I’ve had a few NicoStuff buddies ask for recipes, so I thought I would try and post a few. Today’s recipe is for Chickpeas, a staple in my kitchen for veggie eats.

The ingredients are simple. You need Dry Chickpeas, Water, various spices (whatever you like). You also need a few kitchen tools, one pie plate, measuring cups. one bowl/ pot with a lid to soak the chickpeas, a colander for rinsing,  and a crock pot to do the cooking. Also a slotted spoon is helpful, and don’t forget containers to store your yummy cooked chickpeas in.

Let’s get started:

Start off by measuring One Cup and a Half of Dried Chickpeas, and place them in a pie plate.

Next sort through the chickpeas, and remove any ones that are broken, or look slightly off.

Transfer the chickpeas to the colander, and give them a good rinse under the faucet. Then you can move them to a pan, or bowl to soak. My favorite pan has a lid that is made for draining.

Completely cover the chickpeas in water, plus a little bit more as the chickpeas will absorb the water. Put the lid on the pan, and find a spot in the kitchen to let them rest, and then find something else to do because they need to soak, well overnight. I like to soak mine at least for 10 hours, but a few hours longer won’t hurt them a bit.

Also I drain off the water, and add in new water every couple of hours.

So while you are waiting, crochet a couple of headbands, clean the house, do some laundry, and see what Dylan is up to. Then get some sleep.

The next day…..

Once the chickpeas have soaked over night, it is time to drain them one last time. I also give them one more rinse under the faucet.

Then it is time to transfer them to the Crock Pot to cook.

If you are going to use the chickpeas in savory dishes add in a good amount of kosher salt, 3 teaspoons of Cumin, a dash of pepper, and 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic. If you are going to use them in sweet dishes, just add in a bit of kosher salt. Then cover them up with 8-10 cups of water, and set the crock pot to high. Then it is time to find some more crafts to do, because they need to cook all day.

Time to crochet some more ear-warmers for Agnes.

I like to start mine in the morning, and let them cook until dinner-time. I switch the crock pot to low for the last two hours of cooking.

When dinner-time rolls around it is time to enjoy your fresh Chickpeas.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the chickpeas from the Crock pot, and transfer them into dishes for storage. I store mine without the liquid in the fridge for 10-14 days.

The cooked chickpeas can be added into burritos, roasted with veggies, or just roasted on their own. I also use about half of the cooked batch to make homemade Hummus!

I know this may seem like too many steps when you can just pick up a can of them from the store. But there really is something about turning the little pebbles of dried chickpeas into yummy food.

Hope you enjoy this recipe, and let me know what dishes you like to use chickpeas for.