Lemon Quinoa and Chickpea Salad

A couple people mentioned the lack of 2 Teaspooning in recent weeks. I promise, no one's missed any kitchen excitement, as I haven't really cooked anything since the sun came out in late June. I do not enjoy a warm oven or stove when the weather is warm.

But I do love quinoa and chickpeas, and both are great additions to salads. They're cheap. They're lovely at any temperature. They're light and don't overwhelm salads, like some other additions (cheese, meat). And along with the healthy fiber and protein in chickpeas, quinoa is a complete protein. I remember from a college Nutrition class that complete proteins are necessary for humans, but since they're primarily found in animal products, it's sort of lucky to find them in vegetarian/vegan foods. So there you have it. Eat more quinoa.

Both chickpeas and quinoa also have an impressive history: chickpeas have been eaten for at least 7,500 years, originally in the Middle East and Mediterranean. Quinoa is a South American food, eaten for 6,000+ years, and considered the sacred "Mother of All Grains" by the Incas.

If you don't know quinoa, it's similar to couscous: fluffy, light in flavor, quick-cooking. It's officially a "pseudocereal," not a real grain (couscous is officially a pasta). It can be red or yellowish -- red is prettier, but less common in stores. Quinoa is low-maintenance: add boiling water and cover for 15 minutes.

For this salad, I made my quinoa rissotto-style, adding a little water at a time and stirring, then adding a splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper, and sliced scallion at the end. I added canned chickpeas (rinsed and drained) in the last minute of cooking, to heat them. Then I tossed over mixed lettuce and herbs from the garden. Very little hot-stove time, and definitely better than a diet of popsicles.

Simple Bread Spreads: White Bean

I received this very As-Seen-On-TV spinning/pulling/chopping gadget for Christmas. While the device definitely does not chop neatly enough for most uses, I've discovered it minces like magic, and provides a 'rustic' (not entirely smooth) puree in moments.

So here's the first little dip I made recently: white bean with olive oil. It's super easy -- just don't get too laissez faire and or your liable to forget, for example, all of the parsley.

White Bean Dip with Parsley Oil (or just oil, in my case)

Food & Wine magazine

Ingredients

• 1 C dried white beans (I used navy, which always confuse me because I expect them to be blue)
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 thyme sprig
• 1 bay leaf
• 3/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and fresh pepper
• 1 C flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 C celery leaves

Cover the beans with 2 inches of water in a saucepan. Add garlic, thyme and bay. Bring to a boil, then simmering for about two hours, stirring occasionally and adding water to maintain level.

Drain, reserving 1/3 C of the cooking liquid. Remove herbs, and transfer beans, garlic, cooking liquid and 1/4 C of the olive oil to a food processor. Puree. Season with salt and pepper. Here's where I used the spinning/chopping gadget (officially the Chef'n VeggiChop). It worked perfectly, and was way less mess than the food processor.

Very finely mince the parsley and celery leaves, then add to the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the white bean dip to a shallow bowl, and pour olive oil mixture on top. Or, if you have forgotten the entire part about parsley, just top with plain olive oil and season with extra salt and pepper.