Easy - Peeezy and Carb free!

Now don't get me wrong, I DO NOT condone those carb free diets. I think they are ridiculous, I don't care what those nutso South Beach diet types say. But, I do understand the need to limit carbs later in the day, and the need to look for alternative snacks than reaching for a box of crackers or having some toast with honey (mmmmm.....toast and honey.....).

To combat my late afternoon nibblish itch, I whipped up a batch of roasted red pepper hummus, and somehow discovered how well they go with......baby spinach leaves! So, then I decided to make a plate of them. One dip with a butterknife into the hummus, slap it on all over a baby spinach leaf, and fold over. That's it! So simple. So yum. Lots of protein!

A note on cooking your own chickpeas: If you plan on using dried chickpeas for this recipe (which I HIGHLY recommend because they turn out creamier, and it's kind of gross thinking about how cooked chickpeas have been sitting in the same salty, gooey liquid for god knows how long, surrounded by dark, cold metal that has been lined with...BHP or something that is not good for you), then be sure to soak the chickpea over night, and boil or pressure cook WITHOUT salt. Salt tends to make the skins tougher, and then they will take longer to cook. Just add extra salt when pureeing to make it into hummus.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Ingredients:
1 cup of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and either boiled or pressure cooked, OR, 2 cans of chickpeas
4 red peppers, cut into large chunks
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp tahini
5 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Directions:
1. Toss red peppers and garlic in a little of the olive oil and salt and roast in a 375 degree F oven for about 20 minutes, or until soft
2. Throw all ingredients either into a high powered blender or food processor.

That's it!.

Three Ingredient Goodness....

Oh. I love this one. It was my first time making this and it is so dead simple, Nobody could mess this one up. It take no more than 8 minutes of prep time, and about 15 to bake. Brie in phyllo.....wow. Rich, smooth, gooey, savoury, crisp. Have it on its own, or with a fruit coulis or jam with simple crackers or crostini. You really can't go wrong with this one.

And then go to the gym and do double the workout the next day!

Ingredients

1 circle of brie cheese, of your desired size
melted butter, about 5 tbsp
phyllo dough


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. With a brush, take one sheet of phyloo and brush a thin layer of butter on it. Place the brie in the middle of the sheet
3. Wrap the phyllo sheet all around the brie.
4. Brush another sheet with butter and place your brie and first phyllo sheet on top of this second phyllo sheet and do the same thing.
5. Do this for about 5 sheets of phyllo.
6. For the last sheet, lightly brush the outside of the sheet with butter as well.
7. Place in the oven, but check on it often! make sure it doens't burn! Once the top is nicely browned, flip it over to let the other side brown.
8. You may need to poke some holes through the phyllo with a knife to let out some of the steam.
9. Serve on its own or with jam/coulis and crackers.


mmmmmmmmm!!!!

An Alternative to Tomato Sauce for Spaghetti

This particular sauce originates from my brother in law who discovered it while in Iqaluit for some research, hence the name Iqaluit spaghetti. I never used red masoor lentils until I was introduced to this. When cooked, they release a smoky smell and flavor that is not too overpowering, but just enough. You don't need many other herbs and spices to add flavour to this dish.

Again, this is a fast simple dish that is great for winter, because it can potentially be made from all canned/bottled ingredients, if you happen to not have any fresh vegetables on hand.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onion, diced

2 bay leaves

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

4 tomatoes, chopped, or can of diced tomatoes

2 carrots, diced

1 cup red lentils (masoor lentils)

3 cups water

1 small bottle of artichokes, chopped

10 mushrooms, sliced

healthy handful (or two) of spinach

salt and pepper to taste

feta cheese for sprinkling

cooked whole wheat pasta of your choice (I recommend spaghettini)

Directions:

1. In a hot, large pot, add oil, then onions and a dash of salt of medium high heat

2. When onions are soft, add bay leaf, garlic and tomatoes and increase the heat.

3. When the tomatoes are bubbling, reduce back to medium and add carrots. Cook for 5 minutes covered.

4. Add lentils and water. Stir and cook the lentil for about 20 minutes covered. Be sure to stir around every once in a while to prevent sticking/burning.

5. Once the lentils are soft, add artichokes and mushrooms. Cook for another 5 minutes. Cook even longer if you find the sauce is too runny.

6. Add salt to your taste. Add spinach. Cover pot until spinach has wilted.

7. Serve with freshly boiled pasta and a generous sprinkling of feta and fresh ground pepper!

Seasonal Goodness...

I love seasonal fruits and veggies. They are at the peak of their taste, and are usually locally grown. Why is locally grown better? Because it means that the fruit or vegetable has been picked at its peak, full of all of its nutritional goodness, and will stay that way by the time it gets to your home because it did not have to travel too far to get there!

My sister gets a locally grown, organic fruit and veggie box every week, and this week, there were some yummy orange cherry tomatoes, one massive red tomato, and two very pretty, green heirloom tomatoes. There were also some very pungent sprigs of basil in there too. Naturally, I had to make some bruschetta mix out of it. I find that if you make it at least a few hours in advance, the basil and tomato get a chance to get to know one another really well, and their flavors meld together really well. Many people put raw garlic into their bruschetta, I am not a fan of raw garlic flavor, and frankly, if you have really local, fresh ingredients, I don't think you need it.

There was also some swiss chard in the box, and my sister also has a tonne of swiss chard growing in her backyard, so we also decided to make some scrambled tofu with swiss chard. And voila! dinner is served.

Bruschetta: Ingredients

Tomatoes - any kind, diced

Lots of fresh basil, chopped up into bits

Parmesan cheese, grated

Olive oil, extra virgin cold pressed is best

Fresh squeezed lime juice

Salt

Fresh ground pepper

Fresh baguette, sliced, brushed with olive oil and toasted in the oven

Directions:

1. Mix together the tomatoes and basil.

2. Add enough olive oil, to lightly coat everything, shouldn't be more than a couple tablespoons

3. Add parm cheese, this is all dependent on how cheesy you like it. I would recommend not putting in too much, it'll take away from your fresh local goodness!

4. Add a squeeze of lime juice - just enough for a touch of tang

5. Add salt and pepper to your liking. You many not need a lot of salt because parm cheese is pretty salty.

6. Let this mixture meld for a few hours and serve on warm, crusty baguette slices.

Scrambled tofu with swiss chard

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 block of medium firm tofu

6-7 leaves of swiss chard, rougly chopped

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp turmeric

Salt to taste

Squeeze of lime juice

Directions:

1. In a hot pan, add oil, then sautee onions with a dash of salt.

2. When onions are soft, add tofu, toss around for a couple minutes

3. Add swiss chard, and cook on medium heat for 6-7 minutes, or until stalks are tender.

4. Add curry powder, turmeric and salt to taste

5. Serve on plate with a generous squeeze of lime juice. yumyum!!

Persian Delight!

I had the opportunity to stay with a Persian friend of mine in Toronto one weekend. It was at this point that my eyes opened up to Persian food! I never really took the time to think about their cuisine, making the assumption that it is full of meat, and very fewfor vegetarians. My friend made me the most sumptuous, well balanced meal for dinner, I had to make it for my friends!

A staple food in Persian cooking is rice. Their process of cooking rice involves creating a yummy crusty, crunchy bottom to enjoy with the rest of your meal. I loved it! My friend had this special bread that she covered with the bottom of her pan. I didn't have that special thin bread so I decided to crustify the rice itself.

My friend also made a yummy raita that was also very tasty. The rice dish can be a little bit dry, so the raita is a perfect accompaniment with this dish. I will warn you now, it is somewhat laborious, so you have to be in the mood for cooking if you want to make this dish. But it is so worth the effort!

I have slightly modified her recipe with a couple of additions that work very well with this dish.

Ingredients

The Rice
1.5 cups basmati rice
1 cup french green lentils (the round, flat ones)
salt to taste
2 tbsp cumin powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1 whole onion, cut in half and sliced thin to make long strips
2 tbsp margerine or butter

The Raita
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tomato, finely diced
1/3 English cucumber, finely diced
2 tbsp fresh mint, minced or 2 tsp dried mint
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Boil rice in 3 cups salted water. Once water starts to boil, reduce to low heat and keep covered.
2. Boil lentils in a different pot in 2 cups salted water. Once water starts to boil, reduce to medium low heat and keep half covered.
3. Sautee the onions in a shallow frying pan with olive oil and a dash of salt on medium heat. Mix around and once the onions have softened, reduce to low heat. Let them sit around until brown and crispy (about 45 minutes). You will need to toss them around every so often.
4. For the raita, mix all ingredients together and allow them to meld and the flavors to blend together. Keep the raita outside for about 1 hour for melding.
5. The rice should only cook until it is 3/4 of the way cooked through. You can tell by tasting a grain of rice, and it should be a little hard on the inside, but the outside should be cooked. This should take about 10-12 minutes of low heat cooking time.
6. The lentils need to fully cook and this should take about 20 minutes.
7. Once the rice is 3/4 cooked, drain any leftover water, empty into a bowl, and smear margerine all over the bottom of the rice pot.
8. Lightly press down some of the rice until the bottom of the pot is covered.
9. Mix together the cooked lentils and the rest of the rice. Mix in the cumin powder, then add back into the pot.
10. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes. Then, increase to medium heat for about 6-7 minutes until the rice at the bottom of the pot has browned.
11. Serve the rice with some of the crusty rice bottom, the shriveled, sweet, crispy onions on top, and the raita on the side, yum!!!!!

Hearty, seasonal, warm....

I just made a fantastic stew like coconut milk concoction out of various organic vegetables sitting in my sister's fridge, a can of coconut milk and leftover brown rice. It's a perfect meal for fall days.  It warms your insides, makes few pots to wash, and is very well balanced in terms of getting your veggies, carbs and protein. You can almost put any vegetable that you are in desperate need to use up in a hurry.  It also tastes better the next day, and is great for work lunches if you have leak free tupperware (I recommend Starfrit's Lock n Lock line).

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

6 curry leaves (if you don't have these, then omit)

2 cloves garlic, sliced thin, or diced

1 tsp grated ginger (if you have it)

2 stalks celery, diced

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced into small cubes

1/3 head of cauliflower, chopped into small chunks

2 red peppers, diced

1/2 cup of chopped green beans

1 zucchini squash, diced (I think that's what it's called?)

1 green zucchini, diced

1 can of chick peas (or same amount of soaked and cooked chick peas)

1 can of coconut milk

2 tbsp milk curry powder

2 tsp sambar powder (if you have it, or add some more curry powder)

2 tsp turmeric

salt to your taste

cilantro for garnish

fresh squeezed lime juice

Directions

1. In a large pot, add oil. When heated, add onions, curry leaves and salt. 

2. Once onions are soft, add garlic, ginger, celery and sweet potato. Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.

3. Add cauliflower, red peppers and green beans. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4. Add rest of vegetables and cook for another 2-3 minutes. 

5. Add chick peas, coconut milk and spices. Add some water if coconut milk is too thick. Stir well and simmer on low for abobu 10 minutes. 

6. Taste and add salt to your taste.

7. Squeeze lime on top and garnish with coriander and serve with brown rice! yum yum yum!! 

Restaurant Review #2 - The Table - Ottawa, Ontario

I recently had the opportunity to go to a new vegetarian restaurant that I had never been to before, The Table, an organic joint in the west end of Ottawa. The restaurant has a Commensal type business model, buffet style food and pay based on its weight . I actually like this concept, it costs the customer less since there is no obligatory tip! But it does have drawbacks. I always end up with an odd mish mash mix of foods on my plate, because I want a little sampler of everything that is offered, and that does not really settle in my tummy too well.

The Table is definitely very fairly priced, considering it is fresh, organic food, but unfortunately, they really need to do some work on the food itself. The lasagna was on the overcooked side, in particular the noodles, and the cheese was a little gummy. I am also not a huge fan of celery in my lasagna. The tikka flavored tempeh had a nice rich red color to the sauce, but did not have much depth in terms of flavor that indian sauces usually have. The salad bar just did not look super appetizing to me, a lot of cole slaw type salads, that I am not really into. The desserts were....healthy. A little too healthy for my liking. The vegan coconut cream pie tasted like tofu with bits of coconut. The cakes were all very dense and mushy. I did really like the carob chip cookies, they were soft and chewy.

It seems that this restaurant must be doing something right because it does have a huge following. It looked like many people visit The Table on a regular basis and get take out for their families - or maybe it is just the only choice available in the area? Hmmmmm..do I sniff a business opportunity?

Anyhow, I don't think I will be going back to this place, but it was worth a try, and from the busyness of the restaurant, it looks like there are many people out there who may think differently than I do.

The Table owners, if you are reading this, I am willing to consult :) Oh, and my sister is requesting change tables in the washrooms. It's kind of funny how you have high chairs and booster chairs, but no change table in the washrooms?

The Table Restaurant

1230 Wellington St.

Ottawa, Ontario

http://www.thetablerestaurant.com/

613-729-5973

Don't throw away those stale bagels!

If you have not noticed from a few of my previous posts, I really do hate to waste food, which is why I try to come up with creative ways of using old, stale food items, that have not yet reached rotton hood.

Here is one that I used quite a bit, and during my year at school, it was a hit! Super simple, super tasty, and versatile. Eat it on its own, or with a dip! This recipe does not have measurements because it really depends on how many bagels you have! I would estimate that 1 bagel would need about 3 tablespoons of oil. (the picture of these bagel chips are from another site, but they look exactly like how mine should turn out!)

Baked Bagel Chips

Ingredients

Old bagels, sliced into 1/8 of an inch into thick circular thins
Olive oil
Salt
Cumin powder

Directions

1. Mix together oil, salt and cumin powder.
2. Brush each bagel slice lightly with the oil mixture. As you are doing this, pile each slice on top of one another, so that the other side of the bagel slice gets transferred with some oil from the slice below it.
3. In a single layer, place on either a pizza stone of pizza tray, and place in a 300 F degree oven, for about 15 minutes. It may take longer or shorter depending on the thickness of you bagels. You also may need to turn the pan if your oven does not distribute heat evenly. They should be baked until they are crisp, not browned.
4. Let them cool and enjoy! They are a great snack, and pair well with hummous, baba ganouj, and roasted red pepper dip with cream cheese.

Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes - Veggie Style!

Pav Bhaji (pow bah jee) is one of the most famous Mumbai street foods one can find. You have not tasted Mumbai until you have had the Pav Bhaji at Juhu beach at one of many stalls in the food court. What is it you ask? I had a friend come over for dinner last night and asked me this question, and the best way I could explain it to them is that it is a vegetarian sloppy joe. Essentially, it's a really tasty, spicy vegetable mush that you slap in between two buttered, toasted white buns (I guess you could use multigrain bread and olive oil to super healthify the dish, but then it would lose its authenticity). Incredibly healthy, very little fat, super satisfying. One down side to this dish is that you cannot make a little of it. You have to make a whole pot of it. So if you are planning to feed a vegetarian army, this is a great dish. Also great for potlucks too!!
The picture on the right is one of the pav bhaji stands at Juhu beach in Mumbai. You can see the warm buns on the left side of the large pan, and the red, spicy pav bhaji on the right.

Ingredients

1 medium sized head of cauliflower, chopped somewhat finely
1.5 cups of peas, fresh or frozen
2 potatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 green pepper, diced
any other vegetables that you need to get rid of, diced.
salt to your taste
1 small can of tomato paste
2 tbsp coriander powder
2 tbsp cumin powder
2 tbsp mango powder (if you dont have this, don't worry, just add extra lemon at the end)
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp oil (not olive or other easy burning oil)
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, diced
2 green chillies, finely chopped (if you dont have this, add 2 tsp cayenne pepper to the vegetable mix)
lemon
cilantro, chopped
sweet purple onion, finely diced
toasted, buttered buns

Directions

1. In a large pot, add about 1 cup of boiling water, and add all vegetables except for the onion and green chillies. Let this cook on medium high heat for about 20 minutes, until all vegetables are quite tender.
2. Using a hand blender, roughly blend all ingredients right in the pot.
3. Stir in can of tomato paste. If the blend is too thick, add a little water.
4. Add all coriander power, cumin powder, garam masala and mango powder and mix well. Reduce heat to low, and allow the mixture to simmer. Meanwhile, in a small pot, heat oil on high heat, add cumin seeds.
5. Once seeds begin to pop, add the chillies and onion with a p inch of salt. Reduce heat to medium, and stir for 2-3 minutes, until onions are softened.
6. Add this mixture to the large pot of vegetable mush and stir in well.
7. Turn heat off, and add chopped cilantro.
8. Serve with fresh squeezed lemon, some freshly diced purple onion, and toasted buns and enjoy!

A Necessary Addition to any Pasta....

Garlic of course! In particular, roasted garlic, which loses its strong raw bite through the baking process and instead becomes sweet, aromatic and almost creamy.  Traditionally, to roast garlic, one would have to take the whole head, chop off the top to expose the top of each clove, drizzle with olive oil and salt and put in the oven for at least 30 minutes.  Kind of a pain, and a waste of energy for just one head of garlic. 

My sister introduced me to a quicker and easier way of getting the same results, on the stove top! Simply separate each clove of garlic, ensuring that you keep its outer skin in tact.  Throw them in a medium-heavy bottomed pot, and start roasting them on medium heat. Toss them around every couple of minutes to ensure they do not burn. After 3-4 minutes, lower the heat, and let them slowly roast for about 15 minutes, tossing every so often. That is it. At this point, they should be soft, and should come out of their skins very easily. 

I just went through this process for my dinner tonight.  Once I removed the skins from the garlic, I chopped them up and threw them into a simple veggie herb pasta with onion, bell peppers, swiss chard and mushrooms.  The roasted garlic added sophistication to this dish and took no time at all. Yum! 

The Low Down: 24th Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival

I had the opportunity to spend some time at North America's largest vegetarian food festival at Harbourfront in Toronto yesterday, and let me tell you, it never disappoints.  I have been visiting this festival on and off for almost 10 years now, and I always come out with bags of new skin products, food products and even clothing.  

The most popular food item on sale was chia seeds.  I had no idea how popular these seeds were until now.  I discovered them at a nicaraguan booth at the Sun Festival in London, Ontario, but it seems that every other vegetarian has taken a strong liking to them as well!  They were being offered in every way, shape and form. Black, white, organic, sprouted, ground, mixed in a cereal, blendered into a smoothie, mixed with flax, the list goes on and on.  But again, as I mentioned in my last post about chia seeds, they are not cheap. A 450 gram bag was going from $7-10, varying from vendor to vendor.  But, like I also mentioned, it seems that the popularity of these seeds is clearly rising, so the price should drop eventually. 

Herbal teas seemed to be making a come back as well.  Four O'Clock had some great new teas available, and there were plenty of booths offering various loose green teas, and some beautiful tea sets to serve them in! 

There were not as many new food booths as there has been in previous festivals, but there were a few.  Yoso, a Cambridge, Ontario based company had a fantastic soy yogurt, and their soy 'cream cheese' spreads were fantastic! It was creamy, spreadable, and the sun dried tomato flavored version had an intense tomato taste. 

Overall, it's always a great time at this festival.  I always come out with a full belly. Although, I do hope to see more new products lined up next year.

My New Favorite Green

So as I was at my sister's place in Ottawa, when I had swiss chard for the first time. I LOVED it, and I have never really loved any green.  I picked the whole plant out of the ground, washed it well, and just did a simple sautee with olive oil, salt and lemon. yumalicious. who would have thought that a green could melt in your mouth the way swiss chard does?  So then I got inspired - what other ways can I take advantage of it? 

Swiss chard goes really well with pasta, in particular I like it with rigatoni, a wide, tubular pasta because it seems to 'stick' on rigatoni really well.  You have to keep swiss chard recipes simple, otherwise you will overpower its flavor, and you also do not want to overcook it, as it will kill its texture as well.  

Swiss Chard Pasta

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced

2 tsp salt

2 tsp italian seasoning, or 1tsp dried basil and 1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried chili flakes

3 cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped finely

1 bell pepper, in thin slices

1/2 bunch of swiss chard, roughly chopped leaves and diced stalks

1/2 lime, juiced squeezed out of it

shavings of parmesan for garnish

2 cups of rigatoni, cooked to your liking

Directions: 

1. add oil to a warm pot, and add onions and salt

2. over medium heat, mix around onion until they are almost soft (5-6 minutes)

3. add garlic, bell pepper, swiss chard stalks and spices. Cook for another 4-5 minutes

4. add the swiss chard leaves and cook for another 2-3 minutes

5. test for salt content to your liking

6. in a bowl, first add a few scoops of pasta, then generously top with the swiss chard sautee, then lime juice, then top with parmesan and enjoy! 

Restaurant Review #1 - Aux Vivres in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

I love to travel. I love different cultures, different people, and of course, different food! I was recently introduced to an absolutely fabulous vegan restaurant in the swanky Plateau area of Montreal, Aux Vivres. The decor is simple, clean and fresh looking. There is a separate take out area for those in need of something on the go. The service is extremely friendly (regardless of what people say about Quebecers in general), and the food - unreal. Everything is fresh and incredibly tasty. Prices are extremely reasonable - this place will not break your bank.

We started off with some corn bread and a special dipping sauce, as well as an array of dips and roasted peppers with pita (you can see the empty dish that used to be dipping sauces on the right side of the picture below). I have never been a huge fan of corn bread until now. It was a perfect mix of sweet and savoury, and I have no idea what was in the dipping sauce, but it seemed to go perfectly with the bread. The texture of the bread was just as expected from a corn bread - slightly crisp on the outside, and a melt in your mouth inside.

Now being a hummous snob, I usually never enjoy any hummous made from any restaurant or grocery store, but I have to say that these guys

made it right. Their mini antipasto dish also included baba ganouj (also very tasty), roasted red peppers and olives - yum!

For a main entree, Connie and I ordered a polenta dish that came with pureed black beans, salad, salsa verde and the red kind, guacamole and

scrambled tofu. Extremely filling, fabulous dish. The polenta was super crisp on the outside and had a slight chewiness on the inside, the beans were silky smooth, salsa and guac complemented the polenta really well, and the scrambled tofu was a nice added side for an extra protien kick.

Caroline got the BLT without the B! I usually dont enjoy wraps, but this one was yumalicious!

Instead of bacon, Aux Vivres has created dry, crisp, wafer thin coconut wedges as a substitute. I am guessing that it tastes nothing like bacon, but it is a great accompaniment to this wrap.

Finally, Nishma got the Dragon bowl. Isn't it pretty? Enough to feed two, with a silky smooth, aromatic peanut sauce slathered all over the brown rice underneath, and a little more on the

side for the veggies on top.

2.5 hours later, we waddled around, in and out of the funky shops in the Plateau area.

Aux Vivres

4631 St–Laurent (between Villeneuve and Mont-Royal)
514-842-3479

Don't ever buy a bag of chips again!

I am serious. After making these delectable crunchy treats, I no longer have the need to scarf down tongue wrinkling salt n' vinegar chips, or those Fiery Habanero Doritos that put my mouth in flames, or even my all time favorite, stale cheesy Cheetos..mmmm....

And what is this Master Substitute junk food that I speak of? Chick peas! Yes! Chick peas! Soak em, cook em, toss em and roast em. Make your own spice mix to flavor them, or buy one of those Kernels brand popcorn flavor bottles.

I will admit, they do take a little bit of time and effort, but they are worth it. They are high in protein, extremely low in fat, and will satisfy you whenever you may get the munchies. Try it out.

Ingredients

1 cup dried chick peas, soaked overnight
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt (or other spice mix of your choice)

Directions

1. Boil the soaked chick peas for about 45 minutes, until cooked through, but not mushy. Alternatively, if you have a pressure cooker you can do it in there, but be VERY careful that you do not overcook them! I would recommend cooking them for about 7-8 minutes with the pressure cooker on, then turn the stove off and leave them in the cooker until all the pressure has been released on its own (about another 15 minutes).
2. Spread the cooked chick peas (discard any excess water) out on a tray, and let them cool and steam out for about 10 minutes.
3. Place in a big bowl and toss only in olive oil.
4. Place back on tray and bake for about 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven. You WILL need to toss them occasionally so that they bake through evenly.
5. You will know they are done because they will be nice and crunchy. After the 40 minutes, if they are not done, then you may need to keep them in a little longer. This all depends on the size of your chickpeas and your oven.
6. Toss in your favorite spice mix and enjoy!