The Makeshift Cook

It's been the week of the chickpea here at the makeshift kitchen. Several days ago I cooked up a huge batch with no real plan for them, but it's been nice to have cooked beans on hand to use as I wish (and with which to make yet more Chickpea Cutlets). I just cooked an even larger batch of aduki/adzuki/azuki beans, so stay tuned as I explore their manifold uses.

Anyway, this slaw thing just sort of came to me after I shredded a bit of beet for a variation on the house salad the other day. I love beets in all forms, but I have to say I haven't done a lot of raw beet goodness apart from the occasional trip to a juice bar (my favorite: carrot apple beet juice with lots of ginger). This recipe totally remedies that situation. It also made use of an old-ass apple I had in the fridge. You know that one apple? It's gotten a little too wrinkly to eat as a snack, but you only have one of them, so you don't want to make applesauce? Here's one way to use that apple.



Carrot Apple Beet Slaw with Chickpeas
Mix up a vinaigrette:
1/4 cup olive oil
a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
a healthy plop of dijon mustard
a few squirts of Braggs Liquid Aminos (or plain old soy sauce)
1/2 tsp of thyme
1/2 tsp basil

Whisk together in a medium bowl and add 2 cups cooked chickpeas. Let that all mellow together and work on your veggies.

2 large carrots, grated
1 medium beet, grated
(Note: I just scrubbed the veggies really well instead of peeling. They're organic and there's good stuff in the skin, you dig?)
1 apple, peeled and grated
1 rib celery, chopped, including the leafy bits, why not?
1 scallion, chopped

Mix it all together with the vinaigrettey chickpeas, add salt if you need it, and garnish with black pepper and pumpkin or sunflower seeds or serve over lettuce.