Black Bean and Toasted Chickpea Salad

Sometimes I look in my fridge and I start to panic that food is about to go bad... 

and then I make a salad with those things and all is well with the world. 

It is under those exact circumstances that this delightful little dish was born. I had a bunch of bell peppers that were likely to not last another day so I wanted to build a healthy, tasty, nutrient rich meal based around them. We have been eating a lot of beans lately because it is the perfect finger food for our almost 1-year old, Wesley. I like for him to be a part of our dinner rituals so I always make a dish that he can dig into as well. 

I love simple food that feels good to make, and that I feel good about giving to my family. James works a lot of hours at the hospital and often comes home without having eaten much during a 12 hour shift. I try to pack as much nutritional value as I can into those meals so that he can recuperate his lost energy. Salads are the perfect tool for my gastronomic goals:

1) Nourish my loved ones and myself.
2) Use up food that is on its way out.
3) Make yummy things that look beautiful.








This salad satisfied all of those goals and turned out to be
something that I will definitely make again. Here is how it goes:

Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans / chick peas
1 can black beans
1 medium tomato
1/2 red onion
1/2 of each red, green and orange bell pepper
1 green onion - green and white parts
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 small diced jalapeño
Juice of 1 lime
cilantro
olive oil
salt and pepper

Method:
1) Dice up all the veggies and put them in a bowl.
2) Toast the chick peas over medium heat for just a few minutes; when the skin starts to darken you should take them off the heat. Add them to the bowl
3) Do the same to the black beans.
4) Squeeze the juice out of the entire lime into the bowl.
5) Mix the salad well for a minute.
6) Add salt and pepper to taste.
7) Add fresh cilantro to your taste. I like to wait until just before I serve the dish to add my cilantro to keep it as fresh tasting as possible.

Note: I added cubed muenster cheese to my plate. We had a dairy free guest for lunch so I didn't add it to the original salad. I am 100% that cheese makes everything better... except fish... :) 




                                                             ENJOY!!!!!!