Trying Hard To Get Back On Track

Chickpea Salad

We have been working like crazy at the lake cabin trying to wind up a project before family comes to stay. It's one of those projects that has taken way too long. (Is there any other kind?) What started as a plumbing repair grew to become a bathroom redo. And as long as we were putting down a new floor there, I decided we ought to replace the kitchen floor also.

But it's done. At least THEIR work is done. The clean up job, however, belongs to us. You know how sawdust goes everywhere when the sawing is inside. What a mess. And this is a summer cabin, too, so it's unoccupied for the winter. That meant we needed a massive cleaning. While we were deep into to washing and wiping every single thing there, I kept finding things that needed to be replaced. I made more than one trip to into town to buy kitchen and bathroom things.

When I'm on that kind of schedule, I tend to grab whatever is easy for lunch. PB&J. Crackers and pimento cheese. Or, I'll make an even worse choice and head to a drive thru. And since at that point, I'm tired and starving, it's easy to talk myself into chicken strips and fries. Or a milkshake. I always tell myself when I'm that tired that I deserve a treat. 

Starting today I hope to have a better plan. My first choice for meals would be the fresh, healthy foods that we all should be eating. I really do like those foods. But it takes time to make them. I have to remind myself that it actually takes longer for me to drive to Bojangles and back home. But my mind can play tricks!

I saw a recipe for a chickpea salad this week and I wanted to stir it up to have in the fridge. I took great liberties with the recipe. I added celery because I love celery. I swapped out the olive oil and used canola because olive oil gets solid when refrigerated. I used red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice because I wanted a little more zip. And after Daddy-O tasted it and was less than enthused, I added a teaspoon of sugar. He also tasted it the minute I mixed it up. It does needs to chill and let the flavors blend. Even then, I doubt he will like this as much as I do.

So here is my completely rewritten recipe. It took me about 10 minutes to mix it up. And it's ready and waiting for a quick lunch. And it might also be a side dish tonight. 

CHICKPEA SALAD

1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 

1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (I may have used more)

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/2 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

Mix all ingredients together and chill before serving.  

Makes a little more than 5 cups. 

My friend Linda and I are always on the lookout for WW friendly recipes, so I sent this to her a few minutes ago. It calculated to 1 WW point (on my plan) for a 1 cup serving. She texted back in minutes that chickpeas are one of the few foods she doesn't care for. I think that any canned bean would work—cannellini or black beans would be good choices. And if you decided to double or triple the recipe, you could surely use a mix of beans. 

So for the next few days at least, I have no excuse for making bad food choices. At least if I DO decide I need a treat it will only be one treat!

NOTE TO SELF: Keep the "good" foods on hand and ready to eat. Then I'm less likely to give in to temptation.

It's "Berry, Berry" Good

 

Did you think I was never coming back? I'm still here, but I've spent more time away from the computer lately. Life is better when I turn off the news alerts and limit social media. I keep up, but I'm learning to step away after a quick check.

Then we have more time to do things like picking strawberries at a neighbor's farm. We've been a couple of times already. The granddaughters happened to be here when the berries were first ready and they were some of the very first pickers of the season.

It's hard to beat simply eating fresh berries when they are really sweet and juicy. Unless you make strawberry ice cream. There are many good recipes, but this is delicious and is surely one of the easiest of them all. And it's ridiculously quick.

For those who ask, I have this Cuisinart ice cream maker. There are other models that cost less. There are other brands. They all work pretty much the same, I bought this one to replace an older, simpler Cuisinart model that we thought no longer worked. We had used it for years with no problems. 

Then last summer it wouldn't freeze the ice cream. It turned out the ice cream maker was fine. It was my 20-year-old freezer that wasn't working properly. The freezer temperature was not as low it should have been. (Freezers should be 0 degrees.) So the container part of the ice cream maker was not getting cold enough to make ice cream. 

So now we have a new freezer. And I have two ice cream makers. Strawberry ice cream AND vanilla ice cream at the same time is not a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all.

The recipe makes enough to enjoy, but not enough to get into too much trouble over-indulging! I took this to book club last night. I brought home an empty container. 

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM (no eggs) 

      for 1-1/2 qt ice cream maker

1 (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk, such as Eagle Brand

1 (12-oz) can evaporated milk

1-1/4 cups fresh milk

about 1 cup cut up strawberries 

2 tablespoons sugar

a good squeeze fresh lemon juice (about 1 tablespoon)

pinch of salt

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Sprinkle sugar over cut up berries. Stir and add in lemon juice and salt. Let stand while mixing milks. Mash slightly. 

Using a whisk, blend the 3 milks together thoroughly and chill for 30 minutes. (I like to chill the canned milks first.)

Mix strawberries and milk mixture. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to appliance directions. Freeze until done, about 20-25 minutes. 

The ice cream will be soft. Transfer to a container with a lid and store in freezer if you want harder "scoop-able" ice cream

★ To make VANILLA ICE CREAM, use this same recipe but leave out the strawberries—including the sugar and lemon juice— and double the vanilla.

While it might change the texture a little, you can use low-fat or fat-free milk for any or all of the milks called for. Just remember, lower fat content means it won't be as creamy.