I Did It My Way: Chickpeas in a Yogurt-Curry Sauce

So I get home from the gym, starving and in need of protein. Stat. I have no chicken or fish waiting...What could possibly make a full meal quickly? If you said, chickpeas, you are right. Chickpeas, which you likely know from hummus, are under-utilized in the average American's kitchen. And it's a shame: they are hearty, healthful, and can be used about a hundred ways...salads, stews, soups, etc.

I went to the Internet (God, how did people cook before Google?!)...for some inspiration. I found a great recipe that I proceeded to ignore, but use for reference. It is so simple and really refreshing.

Beat the Food Blues with Beets!

Firstly, note that "beat" and "beet" are different - in a rush, I misspell them. Spare yourself the shame of being a poor speller who lacks an understanding of homonyms.

It is easy to get into a rut with our veggies - we know what we like (and few of us probably would jump to say "Beets! Beets!"). But if you are sick of salads, stir-fries, or other standard veggie dishes, try beets. Here is a great resource on beets and their nutritional value (oh, hi, folate). Beets are beautiful - pink and white root vegetables that don't get enough credit. I have fallen in love and with my (family's) farm share I have access to fresh beets. I ran across a great recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's book Indian Cooking. Now my friend and I had a little spat - is it truly "cooking" to follow a recipe or should you just create in the kitchen? For people not comfortable in the kitchen, it's great and fine to use recipes - a way to learn. For people who feel they can create, fine. But I feel in the middle - not ready to create on my own but I like to deviate, put my own spin on things.

So that's what I did with this recipe I had found. I didn't have tomatoes to chop or even diced tomatoes as a replacement, so I used crush tomatoes, which basically is a thick sauce! So, the recipe became my own (and there is much more room to create and embellish).

My Grandmother's Cole Slaw - the Perfect Picnic Side

I hate cole slaw. I will never eat it at restaurants, or from a tub from the market, or when someone makes it and brings it to a picnic. Unless...it is made the way my maternal grandmother makes it. Everyone besides my grandmother makes it super-mayonnaise-y and it tastes too heavy and creamy; you lose the cabbage and other flavors in the mayonnaise mayhem. When my grandmother makes cole slaw, it tastes lighter, lemon-ier, and much more refreshing. You are eating shredded cabbage, not a clump of vegetables in mayo. Here is the recipe for my grandmother's classic, refreshing, and perfect-for-a-picnic coleslaw.

What You'll Need

• 1 head of cabbage
• 1/4 cup of sugar (for drawing the water out of the cabbage)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh is best - about 1 lemon - or bottled will do)
• 3/4 cup mayo or Miracle Whip (light would do just fine!)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Optional: 1 cup shredded carrots and 1/4 diced green pepper

What to Do

1. Shred the cabbage, either in a food processor or by hand, into a large bowl.
2. Sprinkle the cabbage with sugar, cover, and let sit for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. The longer it sits with the sugar, the better it tastes. 
3. Meanwhile, mix lemon juice and mayo. Add the salt and pepper. Mix together well. 
4. Add the carrots and peppers, if you so desire. (FYI, I don't add this. I like the straight-up cabbage.) 
5. Keep in the fridge until the cabbage is ready. 
6. After the 30 minutes sitting, drain the excess water from the cabbage. 
7. Mix the lemon juice-mayo with the drained, shredded cabbage. 
8. Stir well, and serve fresh! 

This dish makes a great side-salad at a picnic or with a nice hearty burger or sandwich. It's a great way to eat something like cabbage, which you may not normally like or use in cooking. And it's from my grandmother, so it's clearly a classic.

~Katie Kate

Summertime Sweetness

 Summer is here and that means wonderful things for food. It means fresh vegetables, the best fruits, better local produce and ... lemonade. Lemonade doesn't have to be the powder from your grocery store - don't get me wrong, I grew up on the stuff and love it. But it's so simple to make fresh lemonade! It is, at its core, a simple sugar syrup with lemon juice. To create a more interesting version of a classic drink, why not mix it with another, lighter juice...say, watermelon juice? I first had watermelon juice in India and was stunned by the subtle sweetness of the thick, smooth juice. Lemonade mixed with other fruit juices is apparently an "in" thing (see: McDonald's Frozen Strawberry Lemonade, Dunkin Donuts anything, etc), but I think combining it with watermelon juice is great because the subtle flavor and high water content cuts the sweetness and tart flavor of lemonade.

What You'll Need:
- 1 Watermelon, cubed so you have about 4 cups of watermelon
- About 2-3 Lemons (amount depends on how tart you like your lemonade; remember 1 lemon = 1/4 cup of juice)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water

What to Do:
1. Cube the melon, so you have about 4 cups. Blend it, strain it (bye, bye, seeds!), and put it aside for now.
2. In a sauce pan, boil the water and sugar together, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the water is something of a thin sugary syrup.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and squeeze in the lemon juice - about 1/2 cup in total, a little more if you like your juice on the tart side...mix it and you have just made homemade lemonade.
4. Pour that fresh lemonade into that fresh watermelon juice and mix it up. Voila!

There you have. I would give a yield (as in, makes "x" number of glasses) but I don't remember because my friends and I drank it so quickly! It is so refreshing - not as tart or sweet as lemonade but not as watery or subtle as watermelon juice. It's going to be an instant classic for my summertime recipes!