Chickpea Salad on Crackers - VeganMoFo #2

Chickpea salad is the shit. You should probably make some. It's insane on crackers. It's killer on toast. Hell, it's great on a spoon. No matter how you eat it, I assure you that you'll dig it. One can of chickpeas makes enough for 2 sandwiches or an entire sleeve of crackers. It will keep for at least 24 hours in the fridge, but I can't imagine that it will even last that long. Be warned: chickpea salad is insanely addictive.

I have made this so many different ways, but the following is my basic version. Add whatever you want: celery, seaweed, whatever. Go forth and create food!

What you need:

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2-3 Tb vegan mayo (I prefer Vegenaise)
• 1 TB mustard
• 1 dill pickle spear, chopped (also good with a spicy dill spear)
• 1 tsp pickle juice
• 2-3 TB minced red onion
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce or aminos
• salt and pepper
• pinch of fresh dill (optional)
• 2 TB sunflower seeds (optional)

What you do:

1. Pile everything into your food processor and whir it until it reaches a consistency you dig. Adjust your seasoning and chow down.

Ever eat chickpea sandwiches? They're a staple in my world. I love taking them for lunch at the library because they don't make your bread soggy (I absolutely cannot deal with soggy bread) and the flavor seems to get better as it sits. As for the bread, I never much took any interest in foccacia, but the fella came home with a giant, flat loaf from the store today. I wondered what the hell I was going to with it. Alas, I made a sandwich. And it was great. The foccacia was soft inside and chewy outside. Better yet, it was vegan!

This little recipe started with a recipe I found on Happy Herbivore's blog a couple years ago, and has constantly evolved ever since. This makes 1 sandwich, but I'll leave it up to you to double/triple/whatever.

What I used:

• 1/2 can drained chickpeas (About 2/3- 3/4 cup)
• 3 TB diced onion
• 2 TB sunflower seeds for a little crunch
• 1 TB Vegenaise vegan mayo
• 1 1/2 TB dill relish
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 TB nooch
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1/8 tsp dried dill

What I did:

1. Put everything in your food processor and pulse a few times, until the mix holds together. If it's too dry, add a little more mayo or dijon mustard and pulse a few more times. Spoon the mix out onto some bread, top with some baby spinach (or lettuce) and a slice of tomato. Dig it.

Green Day...the food, not the band + Dog Blankie

I completely forgot to do my St. Patrick's Day post last month of all the green food I ate that day! I was emptying out the SD card for my camera this morning and stumbled upon my green food photos. So, Better late than never...or whatever. If you don't like it, well, too bad because here they are.

Breakfast: Green Smoothie
Ingredients:

• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/2 banana
• 1/4 cup fresh pineapple
• 1 clementine orange
• 1 small apple
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/4 cup cranberry juice
• 2 TB flax meal
• ice, if you want some

Method:
Put everything in the blender (I so LOVE my Vita-Mix for smoothies) and blend until well combined.

Lunch: Chickpea Salad SandwichIngredients:

• 1/2 cup (slightly heaping) cooked chickpeas
• 1 TB + 1 tsp Vegenaise mayo
• 2 tsp mustard (yellow, spicy brown or dijon are all tasty here)
• 2-3 TB raw onion
• 1 heaping TB nooch
• 1 TB dill relish
• 1 TB unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 tsp Braggs Aminos
• Green food coloring

Method:
Put all ingredients in a food processor and whir a few times, until combined. I like mine chunky, but you can puree if you want. It's your sandwich, after all.

Dinner: Green Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli and Chickpea Patties
The chickpea patties are just the chickpea cutlet recipe from Veganomicon, made into thicker patties instead of cutlets. I always add more garlic and some steak sauce to this recipe. The Mashed potatoes are easy:  green food coloring, Earth Balance, almond milk and salt. And, well, if I have to describe how to steam veggies, you may be a hopeless case.

So, there you go. My St. Patrick's Day green meals. Late, but oh well.

As for my Eco-Craft I started a last week, I am almost done! Check it out :)