. Cover and turn on ice cream maker. 

Check after 20 min. If you prefer your ice cream a little harder, add a further 5 min. Do not over-process. Serve ice cream immediately, storing in covered plastic containers for up to two months.