A taste of spring

The stunningly bright sunshine from yesterday spilled into today, making this eating machine very happy indeed. I had a great run (despite forgetting my peach-mango coconut water and agave bears) and got to drink coffee with The H and a good friend afterwards. I'm not one to waste a good beautiful day by lying around, so after my shower and second breakfast, I got to work in the kitchen.

Today's recipe of choice, that will be snacks and lunch for the coming week, comes from the pull-out recipe card page of the March/April 2010 issue of Clean Eating Magazine. I stocked up on the necessary ingredients last week, when I took my parents and the little guy to our favorite grocery store. Last night I slow-cooked dried garbanzo beans so they'd be ready. One pound of dry beans yielded four 8oz cooked portions that I froze today.

Edamame and Chickpea Slaw

from Clean Eating Magazine, Vol. 3, Issue 2

serves: 6 (generously)

serving size: 1 cup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh chickpeas

Olive oil cooking spray

1/4 tsp sea salt

4 tsp olive oil, divided

1 head broccoli stalks, shredded

1 head cabbage, shredded

1 head purple cabbage, shredded

1 cup shelled edamame beans

3/4 cup green or red bell pepper, julienned

1 1/2 cup carrots, shredded

4 green onions, chopped

Vinaigrette:

2/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp honey

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp caraway seeds

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450* and place chickpeas on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Drizzle with two teaspoons of the oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for 30 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. Remove from the oven to cool.

2. Combine broccoli, both cabbages, edamame, bell pepper, carrots, and onion in a large bowl (not kidding about the LARGE part here) and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, garlic, caraway seeds, pepper, and remianing two teaspoons of oil. Pour dressing over salad and mix gently. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Before serving, top with roasted chickpeas.

The recipe looks a bit lengthy, and truthfully it did take about an hour to put together, but I made a few shortcuts. Instead of shredding each of the two heads of cabbage and the carrots, I bought a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix--green cabbage, red cabbage, and carrots.

I used pre-shelled frozen edamame. It needed to be boiled before using, so keep that in mind as an extra step if you do the same. Start the water when you preheat the oven for the garbanzos.

I may have been only supposed to use the stalk part of the broccoli, but I wasn't sure, so I used the florets as well, like I would have with any other recipe. I chopped it rather than shredding it.

I used some red and some yellow peppers for a bit of extra fresh color.

Roasting the chickpeas at such a high temp for 30 minutes makes them crunchy all the way through. Other recipes I've tried for roasted garbanzos never seem to get *quite* crispy enough. These are remarkably crouton-like, a nice option for The wheat-free H. I would like to make another batch with spicy seasonings for snacking sometime soon.

This recipe just looks like spring to me. I can easily see it making an appearance on the table at family potlucks or picnics. The apple cider vinegar gives it a nice mild tartness, and the caraway seeds provide a sneaky little pop of flavor. I love edamame any way I can get it, so to have those shiny little beans hiding in there is fantastic. The garlic and onion really develop over the half-hour of chilling time. I served this with tonight's dinner (turkey Italian sausages on the grill) and just about fell off my seat when The H not only said he liked it, but actually got up for seconds. His only criticism was that it could use more dressing.

Nutrition information:

Calories 268

Total fat 5g

Sat. fat 0.5g

Carbs 47.5g

Fiber 12g

Sugar 17g

Protein 12g

Sodium 199mg

Cholesterol 0mg