The Chickpea

Chickpea and Cilantro patty- is an all-year round food that can be prepared ahead of time, and reheated with a griddle for seared perfection. This recipe made about 13 small-sized patties for myself. If you are cooking for more people, or want bigger patties add more rice and chickpeas.

INGREDIENTS: 
1 can of prepared chickpeas OR 1 cup of raw-to-be-prepared chickpeas
1 small saucepan of cooked rice (white, jasmine, or any that you prefer.)
1-2 tablespoons of curry powder
1 tablespoon of cumin powder
1-2 tablespoons of Adobo seasoning for taste |OPTIONAL| (I used Lime Adobo)
2 tablespoons of black pepper for taste |OPTIONAL|
Chopped stems of fresh cilantro (chop as finely as you like)
Chopped red onion (as much as you want)
Minced garlic |OPTIONAL| (as much as you want)
Oil of your choice to keep mixture together (eyeball this)


DIRECTIONS:

1. Place prepared chickpeas in a large mixing bowl. Mash the chickpeas with a masher. If you use a food processor, the mixture might come out too mushy. Add the rice and mash slightly, leaving some grains of rice so that the mixture is grainy and not mushy. Add in the garlic, onion, and cilantro. Mix that up.

2. Add in the powders and mix. Add 1/4 cup of oil first, and mix the ingredients inside of the bowl. The consistency of the mixture should be heavy, and the oil should allow the mixture to stick together and not loosely fall apart. Add more oil if needed.

3. After everything is mixed together, wash your hands with water to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands. Use a spoon to scoop the mixture into you hands. Form into a ball if it is easier, and then shape it into a round disk. The disk should be thick, and not too thin.

4. Heat up a griddle to 250°F, or use a skillet on the stove-top. Lightly coat the griddle or skillet with non-stick cooking spray. I used olive oil cooking spray. Place the patties on the griddle one after another so that when you flip one, the next one can be flipped right after. Let them brown on each side.

ENJOY: I had this with a pasta and vegan alfredo sauce dinner. The combination was tasteful to me. I also had these crumbled over a salad. These would be yummylicious with sour cream too. I have seen recipes for vegan sour cream, but I have not found one that does not have a 20-ingredient list or that does not go through a fermentation process. My mom told me about how Arabs make their sour cream, so I am going to try the same process in a vegan-friendly way and share my recipe later.

The Luxe Gifting Guide 2014

Hey, hey! This does not have to be hard. Thankfully, I am here. Start from the top, and work your way down. 

Follow these rules:

1. MAKING A LIST is easy and will help you organize who gets a gift, who needs what, and how many more to go. Make sure that you collect wishlists from people too. 

2. SPLURGING is for the balers, not the financially fit. Try to avoid buying things on impulse, things that are "popular," and do not let the sales persons in the stores woo you with their sales magic. This is why it is a good idea to start that list that we talked about, eh?

3. DIY-ing is always the most creative and least expensive way to go. There are a lot of things that you can make yourself with the help of happy crafty people on YouTube, Pinterest, in crafting magazines, and on blogs. If you don't know what you want to make, look at the idea menu next. 

4. SAVING should be the #1 rule in a shopaholic's little pink book. Search for deals, price match, and compare stores. Around this time of year, a lot of stores offer coupons, discount codes, and free gifts enticing you to shop with them. I like feeling rewarded for spending my money, so I take advantage of these offers. Do not settle on a price before you look at other stores for the same item and calculate your savings with coupons, or consider the usefulness and quality of any free gifts that you get with your purchase. 

5. GIFTING at this time of the year might be a little played-out for you, and you gift just because. NO, no, no! Take notes on your friends, family, kids, neighbors, co-workers, and the darling. Think about things that they need, that they really want but just can't or won't get for themselves. Think about things that will add sentimental value to your relationship with them. As always, gifts do not have to be a material things. Gifts can be edible items, memorable experiences, and intangible goods. 

6. PUT A MAX PRICE tag on all of the gifts that you will give. There might be a handful of people that you will gift to, and before you know it you have broken the bank. Last year I got a box of cute little makeup bags, and I filled them up with nail polish and small beauty accessories for my female co-workers. All of the bags and the content in the bags had designs and colors that fit their individual personalities, and that is how I knew who gets what bag. $10 and under won't put a tear in your Vince Camuto wallet. 

5 Ideas to help you choose a gift to give:

1. Jewelry. This is for the mini Coco Chanels, or the people that love glam, glitz, and classic style. 

• Beaded bracelet for her, or best friend
• Watch for him, or dad
• Earrings for mom, or baby

Easy to make. Here are several options: iSpyDIY, HonestlyWTF, RagsToCouture MissKris, The ThriftinessMiss

2. Throw Pillows. This is for the homey, decorator, or decor enthusiast.

• Glam textures for her, or best friend
• Leather, faux fur, or solid colors for him, or dad
• Chic pattern for mom, or nursery prints for baby

Easy to make. Here are several options: LosDosAiko's, TheLoveNerds, BurlapAndLace, ThriftNestSew, 

3. Bar Accessories. This is for the cook, lover of kitchen gadgets, the dinner party host, or the barista.

• Bottle opener and ice bucket for her, or best friend
• Beverage glass sets for him, or dad
• Serving trays and eatery for mom, or  new baby bottles and sip-cups for baby

May not be able to make. Here are several options: Thrift it, T.J. Max it, or clearance-rack it. 

4. Wall Art. This is for the art lover, the creative thinker, or the minimalist. 

• Painted art for her, or best friend
• Keepsakes and and portraits for him, or dad
• Fabric or 3D art for mom, or printed animal pictures for baby

Easy to make. Here are several options: TheEmbellishedNest, TheSmallThingsBlog, SecretsOfAModernMama, Shanty2Chic

5. Candles. This is for the mood setter, the decorator, the energy saver, or the aroma enthusiast.

• Glam candles and jars for her, or best friend
• Desk and table-top candle holders for him, or dad
• Hanging lanterns or wall mounts for mom, or  night light for baby

Easy to make. Here are several options: FamilyChic, LessonsLearntJournal, GaddingGal, DesignSponge, MonicaWantsIt

Food Mood: Taco Roast

Ingredient list:

2-3 bell peppers- Any colors that you prefer
1 whole onion- Sweet red, or sweet yellow
1-2 whole tomatoes- Optional
jalapeno peppers- Jarred or fresh if you prefer
daiya vegan shredded cheese- cheddar or any flavor that you like
tortillas- hard shell or soft flour

This dish is so easy to make, and it only takes about 5-10 minutes of prep time, and 10 minutes to cook. This recipe makes enough to stuff 5-10 small tortillas. You can mix other ingredients for added taste such as beans, seasoning, spinach, and corn.

Start off by washing all of your veggies, and then slicing them into cubes or any form that you like. I sliced the bell peppers into long strands, the onions into rings, and the tomatoes into slices.

Next, get out your griddle or a skillet and spray with non-stick cooking spray if needed. Spread the onions and bell peppers out on the griddle or in the skillet. You can add the tomatoes and jalapeno peppers to this mixture, if not leave them until the end. Let the veggies get charred on one side, or both sides if you choose.

Heat up the tortillas- if you are using the soft ones. I either put them on the griddle, or in the toaster oven just until they get brown spots on both sides. I like warming them up so that they can be folded, and are a little crunchy.


Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the tortillas first. Put as little or as much as you want. Add the hot veggies over the cheese so that it melts. Add the tomatoes and jalapenos, and then fold the tortilla in half. Eat and enjoy :)

Pizza Sandwich- Vegan and vegetarian-friendly

Food-prepping is an essential part of my Sunday routine. I love preparing effortless and inexpensive meals to keep my taste-buds happy during the week. This week, I decided that I would have pizza sandwich for lunch. I will have patacon pisao for breakfast, an apple, and oatmeal cookies for snacks. For dinner, I will have pasta salad, (will share pics in another post).

I am not sure where I go the name "pizza sandwich" from, but it fits this recipe perfectly.

The ingredient list is simple. All you need is bread and veggies of your choice.

1. Italian French bread
2. Daiya vegan shredded cheese
3. Red onion
4. Black olives
5. Green bell pepper
6. Green onion
7. Tomato

First, I prepped all of my veggies by chopping and dicing. Then, I put the onion and bell pepper rings in a warm skillet with non-stick cooking spray to sauté.

I covered the skillet to let the veggies steam and get a little softer for about 4 minutes. 

While the onion and bell pepper rings sauté, I sliced the Italian French bread into three thin slices using a bread knife with ridged teeth. I put them on a rack in the toaster oven and sprinkled the Daiya vegan cheese over them.

After the slices of bread were toasted, I took them out of the toaster oven and garnished with the left-over ingredients. After I did that, I ate them.