Fried chickpeas (peas again, yes)

The creative juices have not been flowing with regard to menus lately. I seem to have tricked the SO into moving in only to feed him roughly the same eight dinners over and over again. When you cook every night, it's hard to get all excited about a single meal, so they all kind of suffer.

But I'd seen this post on 101 Cookbooks and thought, "hey, that's easy--few ingredients that are easily available, not a huge amount of food...I'll try it."

So I did. Last night. There are a few things you should know if you'd like to try this yourself.

1. If you use tofu from a box, it's not really going to crisp up enough if you cook according to the directions. Your basic Mori-Nu extra firm, even when drained is still going to be a tad slimy if it's not fried up on its own first. I'd cook the peas and onions first, remove from the pan, then fry the tofu with a little more oil and salt, remove from the pan, then saute the zucchini, then add it all back together (I didn't use any greens in mine; I didn't have any on hand).

2. Chickpeas pop right as they're getting to be the desired golden brown and crusty. Luckily, I'd stepped over to the sink when the first little guy escaped over the side of the pan and directly onto the floor behind me. At first, I wasn't sure what had happened. And then, like a mogwai drenched in water, they started popping out all over the place. I dove for the cabinet with the lid to keep my precious babies in the pan. A few got loose and onto the stove, but I rescued them. Only one hit the floor. None hit me, thankfully.

3. Don't overcook those squash and zucchini bits! Mushy squash doesn't go well in this dish.

It's not worthy of its own numeral, but I also think that I'd change this up quite a bit next time. I'd keep the oil, salt, lemon, and chickpeas but pehaps it'd be better as a side dish...maybe mixed in with some orzo. Maybe some slivered almonds and barberries, too but that might be going a bit far.

Regardless, fried chickpeas are a new favorite treat. And that's a good thing since I went to Baraka Bakery yesterday and stocked up, having forgotten I already had some at home.