Eat Well: Garbanzo Beans with WWW

*updated below*
IMG_0844
When Rebecca was a teenager, she practically lived on garbanzo beans (chick peas, for those of you on the East Coast!). She would dump a can in a bowl and add whatever else we had in the house (often canned corn and leftover vegetables covered with freshly ground pepper). It’s no wonder that she craved them…she was, at that time, the only vegetarian in the house and I hadn’t yet figured out how to cook vegetarian cuisine. Garbanzo beans are hugely nutritious and are especially high in iron and protein. They are versatile because of their texture and can be ground into flour for falafels and flatbreads, blended to make hummus, marinated in salads, used as a basis for veggie burgers, or can take center stage for a great vegetarian meal. Canned garbanzos are of course easiest, but cooking the dried ones doesn’t take very long and the difference in flavor is well worth the trouble. (Plus they are about a fourth the price). You can freeze them, so I often make a lot, freeze in packets, and defrost when needed.
IMG_0853
Hummus is a staple in our house; my husband and I eat it every day for lunch. It makes amazing sandwiches…add tomatoes, roasted peppers, avocado, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar for the best sandwich EVER. Home made is so much better than store bought, is cheap, and is a snap to make. I make a huge bowl of it at a time and it keeps for a week. Since I am gluten free, I eat it with Mary’s crackers or with a slice of gluten free bread, open faced, topped with veggies. Archer and Fable love my Hummus…Archer calls it “Gooey Thomas” (Archer gave me the name, Gooey, when he first started to talk). Here is my “Gooey Thomas.”

Gooey Thomas (Hummus)
3 ½ cups cooked garbanzo beans (chick peas) or two cans, drained
½ cup tahini (sesame paste)
Juice of 2 or 3 lemons
2 cloves garlic (more if you LOVE raw garlic)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cumin
Good quality olive oil
Warm water

Put all ingredients in the food processor except the olive oil and the water. Turn on processor and add about a ¼ cup of water and a few tablespoons of oil or until the consistency that you like. Process 'til smooth. I like mine on the thick side, so I don’t add much oil and water. Taste and correct seasoning if necessary.

Variations: You can substitute lime juice for the lemon juice and it’s wonderful. For a really Mexican flavor, add cilantro and a half a jalapeno pepper at the end of the processing. Don’t over process these. Other variations: roasted peppers, basil…you can experiment with different oils, too, such as Meyer lemon.

NOTE: if you don’t have a food processor, you can mash garbanzos with a potato masher and blend all the ingredients in your mixer on high.
………….
Several years ago I took a Northern Italian cooking class from the amazing Nadia Frigeri, and have been making this garbanzo stew ever since. It’s a wonderful summer meal as it uses red peppers, basil and tomatoes, but I often make it for Thanksgiving or Christmas so that we vegetarians in the family have something scrumptious to eat!

Garbanzo beans, Tomatoes, and Sweet Pepper Stew (Ceci Stufati Ai Peperoni)
(For a quicker version of this, use 1 jar prepared roasted peppers and 4 -5 canned garbanzo beans. If using canned peppers and beans, rinse WELL in a strainer under water to remove the brine).

2 cups dried garbanzo beans (or 4-5 cans, rinsed well until no foam appears, and drained)
2 medium red bell peppers, roasted and cut into 1 inch pieces (can substitute roasted peppers in the jar to save time, rinsed and patted dry)
½ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon pepper flakes
1 large yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
4 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped basil
3 T chopped parsley
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. (Omit this step if using canned) Rinse and place chickpeas in a medium bowl, add enough water to cover by 2-inches, set aside to soak, preferably overnight. Drain. (Or boil for 3 minutes and turn off and let sit an hour). Place pre soaked or pre cooked garbanzos in a medium pot. Add enough cold water to cover by 2-3 inches. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cove and cook until beans are tender but still firm, about 45 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. (Omit this step if using canned) Roast peppers (split and seed them, flatten, and broil close to the broiler until blackened. Let rest in a paper sack for 10 minutes and peel).
IMG_0832
IMG_0833
3. Heat oil in a large heavy saucepan or casserole. Add olive oil, pepper flakes, garlic, and onions. Cook about 5 minutes. Add garbanzos, tomatoes, basil, half of the parsley, salt, pepper and red peppers.
IMG_0837
IMG_0839
4. Cover and simmer about 10-15 minutes. Taste to adjust seasoning and transfer to serving bowl or platter and serve with Israeli couscous or quinoa (recipe below). Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve. Serves 6.
IMG_0840
... with a side of Israeli Couscous or quinoa:
Cook quinoa or Israeli couscous according to package directions, enough for 6 servings. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, sauté 2-3 green onions, finely chopped, 2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped, and 3 T olive oil. Add to cooked couscous or quinoa.
IMG_0844
………….

Here is a delicious and healthy snack that will be a hit with the whole family:

Roasted Garbanzo beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 T olive oil
salt and pepper
seasonings of your choice (garlic powder or herb/ spice mix)

Preheat oven to 350. Rinse beans until no more foam forms. Drain well and pat dry. Toss in oil and season with salt, pepper, and seasonings of your choice. Place on baking sheet and roast for 40-50 minutes or until they are slightly browned and make a rattling sound when shaken. Watch them at the end so they don’t get too brown. Serve warm or let cool.
IMG_1109
Delicious!

Other ideas:
You can use garbanzo flour as a great wheat flour substitute. The French and Italians make wonderful flat breads with garbanzo flour…socca in France and farinata in Italy. Here is a great recipe for this bread used as a pizza crust, ideal for gluten free diets/fun and easy to make with the kids.

And the most fun of all, garbanzo bean balls! This is similar to falafels, but raw, soaked garbanzos. Kids LOVE them. You can serve them in pita bread with tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki sauce, as an appetizer, or in recipes calling for meatballs.

Garbanzo Bean Balls
1 c. DRIED garbanzo beans
Water
3 green onions or
1/2 c. chopped parsley
4 garlic cloves
1 egg
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Oil for frying
Sesame seeds
IMG_0852
garbanzo beans post-soak vs garbanzo beans pre-soak

Soak garbanzos in about 5 cups of water overnight.

Drain. Place all ingredients in food processor, except sesame seeds. Process until almost smooth. Let sit for 15 minutes and refrigerate until cold. Form into balls or disks. Roll in sesame seeds and fry in hot oil until brown. Turn and fry on the other side. Drain on paper towels.
IMG_0855
Serve warm or cold (can be made ahead and reheated). Fable LOVES these!!!
IMG_0865
IMG_0862
...And if you want an easy traditional falafel recipe, Bob’s Redmill Farms has a great one.

I hope you enjoyed my garbanzo bonanza!!

WWW for GGC

Today we're giving away three copies of the health and nutrition manifesto, The China Study, one of the most important books you've never read. Unless you've read it. In which case, you will probably agree with us re: its eye-opening-whoa. Three winners to be chosen at random, announced Friday. All you must do to enter? Tell me your plans for tonight's dinner. Me? I'm making... yeah, another quinoa dish. (Its recipe I'll post next week.)
***
Updated: Congrats to Commenters #17 (Irene!) #61 (K's 2:27pm) and #143 (Mrs. Sitcom!) Please email me asap so I can get your books to you and thanks to everyone for participating!

169 comments:

Rhea | 11:06 AM

"Gooey Thomas" is just about the cutest thing I've ever read/heard.
Tonight's dinner will be a tomato basil "pizza" veggie burger! on a whole wheat wrap with mad veggies, yo. Frozen cherries, dark chocolate and a half-pint-sized green smoothie will make an appearance for dessert.
HOORAY FOR BOOKS AND FOOD!

Joyti | 11:09 AM

Homemade hummus, I'm sure, is so much better than store-bought. Because I'm of Indian origin, we ate a lot of garbanzo beans when I was growing up - its a staple in Indian cuisine.

Amy K | 11:09 AM

My parents are in town visiting, so we'll probably go out to eat at our favorite local Vietnamese restaurant. They serve a shrimp-on-sugarcane dish that's to die for.

Anonymous | 11:09 AM

I love garbonzo beans. Thanks for all the new ideas. I didn't realize that chick peas was an East coast name. I was born in Utah but raised mostly in Virginia. So growing up we called them garbonzo beans but in college I was corrected by all my friends. Now I call them by both names.

I don't venture out of my comfort zone very often when it comes to foods. Tonight we will probably have grilled veggies and whole wheat pasta with some delicious melon and berries from the Farmers Market.

I love these posts.

Esther

Anna Coleman. | 11:09 AM

Amazing recipes again, thanks so much! I've been looking for this sort of thing for ages.

Tonight's dinner? I'm short on time, so I'm throwing some olives, roasted peppers, feta, herbs and oil on top of some open wholewheat bread rolls.

Ashley | 11:14 AM

Tonights dinner will most likely be some form of Quinoa with a light salad. I usually don't know exactly what I'm going to make until I get down to it. Hopefully tonight's meal will be a wonderful adventure rather than a distasteful disaster. haha.

wanderingbella | 11:16 AM

I'm super-excited to try some of the garbonzo recipes! For dinner tonight I will be having mini flatbread pizzas topped with a dash of olive oil, 2 kinds of heirloom tomatoes from a local farmer, basil from my garden, garlic and goat cheese!

Stephanie | 11:17 AM

I am trying out a new recipe tonight....a cabbage casserole - like stuffed cabbage but without all the work.

GIRL'S GONE CHILD | 11:18 AM

WHOA! Everything sounds amazing! I'm salivating over here!

Christine | 11:20 AM

Veggie burgers for dinner tonight!

Kathryn | 11:24 AM

We are going to be eating leftover ham, cabbage & potato soup. We are trying to use up all the cabbage from the garden before it spoils!

cora d | 11:24 AM

Tonight's dinner...my husband is cooking! BBQing, actually, since he texted me that he was picking up some charcoal...I'm guessing chicken breasts in a Thai marinade with green beans or corn on the cob. Yum.

Claire | 11:28 AM

I think we're probably looking at a salad night! Sometimes a lot of green makes most sense. Love GGC!

Chelsey F | 11:29 AM

Love these posts! I am headed to a work party tonight so dinner is TBD based on what they are serving. I can't wait to start making these recipes for my boyfriend and I though!

Jo B | 11:31 AM

I've heard a lot about that book and am interested to read it! I am taking advantage of the cooler weather and making one of my favorite easy 5 minute dinners: eggs "poached" in homemade tomato sauce with a side of sauteed spinach or broccoli rabe.

Ann | 11:31 AM

MMM...sounds wonderful and easy. Tonight's dinner will be on the grill; bbg ribs, fresh green beans and as salad probably

Irene | 11:31 AM

veggie lasagna w/a farmers market salad for family dinner @ my aunts tonight :)

Home Sweet Sarah | 11:32 AM

Tonight's dinner: enchiladas!

Today's lunch, though? Quinoa succotash and fish, leftovers from dinner last night. Thanks to YOU, it was my first time using quinoa and it was quite the hit, even with my husband who doesn't believe a meal is a meal unless there's meat.

Laura B. | 11:36 AM

Tonight it's grilled squash and eggplant from the garden plus a mache and goat cheese salad!

Sonja | 11:38 AM

Wow, thanks for the great ideas WWW! I love chick peas, as we do call them in NC and we love hummus but I've never made it myself. Can't wait to try all these new recipes. You also inspired me to find local eggs with your last post, and I'm happy to say we've been eating a local farmer's eggs since last week - and practically giddy at how much better they are. Plus the kids get a kick out of visiting Chicken Little & Henny Penny! Tonight's dinner will be an eggplant casserole. The farmer also grows white eggplant which I've never tried so I'll be using those. I told him about your Iranian dish with eggplant and eggs and plan on taking the recipe to him the next time I go. He's also a chef and was very interested when I told him about the recipe you posted. Thanks to you I've found a fabulous new resource for organic vegetable and eggs. Thank you!!

Courtney | 11:42 AM

I think baked potatoes stuffed with broccoli and a cheese. And a salad if I get a chance to go to the store before dinner. We were supposed to be out of town this week, so I didn't do grocery shopping. Luckily I always keep some veggies in the freezer.

Allison | 11:45 AM

I love these recipes, Wendy, and now I have a craving for chick peas (as we call them in Vancouver). It's pretty funny Archer started calling you Gooey. When my brother (now 29) was little, he started calling our uncle Gooey. I wonder if it's something in the baby brain?

Cheers - Allison

Karen | 11:45 AM

Delicious looking recipes! I love chickpeas (yep, east coast represent...and Canadian to boot)

Tonight's dinner: homemade veggie grain burgers with arugula mushrooms and arugula, salad and fresh strawberries for dessert..yumms

Lindsay Q | 11:47 AM

Tonight I'm cooking roasted lemon chicken thighs with quinoa spinach salad! Yum! My man won't touch the quinoa, but it leaves more for me! :-)

Amanda | 11:50 AM

I made my first batch of quinoa last night and the verdict all around was- AWESOME! I substituted water with chicken stock (the husband doesn't have the vegetarian leanings as much as I do at this point, so alas chicken stock instead of the veggie I wanted) added some butter and voila. It kind of tasted like chicken fried rice. I added a few slices of avocado on top and that was good enough in itself. Next dinner I'm adding cilantro (I'm a cilantro junkie for sure), some lemon juice and some shredded cheese.

It's going to be a blast experimenting with this stuff!

Anonymous | 11:53 AM

I'm loving your mom's recipes. Sooooo happy they are gluten free!! Dinner everynight at our home is gluten, sugar and starch free. Tonight will probably grilled pork chops with mashed cauliflower and squash cooked on the grill.

Rebecca
zekeandrebecca@bellsouth.net

Unknown | 11:57 AM

Tonight dinner is quick taco salads. It's too hot to eat anything hot! Can't wait to try out the hummus - looks amazing.

Althea | 11:59 AM

I am making a lentil salad with grilled wild salmon! Cilantro on everything. Yes.
Mommy will probably have some sprite zero and vodka with lime, too....

Katie D | 12:09 PM

LOVE this post. I never realized how easy it is to make homemade hummus!

Tonight we are likely going out as we ran out of leftover BBQ food last night and the heat wave combined with no AC is killing us. :)

MissAnna | 12:10 PM

Thanks for the great recipes! I'm still trying to remember that the dry garbanzos swell up so much...I always end up with WAY too many beans...never thought of freezing them!

We're doing pizza margherita with a side of local asparagus!

Dana | 12:12 PM

I can't wait to try out your recipes -- especially the stew.
On tonight's table: chicken breast (baked only with a splash of olive oil and sea salt), fresh zucchini from our garden sauteed in olive oil and sprinkled with a a little sea salt and parmesan at the end, plus fresh cucumber from the garden (served in slices with a dash of pepper).
And for dessert: leftover chocolate zucchini cake.

Restless Mama | 12:12 PM

I'll be baking some salmon and making a raspberry/lime sauce for the little Mancub to dip it in. Yum!

Anonymous | 12:15 PM

Im crock potting a pot roast, which probably horrifies everyone on this site, so I probably need the special book more than anyone! :) And Im also going to make corn on the cob and possibly fry up some polenta, which I ahve never made, but is sounds yum and was on sale at the store. :) Love you Rebecca!

Molly | 12:17 PM

Love these recipes and I'm with you on everything up till the China Study... While it has a lot of good in it, this book also has some real methodological flaws, a good deal of overextrapolating and some very misleading descriptions of the scientific literature -- which sucks, because there is a lot of great scientific evidence out there for the health benefits of vegetable foods, and using overextrapolation and cherry picking only hurts our ability to understand and share this sound science.

ona | 12:20 PM

sweet potato baked fries and cold white bean salad...mmm...

love the recipes! keep 'em coming!

chisparoja | 12:24 PM

Tonight we are making grilled chicken sausage with squash and tomato skewers and a greek orzo dish. PS - I love chick peas salad in the summer - so good!

Megan! | 12:31 PM

Cannot wait to try "Gooey Thomas"!

Tonight's dinner is a mystery. I have some tilapia in the freezer. Sigh. I'm not excited about cooking right now.

Jessica | 12:37 PM

tonight it is mahi mahi tacos with lime cabbage slaw. yum.

yvette | 12:42 PM

ooh! thanks for this! i became vegetarian around two months ago and i have always loved chickpeas, but now eat them much more. i've been thinking about making my own hummus! tonight, i'll probably do something involving rice, indian curry sauce and chickpeas...

Khon Kaen Traveler | 12:57 PM

I love these daily giveaways! My dinner for tonight is a little boring. It's scorching here on the East Coast, so I'm going to have a simple romaine salad with chopped red bell peppers and grape tomatoes. I'm going to top it off with some feta cheese and light Caesar dressing. :)

Nicole | 12:57 PM

Tonight we only have an hour in between work and daycare and having to be at the ball field.. so I'm going to make a quick chicken stir fry.

NOELLE ALOUD | 1:06 PM

Yay for chickpeas! (I'm a West Coaster, but I say "chickpeas" because it sounds really friendly.)

Tonight's dinner just happens to be a chickpea dish - "Chickpeas Romesco" from Veganomicon (which makes the whole house smell like a fabulous Italian restaurant), with brown rice spaghetti and zucchini.

Abby Johns | 1:07 PM

Tonight we will probably have salad for dinner since it is so stinkin' hot outside! I absolutely love hummus, and I want to try my hand at making my own at home. My daughter and I can kill a container of Greek hummus in one sitting it is so amazing!

robin | 1:19 PM

I find myself randomly thinking of you and your quinoa. I like quinoa. I do. I'm just not disciplined/motivated/whatever enough to cook up big vats of it and actually eat it everyday! Call me crazy...or lazy. I wish I could do it. Maybe someday.

Tonights dinner? BBQ!

ste | 1:23 PM

Annie's Veggie burgers, baked potato and green beans. As little cooked in the house as possible.

Unknown | 1:23 PM

I'm using the crock pot to make shredded chicken sandwiches. yum yum! We'll probably have celery with it- it's my favorite when it's as hot out as it is today! I need to get to a market though for fruit. We're all out.

eva goodwin | 1:23 PM

This is an amazing collection of garbanzo recipes, and I think WWW may have just inspired me to start soaking my own garbanzos. If it's really that easy...

And tonight? Well, today was the farmers' market, and in San Francisco that means cheap fresh local produce. So it's basically all vegetables tonight: grilled corn on the cob, green bean and cherry tomato salad with shallots and red wine vinaigrette, and a peach & strawberry fruit salad for dessert!

Tiffany | 1:25 PM

This has become my favorite section of GGC. I love the recipes and have tried most! You and your mom rock the veggie kitchen. Thanks for all the great ideas!

Tiffany | 1:27 PM

I didn't realize there was a give away! I am making the quiche from last week with the hashbrown crust, super yum (I hope)!

Jen | 1:32 PM

We're having italian beef sandwiches. Yeah, I know, you guys are healthy vegetarians. We're hearty Chicagoans. We need our meat!

Libbi J | 1:34 PM

dinner... will either consist of going for vietnamese or pasta and meatballs. but of course there's tons of fresh baked goods sitting around using the fruits of the season!

all i ate in college was hummus! soooo good.

Mrs. Q. | 1:36 PM

I'm stewing up some quinoa as we speak! I made some yummy quesadillas filled with cheese, sauteed onions and peppers. The veggies are KILLAH on top of the quinoa.

Anonymous | 1:54 PM

leftover quinoa from friday's Quineuvos Rancheros...thanks to you. It was an instant hit in my family, young and older. Tonight's quinoa meets meyer lemon olive oil, pine nuts and feta while it hangs out on a bed of wilted spinach. yum.

Amanda | 1:55 PM

Love love love that you're spreading the word about The China Study. Such a powerful book. And so sad that lobbies tend to drive our nutritional info in this country.

Can't wait to try this chickpea stew recipe! Try making the roasted chickpeas with tamari/soy sauce and just a touch of olive oil and lemon. Yum.

Sarah | 1:55 PM

Turkey basil burgers and sweet potato fries with a salad. Yum!

Pellmer | 1:55 PM

Tonight for dinner I'm grilling tri-tip and zucchini with some girlfriends and leaving my husband to fend for himself and our daughter. God only knows what they will eat...I, too, love the quinoa. If you get the red quinoa from Trader Joe's, I recommend trying the recipe from the back. It's yummy!

Mandy | 2:00 PM

Tonight we are having grilled lamb chops and dried cranberry couscous.

Nicki | 2:00 PM

We're having black been soup- I got the recipe off of Smittenkitchen.com and it's WONDERFUL. I'm excited to try some of these chickpea/garbanzo recipes on my family. Especially for my meat loathing toddler.

tlr | 2:23 PM

Since it's 96 and humid here in NY I am not cooking. I'm making a simple salad with spring mix, tomaotoes, cranberries, garbanzos, mushrooms and maybe some feta with balsamic. And juice popsicles for dessert!

Jill Smyth | 2:26 PM

Since we're amidst uncharacteristically hot weather, dinner isn't much more exciting than brown rice, black beans, avocado and salsa. Delicious, good for us and probably more exciting if it hadn't been dinner the last two nights.

It's way too hot to turn appliances of any sort on. Yikes.

K's | 2:27 PM

YUM, these sound delicious!

Tonight for dinner I am actually making the Quinoa Rancheros dish! Breakfast food for dinner on a Wednesday, how wacky!! ("Wacky Wednesday" the book, anyone? No? It's about as "wild" as we get during the week around here :) ).

Sarah | 2:28 PM

I can't wait to try some of these recipes! Tonight's dinner plans include a first-time meeting with the president of my boyfriend's company and several high-on-the-list managers. At a VIP grand opening of a new restaurant in town. Aiyee! Halp.

megan | 2:30 PM

Tonight I'm feeling lazy, so it's a turkey sandwich for us along with some apple slices.

Ms. K | 2:34 PM

Sadly, I have never been able to get over the texture of garbanzo beans, hopefully with one of these recipes I will...lol. Tonight I am making chicken quesadillas and homemade spanish rice.

I am loving this new food section you created, it gives me lots of new ideas as I try to change the way my fiance and I eat.

Sonja Streuber, PMP(R), SSBB | 2:39 PM

Love Wendy's posts. I make only homemade hummus, thanks to my trusty blender stick, and use about the same recipe. It's also nice to blend a roasted red bell pepper in. YUM!

Will try the falafels and see if Little Miss Kickboxer likes those.

kdiddy | 2:41 PM

LOVE chick peas. I'll have to try these.

My plans for dinner tonight: a rare night out with some ladies!

Unknown | 2:47 PM

kasha salad and corn on the cob

Christy | 2:48 PM

We're on a salad kick right now. So tonight we are having a spinach salad and maybe grilled chicken.

Sadie | 2:52 PM

Dinner tonight will be BBQ chicken cal zones with a side Cesar salad. Yum.
And Homemade strawberry popsicles.

TheGirlCan'tHelpIt! | 3:01 PM

GGC's mama is GF and veg? Me too! Love the sandwich idea and suggesting a roasted veggie sandwich with balsamic vinegar. Sounds great.

Tonight is quesadillas with Food for Life brown rice tortillas and black bean dip with salsa verde at a ratio of 3:1 - delish!

Kate | 3:05 PM

I've already eaten supper over here on the east coast. Vanilla greek yogurt, berries(blue, black, and raz), flaked coconut, and a fat drizzle of wildflower honey. Some variation of this meal is high in my rotation.

Kila Bell | 3:07 PM

Dinner tonight Black Beans, corn, peppers and spinach in a wheat Pita..yum!

Kiki | 3:10 PM

"Im crock potting a pot roast, which probably horrifies everyone on this site, so I probably need the special book more than anyone! :) And Im also going to make corn on the cob"
-Anonymous @ 12:15pm

Me too!! I was just thinking that if I post this everyone is going to be horrified! lol :)
But you know what? My roasts kick ass! They are delicious & my guy loves them!

Anonymous | 3:16 PM

probably leftovers, im too tired too cook :)

Jennifer | 3:18 PM

Tonight's dinner at my house is chicken-topped salad. Probably some whole wheat pasta on the side. Thanks for doing the giveaway!

Lila | 3:18 PM

OMG! I lOVE your food recipes. Thanks for this. Keep 'em coming.

Amy | 3:21 PM

I'm a college student...so I'm eating crackers and hummus along with some veggies and rice. I swear the hummus thing is a coincidence. :)

faetra | 3:22 PM

I can't wait to try that stew as soon as the weather cools down. Tonight for dinner are veggie burger wraps and bean salad (lots of good ways to do them but I love mine with garbanzo beans, black beans, a few kidney beans, corn, a little diced onion and tomatoes and some fresh parsley. Add a little white vinegar and a pinch of olive oil salt and pepper and chill...it's perfect for this weather)

A Mama's Peaks | 3:30 PM

I love, love, love the garbanzo bean. Tonight's dinner however will be tacos of baked tilapia, shredded cabbage and homemade avocado salsa.

Mama Bee | 3:34 PM

Dinner? It is 30 degrees outside. I don't want to cook anything. Maybe a quesedilla for the boy child.

rachel | 3:44 PM

enchiladas!

leel | 3:49 PM

it's too hot to eat here (whine)

thanks so much for the recipes. i haven't tried making my own hummus or using dried beans, now i will!

Michelle C | 3:54 PM

Tonights Dinner: Steelhead Trout, Fresh corn on the cob, and green beans! Yum!

Stephanie | 3:54 PM

I'm actually making Persian Eggs for dinner tonight. No joke! I love cooking with garbanzo beans, and these recipes look great.

Jenn @ Back Off My Books | 4:02 PM

Tonight is going to be meatballs and gravy with a side of quinoa and veggies. Not very creative tonight, however, the night before last I made an amazing mexican style dish with Quinoa that my husband said I could make all the time for dinner and his lunch.

Unknown | 4:05 PM

tonight's dinner is grilled shrimp and veggie rice. roasted chickpeas have been brought to my attention several times as of late; it's official, I need to try them!

Tammy | 4:09 PM

I didn't have plans for dinner this morning when I read your post, but I HAD to have falafel after reading it. So, I am getting ready to make that for dinner with a nice fresh salad.

Greta Koenigin | 4:18 PM

thawing my trader joe's channa masala and naan bread. because i love myself that much.

Unknown | 4:18 PM

We are having hamburgers. But after reading this post I really want a falafel. seriously my mouth is drooling.

Anonymous | 4:19 PM

Tonight's dinner? A wedge of cheese, a glass of wine. And thoughts of fulfillment.

Barbara

amy | 4:19 PM

My dinner so far is consisting of some blood orange gelato. it's hot and my currently hormonal body doesn''t really want food but fruit in mostly liquid form.

I have to agree that homemade hummus is the best and it is so easy. You could make it in a blender too.

The garbanzo stew is going on my to make for lunch list as well as roasted garbanzos for a snack!

Jen | 4:21 PM

we are having just gigantic salads because our backyard garden is starting to go nuts!

sawyer | 4:24 PM

Tonight we are grilling out, some tasty veggie kebabs, and grilled corn. Can't wait to try some of these.

Unknown | 4:30 PM

I'm taking my sister out to dinner tonight as a goodbye dinner. She is leaving me in SF and moving back to Atlanta. I hope we can find somewhere to eat crab.

Alison R | 4:31 PM

I am planning to have roasted cherry tomatoes with basil, parmigiano and whole wheat pasta. Yum! And thanks for these great, easy recipes! I just started eating quinoa on your suggestion and am loving it.

Ginny | 4:33 PM

mmm Yum! I'm definently going to be trying some of these in the next week.
We're having chicken stirfry tonight. It's vegie box delivery day so I make a huge stirfry and use up all the vegies that are left over to make room in the fridge ... I need a bigger fridge.

Unknown | 4:45 PM

I love chickpeas, yum!

We went out to dinner at a local restaurant because it was just too absolutely hot to cook.

Amber | 4:47 PM

Well, I was going to make tacos tonight but after seeing all these great healthy recipes I think I might try to come up with something better for us. Awesome post, I love all the ideas. The only way I knew how to eat garbanzos before was to put them in a salad.

laura | 4:48 PM

I absolutely love all the recipes you and your mom are posting. I'm a vegetarian, and you're giving me so many ideas to incorporate into my usual meal routine! Love it!

Claire | 5:11 PM

Tonight I'm trying out a new recipe, and as fate would have it, it has garbanzo beans in it! I had planned on having this salad with pita bread, but I have quinoa prepared in the fridge, so maybe I'll give that a whirl. The dressing is lime juice, olive oil, salt, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and cumin (sounds weird, I know). The salad is a can of garbanzo beans, tomatoes, feta cheese, cucumber, and fresh mint. I just tasted it, and it's so good! Letting it chill a bit before dinner time.

mjb | 5:18 PM

I had a chicken tikka masala wrap for dinner tonight.

Lindsey Fyfe | 5:35 PM

Dinner tonight ? scottish steak pies and a pint or two from the local pub.

suzanne | 5:45 PM

one half of a container of sweet cherries, the crusty end of a loaf of fresh baked italian bread and several garlic stuffed green olives...as good as it sounds ;)

brklyn | 5:47 PM

It's reeeally hot here tonight, so the fam's eating sandwiches and watermelon in the yard, followed by a run through the hose as I water the square foot garden. The sam's are a sprouted grain bread, homemade jalapeno hummus, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers and shaved carrots. A note about your book reco's: I got the food rules book from the library last night and giggled when I saw how small it was. I read it in 15 minutes. I've requested the China study as well, but the wait list is over three weeks long!! Here's hoping you can help a girl out...
PS--Love WWW's contributions to the good eats. The inspiration you guys are providing is really good for my family. I have trouble finding easy, quick recipes for us vegs, (let alone ones that I can pass by 3 picky kids) when I scope the net, but have found plenty of inspiration here. Case in point: Up until now, garbanzo beans have been strictly for hummus. Silly me.

whitney | 5:57 PM

tonight for dinner: either chana masala (mine and my children's fav indian dish), which fits right in with your garbanzo bonanza! or, mahi burgers, on pita with some avocado and salsa fresca. i thought i had exhausted all the possibilities of how to use a chick pea... but, this is the first i've heard of the chick pea balls - wooHOOO. thanks WWW!!! tried the egg and eggplant of last WWW post, the sound of clanking spoons and slurping for at least 20 minutes straight. i believe i'm making baba ganoush with the rest of the eggplant from our garden... so excited for that.

Pam | 6:10 PM

On our table tonight... Frito pie! Fritos, ground beef with red chili, pinto beans, cheese, lettuce and tomatos. And Salsa! Yum.

Ida Mae | 6:21 PM

tonights dinner was a quick lemon garlic marinaded pork chop grilled since it's way too hot to cook inthe oven, with cous-cous, and trader joe's "bean's so green"

CraftyFatalist | 6:43 PM

Hurray for hummus!! Dinner for me tonight is mixed baby green salad with blue cheese, candied walnuts & pears; garlic naan & roasted garlic hummus (I think I go through about 2 lbs a month of this, just myself!).

PrincessMax | 7:03 PM

Dinner was vegetarian Jimmy John's for both of us. Sometimes you have just gotta do it.

BlackberryGirl | 7:09 PM

Our dinner menu tonight: Fresh from our garden homemade salsa (grape tomatoes, green onion, cilantro, jalapeno and scotch bonnet peppers with sea salt, lime juice.) Baby leaf lettuce with local Monterey Jack cheese and Texas Caviar: Blackeyed-pea salad. A sort of Bluegrass meets Central Texas meal with the Foxhollow Farm beef grilled by my husband.

Then, fresh wild blackberry cobbler from the wild blackberry bramble on our place. Vegans, flexatarians, veggietablarians all served cheerfully in one meal! Just about everything in our meal, (sea salt lemon, lime juice) was all grown by us and/or within twenty miles of our house!

Ashley | 7:10 PM

Tonight's dinner is going to be a later one, so its very fast and easy. Mediterranean ravioli (VEGAN - from the freezer section lol!) with leftover homemade marinara sauce and a little grilled chicken. Plus hopefully a light salad too :)

stephanie marie | 7:53 PM

Because you got me addicted to quinoa...avocado, corn, beans, etc. with quinoa and cilantro dressing! The hubs is adding chicken.

Amy | 7:58 PM

Homemade pizza. Scott cooks this. It's different yet good. Afterward I will try not to eat all of the homemade Graham crackers in the house.

Debra E | 8:09 PM

I have not yet read that book, but I'm eager to do so...

This evening I stir fried some cabbage, shiitake, onion and carrot with soba noodles and Braggs. I added some black sesame seeds and toasted sunflower seeds on top. It was yum.

Rachel | 8:25 PM

Homemade pita with hummus, marinated steak, tomatoes and red onions. This is one of our summer favorites.

nicolette {momnivores dilemma} | 8:30 PM
This comment has been removed by the author.
nicolette {momnivores dilemma} | 8:35 PM

Tonight's dinner was Veggie Incognito GFCF pancakes. My 2 year old son Moose is anti-veggie and GFCF, so this recipe was born...

1 cup rice flour
Grated 1/2 of a small zuchinni, carrot, and parsnip
2 eggs
hemp milk (enough to make batter to correct consistency)
1 tsp aluminium-free baking powder
2 T of flax oil

The boys gobbled it up. Usually my dinners are far more elaborate, but we were splashing in the newish fountain in downtown Chicago today. No time for high drama, but damn good nonetheless. Plus it was 100 degrees here today...

caitlin | 8:43 PM

we had mashed indian lentils with rice and peas, yum! I can't wait to try the garbanzo balls, I bet my 15-month-old twins will LOVE them. They totally dug your quinoa/yogurt mix!

Erika Britt | 9:12 PM

I'd love to be hooked up with that book! Meal plans: Vegan Thai Mint, glass noodle salad!

apricoco | 9:17 PM

Tonight's dinner was something vegetarian and delicious a TLT (Tempeh Lettuce and Tomato) sandwich on organic bread. Here is the recipe for others (it has gluten so those who are gluten free shouldn't try it)... It's like a BLT but better! Also, I use a pre-marinated bacon-flavored tempeh instead of doing the marinade. It's delicious!

Anonymous | 9:23 PM

I also had quinoa for dinner...with leftover roasted veggies and avocados all mixed up with some white balsamic. Desert was a heaping scoop of almond butter and blueberries. YUM!

Mathilda

Heather Tull | 9:24 PM

Mmmmm, these recipes are getting me ready to start serving vegetarian meals again. Tonight's dinner was seasoned chicken and sauce over pasta.

Sheila | 9:28 PM

I'm really loving these posts. I'm creative everywhere except the kitchen, so these are much appreciated, and I do love garbanzos. Never tried making them from dried, but will experiment soon.

Steph | 9:32 PM

I'm making a salad for myself. Baby romaine topped with cucumbers, grilled tofu burger from Trader Joe's and dressed with raita.

*mary* | 10:36 PM

Chickpeas are a dietary staple in my house. I actually just made hummus yesterday!

Tonight's dinner was simple: chicken (for the meat-eaters in the house), salad, hummus and veggies on pita, and strawberries and honeydew melon for something sweet.

Thanks for the recipes!

Pam | 11:40 PM

Tonight, veggie curry and spring rolls. A Hmong friend taught me how to prepare these and I LOVE it! The hotter and spicy the better.....Gonna try the Hummus too!

Michelle | 5:29 AM

Tonight one the menu is a grilled chicken with corn on the cob and a salad. Since my 5 year old doesn't like "salad", she will get an avacado as her salad!

Kayley Maybe | 5:45 AM

OK, my hubbie is ditching me for some male bonding this evening, so I'm going with a frozen meal, most likely frozen pizza, the other half of which I will eat for lunch tomorrow. Clearly, I need to read a book about healthy nutrition!!

Anonymous | 5:54 AM

Tonight is def. corn on the cob, fresh from the garden, and a few other things that I honestly have not figured out yet. But hopefully will be good. :)

Ashley Parker, 2008 Class Reporter | 6:51 AM

"Gooey Thomas" is adorable. I've never cooked/done much with garbanzo beans, so thanks for all the wonderful recipes! I'll have to give them a try. :)

Tonight's dinner is going to be stuffed peppers using my red quinoa (that I promptly went out and bought after reading your quinoa post!), ground beef, tomatoes, etc. We have half a leftover watermelon that we'll probably cut up and devour for dessert and also save for the lunches the rest of the week.

I'm loving these food posts! Keep 'em coming!

Adrianne | 7:02 AM

I'm actually going to try out your quinoa and egg dish that you featured the other day. I bought quinoa for the first time this weekend and was surprised at home tiny it is! I can't wait to try it out. Thanks for the recipes, WWW! :)

Blair | 7:32 AM

I love this new vegetarian food feature! My family is trying to eat meatless more often so I am loving all the new ideas!
Tonight for dinner I am making whole wheat penne with a balsamic, tomato and garlic cream sauce with goat cheese. Yum!

Tatiana | 7:56 AM

I'm havint dinner in the park with my fmaily. I hope it doesn't rain.

AmyDanel | 7:57 AM

are you going to put out a cook book? You should!! Or make the recipes printer friendly on your site. Great recipes!

Heather | 7:59 AM

http://tinyurl.com/24g2dcb

Love these recipe posts.

Kathryn D. | 8:08 AM

I'm going to eat my favorite summer pasta: Penne with cherry tomatoes (roasted with oil and salt/pepper), fresh mozz, and basil from the porch garden. No sauce needed, just toss and put your face in it. yum.

Kara | 8:08 AM

Love the recipes. Will have to make them all. I've never used dried garbonzo beans but I think I'll start. Tonight's dinner will most likely be a spinach frittata.

Love your writing!
kleed7[at]sbcglobal[dot]net

Missy | 8:15 AM

I'm so stoked about these recipes! I love chickpeas and used to eat them all the time until someone told me that they're not that nutritious - just a bunch of starch.

Now I'm totally inspired to start eating them again and this time around I'm gonna try to soak them myself - can't wait!

PS - I like the idea above about printer-friendly recipes :) I want to keep all of these in my recipe notebook.

Anonymous | 8:16 AM

Taco Salad tonight because it's just too bloody hot to cook anything!

Femi Ford | 8:18 AM

going to hit the farmers market & pick up some fresh corncob, and also try to make one of these garbonzo bean dishes!

Anonymous | 8:22 AM

What happened to your daughter's forehead? It's got a scab on it. Did Archer do the sibling rivalry neat down?

Sarah J. | 8:50 AM

I bought a large bunch of basil at the farmers market so I think I'm going to make some pesto... maybe over pasta?

Anonymous | 9:26 AM

These recipes all look amazing! (And I'm not even vegetarian! haha) I looooove Gooey Thomas (which is just ridiculously cute I don't know how you even stand it :)!!), so I'm going to try that recipe immediately -- and one of those sandwiches this weekend. My mouth is watering already!!

Carrie | 9:28 AM

Okay so yeah I am definitely going to try and make my own hummus from now on. It sounds soooo good. I do have a question though... Since my husband doesn't like it (or is too crazy to try it), I will be the only one eating it. How long will it keep in the refrigerator?

Debi | 9:29 AM

YUMM! Thank you for sharing your very appealing recipes. Tonight we are going to have sandwiches, a request from my husband. I'm thinking I might do a grilled veggie sandwich for myself....you've inspired me.

Unknown | 9:35 AM

I'm making yummy salad with some grilled flank steak and home made croutons. Summer foods are the best.

Cara | 9:44 AM

Tonight we are having ribs smoked on the BBQ, but I am also a fan of the mighty chick pea. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking also has a chick pea stew that will make you weep it's so good.

Jessica | 10:14 AM

Dinner tonight is backed sweet potatoes. We load them with steamed veggies and add a splash of butter... yummmm!!

Amy M. | 10:19 AM

It's 34C here in Montreal, (=93.2F, 104F with the humidity! Whoa!), so we will be having an arugula & spinach salad for dinner, followed by watermelon. Thanks for the chance to enter this contest.

Liz | 12:30 PM

My dinner tonight will probably be beet greens and rainbow chard over a grain TBD. Maybe some berries, too (but not over grains).

mommymae | 12:33 PM

tonight's dinner could be goulash or bi bim bop. we have yet to decide!

Helen | 12:52 PM

I'd love to win that book - I've heard its extremely interesting.
My dinner tonight was tinned beans (cooked up with onion, bacon, garlic and some chilli). With some green veggies which I managed to burn by letting the pot boil dry. Twit.
Thanks for the all the chickpea recipes. I make hummus often, but I like it roughly mashed not smooth. My favourite way to eat them though is chana masala. Yum!

bek77 | 12:55 PM

We are gonna have bastami rice with tomatoes from the garden and cucumbers with natural yogurt!!! YUM YUM

Aaron & Cassie | 2:03 PM

I'm thinking maybe some homemade whole wheat chicken parmesan. Love all the recipes!

Melissa | 2:31 PM

Quesadillas accompanied by some of the ass-load of fresh fruit I bought today.

Wendy Woolf | 2:43 PM

Carrie...hummus keeps in the refrigerator for up to a week and a half. But you can freeze it! (also, you make it in smaller batches).

Thank you everyone for all of your kind comments!! This is SO MUCH FUN!!!!!! WWW

candace | 4:49 PM

Cold quinoa, fresh spinach, blackberries, roasted red peppers, tofu, sunflower seeds, lemon, oil, salt and pepper

I loved the husband and the toddler, not so much :(

Blair Stephens | 6:00 PM

Made this tonight and it's AWESOME! THANK YOU for posting. I plan to try every one of these recipes and I'm sure several will become staples.

Keep them coming!! Thank you!!

Billie | 8:14 PM

Hey! We are moving tomorrow from southern Ontario to Vancouver with a 4 year old and a 20-month-old. Tonight's dinner, take-out sushi from our favorite sushi place! Needless to say, I've been VERY busy the past few weeks since you guys started posting the recipes. However, I did try out the quinoa salad with goat cheese and blueberries. We loved it! The pine nuts added a nice something extra to it! I also added some avocado which was delicious. I tried the yogurt one for the girls. Emery(1) loved it but not Sage(4), however she loved the salad. Keep them coming, once we're settled in I'll be cooking up a storm!

Suse | 8:25 PM

You know, I used to be a fan of chick peas but since I married and had kids I've forgotten about them. Your foodie posts have inspired me to rethink my food choices, that and an ugly number on the bathroom scale.

I have never had quinoa but I think I'll give it a whirl.

Am embarrassed to say that tonight's dinner was the weekly Breakfast for Dinner, which tonight included eggs, toast, perogies, and back bacon. Usually, we have oodles of fruit and at least some token veg. but tonight my hub was in charge and I was grateful that he prepared a meal at all. I did look at our supermarket "organic" eggs and wonder if we could be doing better though.

I will try to make the hummus and love the idea of the chickpea balls.

Unknown | 10:59 PM

Yummmmmmmmy I'm going to have to give all of these recipes a try!

SRB | 9:11 AM

I making a brown-rice pasta salad, with spinach pesto dressing and tossing in some leftover chicken from last night (apologies to the vegetarians). :)
And maybe a little cantalope blended with ice for desert (though I had that as pre-breakfast this morning).

Kathy R | 9:33 AM

Good friends are visiting town and we have babysitter, which is super rare. Thinking of going out to this really good East German place in town. They have the best spaetzle and actually have great vegetarian schnitzel.

Lotus Moma | 2:38 PM

YUM! I will be making this Gooey Thomas soon. My daughter has been eating hummus since she was 6months old and still loves it.
We are having BBQ chicken with roasted zucchini and yellow squash (from the farmers market today) and brown rice and of course a nice bottle of white wine.

Alli | 9:34 AM

I made the roasted chick peas, but they still are soft, not crunchy. Did I do something wrong, or are they not supposed to be crunchy?

Wendy Woolf | 5:17 PM

Allie...they are supposed to be crunchy. Either you didn't rinse and dry them well before you put them in the pan with the oil or you didn't roast them long enough. Maybe your oven runs a little cool? If so, up the temp. Also, as with all roasted vegies, don't crowd the pan...if they are crowded, they steam instead of roast and that would make them soggy. Hope this helps!

Kaja | 7:51 AM

Wendy: Thank you for many great recipies! I loved the hummus after it had been in the fridge for a day or two. I have one question, when I was making the garbanzo-balls i didn't get them to stick together. While frying them they fell apart. Do you have any tip on were I went wrong?

Anonymous | 8:11 PM

I love this recipe, WWW! It is now a monthly staple. One question though, my son is super allergic to tomatoes, what should I substitute? Just water? :)

Wendy Woolf | 10:30 AM

If you can't use tomatoes, anon, just increase the roasted peppers and add about a quarter cup of vegetable stock to it. Add more stock if needed. You can add some lemon juice, too, if you want.