Saturday, March 14, 2015

Chickpeas and Stars

I made this recipe, another one from Pinch of Yum, two weekends ago, and have been meaning to share it on the blog, as it was soooo delicious.

It is called Roasted Veggie Pitas With Avocado Dip. She doesn't often have a short and sweet name, but the recipes are often just that: short, as in easy to make, and oh so sweet as in delicious. This was no exception. I will type out the recipe below just so you have it in one place, and let you know what changes I made, but click on the link I provided to see that it turned out pretty much exactly as Lindsay's photo!

Roasted Veggie Pitas With Avocado Dip (on a quilt-as you go reversible table mat, lol)

Avocado Dip
2 ripe avocados
1-2 cloves garlic
2 T olive oil
2 T water (more as needed)
a handful of cilantro
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
half of a Serrano pepper (I used some leftover canned jalapeños)
juice of one lime

While the veggies are roasting (see below) purée the dip ingredients in a food processor (I used my blender) and set aside.

Roasted Veggies
2 heads of cauliflower (I used one)
2 14-oz cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I used one)
1-2 tsp chili powder
1-2 tsp garam masala (which I could not find in a couple different grocery stores, so I found this link here, and put in about 1/4 the amount called for in her recipe of cumin, black pepper, cinnamon and cloves, because those are the spices I had in my cupboard here)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper if you want spicy (and I'm not a fan of really hot food, but I put this in and it was great, a zing, but not overpowering)
oil for drizzling
salt and pepper to taste
8 small whole wheat pitas (we had enough for 4)
plain Greek yogurt for topping

Preheat the oven to 425F. Pat the cauliflower and chickpeas dry with paper towels.  Arrange in a single layer on one large baking sheet, if you have halved the recipe as I did, two if you did not.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with spices.  Gently shake the pan as well as mix gently with a spatula to coat evenly. Roast 15-20 minutes, stir, and roast another 15-20 (less if you've halved the recipe; I did 15, stirred, and then did another 10 and it was fine.  The cauliflower will be golden brown and the chickpeas will be semi-crunchy.

Assembly:  Spread each pita with a spoonful of Avocado Dip and top with roasted veggies. Sprinkle with extra salt, pepper if desired (I didn't), cilantro (I did) and a dollop of Greek yogurt on top.  I found the yogurt cut the spiciness perfectly.  As you see from my picture, I cut the pita in half so we could have a snack as a sample.  This, I discovered, was the best way to eat it even if you were planning on having a whole one or more, as we did for supper, as it makes picking it up and taking bites out of it a little more manageable.  Of course, you can use a fork and knife and be all civilized if you like.  If not you will need a napkin for sure!  Really delicious and the veggies warmed up nicely both in a small pan on the stovetop (I avoid the microwave as much as possible) or in a pinch, in the microwave.  The dip kept nicely in the fridge too.  Good protein here for us vegetarians too.

And here's a peek at one of my soon-to-be in-progress quilts.  This is a test block for another pattern I have in the works.  I spent half an hour this morning trying to find the blog of the girl where I first saw this block, to no avail. She was using it for her guild nametag.  If you recognize the block, please let me know, A) the name of it, and B) if you know whose blog that might have been on.  Now to get the damn diagrams done on my first pattern, Pocketful of Sunshine. Then I can upload it to Craftsy!

Speaking of Craftsy, they are having a terrific sale (and you know I love sales) on pretty much all of their classes.  They have lots of free ones, (I may have taken a few of those) as well as lots of awesome educational (and that's coming from a teacher here) classes in quilting, knitting, cooking, photography, painting, and more (I just looked: at least 16 different fields including Gardening! Who knew.)  I have sung the praises of Craftsy for no payment for well over a year now, but now I have become an affiliate, so if you'd like to try a class, click on the link on my blog, and if you do decide to try one, I get a bit of thank-you-moola from Craftsy.  If you are unsure as to how it all works, then send me an email, ephdra at gmail dot com, and I can happily answer any questions.  I have bought classes as well as patterns both while down here in Florida as well as up north in Ontario, so it works across borders, and we quilters love that, bahaha.  Since this post is getting waaay longer than I anticipated, I'll talk about the patterns I've purchased in another post.

yep, should've cropped this...I DID pick a bunch of threads off the design wall




4 comments:

  1. I am always looking for tasty vegetarian recipes and I am definitely going to try this one. It looks awesome with the roasted veggies and avocado spread.

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  2. Sounds delish!!!! Being a vegetarian most of my life, I can appreciate how yummy this would be!!! As I hate to cook (gasp, noooooo, REALLY??!!), I usually just use the same old same old. Good for you for always trying new and exciting! (Bit of role reversal there by the way - usually it's you the old one and me the new. Just sayin'. Bahahaha!!) Anyhow good for you for getting reimbursed for all your kudos to Craftsy. And that purple quilt thingy on the design wall is beautiful!

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  3. Oh that recipe looks yummy Sandra! I have only recently gotten Jim to like hummus. He always had a chick pea aversion before that.

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  4. PS...I think the next time Alina (our family vegetarian) visits that I will be asking you to recommend a few things to try!

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