Going vegan, or at the very least vegetarian, is the best diet for the planet but I cannot do that. I don’t think many of us could in the strictest sense, but I definitely can’t. BUT, this year I’m trying to have more vegetarian meals each week. The reason is multi-fold, which I think will help us keep on it:

1. The climate crisis. Check this out, and this, and this, and this, and this, and if you need/want more, just ask the Internet. But, you know, don’t be dumb about your search results. You have to go to legitimate sites that have some sort of accountability.
2. James has high cholesterol. I’d been saying for a while that we need to get our cholesterol tested, if for no other reason than we hadn’t done that in years, and James finally did it (I still have yet to) and found out he has high cholesterol. It’s not Very High, but it’s High. And we found out on NYE, so it was a perfect time to add that to the reasons to change our diets. The exercise thing is a little more difficult, but we’re also trying to get that together (more biking to work, coordinating swim lessons for Evie w/ a swim workout for James), but that’s a little more out of our hands. I’m hoping to change my diet and do the same amount of exercise a week since I hate working out except yoga -but I don’t take the time to do yoga unless in a class and I don’t want to pay for classes- or walking, and I’ve been walking with Ben when water molecules don’t fall from the sky (made easier because I’d rather be outside when it’s cold rather than blazing hot, so we’ll see how this goes as it gets warmer).
3. Diet. This is tied to above, but still relevant. We’re just trying to be healthier overall. And again, I’m hoping a food diet change means I don’t have to make an effort in other areas because I’m that type of lazy.
4. The Kids. They’re young enough that we can teach them to enjoy and be satisfied by a large variety of foods. I am… getting there, but I doubt I’ll ever make enough progress to become a vegetarian. Evie already enjoys fish more than she does any type of meat, and sometimes refuses meat in general when presented with it. That’s not to toot our own horn because many a time the side is something like fries or cheesy potatoes or rice.

Anyway. I’ve been doing some research on various recipes and honing in on what I can do to feel like I’ve eaten an actual meal rather than a large side, and I’m hoping once that’s more of a habit, I’ll be able to branch out. But I feel pretty confident that this is going to stick if for no other reason than the first two stated above.

Not that this is a food blog, but I do love cooking and feeding people so I thought I’d share a couple recipes. Especially for those who, like me, feel like meals are incomplete without a serving of land animal.

Roasted Chickpeas, aka the Best Snack

This one’s a bit of a cheat since it’s not a meal, but, honestly, it’s our absolutely most favorite thing right now. All of us. We got a bag of roasted chickpea snacks on a whim for our trip to the Outer Banks and they were highly okay, but had a weird texture to them. But I also remembered reading about roasting chickpeas ages ago (like, college years) and I thought I’d give it a try since we all generally liked them. So I did. And they were GOOD. SO GOOD. I mean, the recipe needed tweaks and it ended up being a multi-week process, but, oh man. If you like crunchy snacks but don’t enjoy the guilt of eating tasty snacks, this is totally for you. And you can use any spice combination you want. Just, you know, try to stick with things that aren’t horrible for you (like pre-mixed spices, since they usually have A LOT of sodium). Something I’ve been doing a lot, and doing a lot more lately, is using less salt, or if I do use salt, using, say, onion or garlic or even celery salt (the latter of which, btw, is SO GOOD) because then it offers something else and maybe I can use less. I’m not a nutritionist, so I really don’t know if this is any better, but, I mean, why not get more bang for you buck/effort? My favorite spice combo for the kids is celery salt, paprika, and tumeric. My favorite spice combo for James and me is celery salt, cayenne, tumeric, and chili powder. (We use a lot of tumeric in our house).

A Few Notes: I think the best texture comes from canned chickpeas, but the most economical (and green) option is to get dried chickpeas in bulk. Some recipes I’ve read have just said, “oh, just soak the dried chickpeas and roast!” Which is bullshirt unless you like chalky-crunch. And maybe you do! James didn’t have a big problem with them, that’s just my bias. Regardless, if you just want to kind of test the waters, get a can of chickpeas, drain, and then follow the recipe from there. If you want to jump right in, this is a process “recipe” since it’s a snack and you can have a lot of wiggle room with how much you make and the amount of effort you want to put into it.

Ingredients

• Dried Chickpeas, picked through (yadda yadda)
• Water
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or any other type of high smoke/healthy oil you have; I’m sure Safflower or Grape Seed will be fine)
• Spices

Process

• Soak chickpeas (I put them in a mason jar full of water for anywhere between 18 and 24 hours, but, you know, however long you have. The soaking is really just to cut down on the cooking time, so you could actually just eliminate it all together if you want. Regardless, if soaking and it’ll be a while, maybe put it in the fridge just to be safe. Don’t fill the jar too much with chickpeas -no more than, say, 5/12 of the way, because they’ll expand. You’ll also want to shake it every now and again, particularly over that first hour, otherwise, they’ll expand such that they’ll be too tight to move.)
• Once they’ve soaked, drain and then cook (my understanding is that they cook faster in a pressure cooker, and you can also use a slow cooker. I put them in a pot, cover them with water, and cook them on the stove. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally so everything cooks as evenly as possible) until they’re tender. I found that the tenderer they are, the better the crisp. Which is to say, if you want an airier crisp (like a potato chip), tenderer/creamier is better; if you want a denser crisp (like a slightly popped popcorn kernel), just cooked through is fine.
• Drain again, then put on a towel and dry them off/let them air dry for however long you have/want to give it. (I’ve read dozens of recipes and they all say to dry the chickpeas super well; I’ve not found that this is not something to go crazy about. I mean, they don’t have to be bone dry, just… dry. Not dewy. I’ve also read that you should remove the skins. Yeah, that’s not necessary, either. If they come off, definitely get rid of them because they’ll burn, but don’t go nuts unless you are super sensitive to texture/are totally obsessive about things.)
• Preheat the oven to 325F (again, I’ve read a dozen recipes and they all have different temperatures and have different explanations for why that temperature is best, and I’ve tried them, but I like them nice and crispy, so low and slow gets them there without burning them)
• Put the chickpeas on a sheet pan or two, enough such that they’re spread out and you can easily shake them and they can move. I use two sheet pans regardless because I make two different spice combinations for the kids and us.
• Put them in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes, then shake them to make sure they’re not sticking to the bottom. Do this again -again, to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom, but also to make sure they cook evenly (rotate the pans if you like). Then you can let them cook for about 45 minutes to an hour more.
• Meanwhile, get your spices together. You’ll want a ratio of about 1:1:1 -1 cup of chickpeas, 1T of oil, 1 tsp of spices. So however much chickpeas you have, go from there. I would round up for the spices because I’ve found that less spice means you can barely taste it (unless that’s what you want) and round down for the oil (because more makes it a little shiny/oily). And it’s 1 tsp total of spices, so if you have 3 different spices, 1/3 tsp of each, etc. Mix them together so everything can get evenly coated. (Since it’s a ratio, you could also wait until they’re out of the oven and measure how many chickpeas you’ve ended up with/are allowing for the inferior spice mix.)
• Back to the chickpeas: Just sort of press a few to test for doneness. They should be hard/unyielding. If they give a little, they need more time, so just gauge how much time you think they need -intervals of 15 to 20 minutes are pretty safe. Also, rotate your pans if you need to/haven’t done so already.
• Once they’re done, remove from the oven and toss in your spice/oil, then put back on the pan, and back into the oven.
• Let it roast for another 15 minutes and, this is the most important part, when the time is done, just turn off your oven and let it sit in there while the oven cools. I’ve forgotten to do this step and they wind up cruncy-soft, which is not great. If you do forget, I’ve found that I can often (though not always) get the same/or good enough results by putting the pan back in the oven, reheating it to 325F, and then turning the oven off once it reaches temperature, leaving the pans in there. Take it out after an hour or two, or leave it overnight (I sometimes make this from start to finish as I’m making dinner, so the chickpeas are in that final sit-in-the-oven-as-it-cools step as I’m going to bed, so I just leave it in there overnight and put it away in the morning)
• Once the chickpeas have cooled, put in some mason jars to store, and enjoy!

Notes:

• I wait until the end to put the spices on because otherwise, it burns. Or it starts to smell like it’s burning and it makes you want to take the chickpeas out of the oven before their crisp enough. But you also do want the spices to toast/for the spices to better adhere/cook into the chickpeas themselves, so they do need to go into the oven a bit.

Tofu Dish

I am predisposed to enjoy tofu because I grew up eating it. At least, that’s my argument for James’ faces when I say I can enjoy tofu plain (though I’d rather douse it with soy sauce) and snack on it. Most people do not have this inclination. And I forgive you! And maybe this type of dish will turn out to be so unsatisfying -it teeters on the edge for me- but I think it’s tasty. I made a couple of tofu-based dishes and sort of threw this one together. You can serve it with rice (as in, this would be the protein) -we had it with vegetable fried rice- or some sort of Asian noodle dish (where, again, this would be the protein), whether it’s a lo or chow mein or an udon or ramen or pad thai. You could also serve it as blocks or as cubes that have been fried.

Marinade/Sauce

• 1T Miso paste (I use red just because that’s usually what we have, but you can use whatever you like)
• 1/2c Mirin
• 1/2c Soy Sauce (I always use light/less sodium/the green one)
• 2T grated Ginger (or thereabouts)*
• 2 14-oz blocks of Extra Firm Tofu
• Oil (some sort of cooking oil with a high smoking point)
• 1/4c of cornstarch (optional)

Process

• Drain your tofu. To help it soak in flavor, it’s best to get as much water out as possible, so I wrap them in a couple of towels, put something on it (usually the pan I’ll be using later to cook it -even though that seems somehow wrong… like I’m making it dig its own grave, or something), and let it sit for an hour or so, then throw the towels in the hamper.
• Meanwhile, mix your marinade/sauce together and get out a casserole dish.
• Once your tofu has drained, slice along the middle, like you’re slicing a role in half -the tofu should remain the same length and width but be half as tall. Put the pieces in your casserole dish, then pour half of the marinade on top. Let sit for around thirty minutes, or however long it takes you to get back to it after making whatever else you’re having with it.
• When you’re ready to get back to it, preheat a pan, add the oil, and here’s where you can do one of two things:
• Put the tofu rectangles into the oil and sear each side. Like other proteins, they’ll release (easier) when they’re done. You’ll probably have to cook them in two batches. Once they’re done, add the marinade and let it cook down and coat the tofu. Finis!
• OR you can slice the tofu blocks into cubes, gently toss them in the corn starch, and sear them so they’re even crispier. (They won’t be crunchy or anything.) You’ll probably have to do this in two batches, too. Once they’re done, put them back in the pan, add the marinade, and let it cook down and coat the tofu. Finis, part deux!

* I never measure ginger. I think it’s impossible to get the amount a recipe calls for, in part because I buy a huge ginger root, slice it into pieces that I think will yield somewhere around 1T of microplane-grated ginger, and then go from there. Plus, I like the flavor and I think that if a recipe calls for 1tsp, it’ll taste just as delicious if there’s 1 to 2T instead. I also peel ginger with a spoon. James does not think this is a good hack, but I think it’s wonderful and easy. And since I’m prone to kitchen injuries (it’s pretty rare I make it out without a cut or a burn, or both), I doubly appreciate this technique. I also freeze my ginger so we always have some on hand, but I also think it’s easier to both peel (with a spoon) and grate (since it’s so fibrous) when it’s frozen (or rather, has been frozen and sitting out for 5 or so minutes). And, maybe this is why 3 to 6 times the amount of ginger in a recipe is fine for me -because frozen ginger probably looses some of it’s potency. But I don’t care.