In Praise of Chickpeas

Even though the temps are back up in the 90s this week, the recent cool weather flipped a switch in my brain, and all I can think about is fall! In the kitchen, that means I’m craving soups and stews. For lunch I made the Almost-Instant Chickpea Tomato Soup from Vegan on the Cheap. I could tell just from reading the recipe that it would taste great, and it did. And it took only ten minutes to make! No sautéing, just throw everything in the blender and then quickly heat it on the stovetop. Sometimes I find that vegan soups can be watery and lack the creamy texture I want, but that was not the case here. It was so velvety and rich.

Jackson liked it too, so I’m sure this will become a lunchtime favorite for us.

Yes, I take all my pictures by placing the food on Olivia's high chair tray. Whatever works!

For dinner, we had Curried Chickpea Patties from 1000 Vegan Recipes. Tony said, “So they’re like falafel?” But no, they were more like a burger. The wheat gluten gave them that chewy, “meaty” burger texture. I served them with curried Veganaise, as suggested, on ciabatta rolls. I was really pleased with this recipe, too. I would be happy to pay for either of today’s meals in a restaurant, seriously.

I laughed when I realized I’d gone through two cans of chickpeas in a day, but really, I wasn’t surprised. Is there anything this little bean can’t do? Sometimes I’ll roast them as a snack, sprinkled with a little nutritional yeast. If I don’t have time for that, Jackson loves to eat them straight out of the can. I could eat my weight in hummus, so I guess that’s where he gets it from. Go, chickpeas!