My husband made some yummy beef kalbi (Korean short ribs) that are marinated in all sorts of yumminess including mirin, kiwifruit and 7up (yes, 7up!). He grilled the beef along with some gorgeous striped eggplant, and served with brown rice and a plain salad. 
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My husband made some yummy beef kalbi (Korean short ribs) that are marinated in all sorts of yumminess including mirin, kiwifruit and 7up (yes, 7up!). He grilled the beef along with some gorgeous striped eggplant, and served with brown rice and a plain salad. My eldest cried out when he saw his plate, “I hate eggplant!” and so I told him to give it one taste which he did then made a disgusted look. So, I said to just give it to me (it was so delicious). I reminded him of other times he’s had eggplant and liked it.
“No I didn’t” was his reply. My middle son echoed it. Whatever.
So two nights later I made a summer stew with eggplant, kale, baby potatoes (some from our “garden”— pathetic effort this year), sweet potatoes, chicken, chickpeas, tomatoes, garlic, fresh ginger, onion, Middle Eastern spices and cilantro. 
It was so good and we were in a rush to get places so I even packed up my middle son’s in a thermos flask to eat on the road.
Funny thing is they both devoured the dish and when I mentioned that there was eggplant in it, my middle son denied that it was even there. I had to physically point it out to him. He then tasted one piece and said, “Oh, Ok.”
So… sometimes it’s just how you serve it. Alone, grilled, in a dish with many other items, raw, steamed, baked, with certain spices, etc… It may not be received well one way, but they may actually like it done differently.
I find with many kids it can be the texture that puts them off with certain vegetables, that’s why raw over cooked or vice versa may be preferred.
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Chickpea salad I brought to friend’s party on Saturday. 3 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)1 cup plain Greek yogurt2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives2 tsp cumin1/2 tsp cayennejuice of 1 lemondozen chopped grape tomatoessalt & pepper to taste … Continue reading
I’ve been trying to eat a few more vegetarian meals, mostly out of wanting to cut down on our animal protein intake, but not giving it up entirely. A friend mentioned falafel and it was like a light bulb went off in my head. But I’d just cooked all the chickpeas I’d soaked, supposedly falafel is made with raw chickpeas, so I had to rethink what I was going to make. With the dukkah recipe it gave me an idea for another spice combination and I saw some recipes for vegetarian burgers and fritters using beans. So my chickpea fritter was borne of these.
2 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
1 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 garlic cloves
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil for frying
Toast the seeds over medium high heat for a couple of minutes. Throw all ingredients except egg into food processor and blend together until pasty. Add egg and mix for another minute. 
Form into patty shapes and pan fry in olive oil over medium high heat for a few minutes, flip and cook other side. Turn heat down if it gets too brown. Make sure they’ve cooked through then drain on paper towel. 
Serve alone or with plain yogurt, mint and lemon juice.
I have a good friend who is vegetarian and I was so happy to share one of my new recipes with her— because I finally could! But it wasn’t she who was as enamored of it as her meat-loving son. He couldn’t get enough AND he’d just had dinner. Woo-hoo!
My two eldest loved them too, but I couldn’t convince my youngest to try even a bite. Next time, maybe.
One of my girlfriend’s kids calls chickpeas (garbanzo beans) “bottoms” because they kind of look like bottoms/bums/heinies. Well when I told my eldest this, he thought they looked more like hearts. I love either. Fun images that conjur good thoughts in their minds. If kids have positive associations with food, I believe it helps them try new things/enjoy good foods.
I love that our kids enjoy a wonderful staple and will eat them in all different manners. My friend’s sons eat them right out of the can as a snack. Both our sons also love hummus. I’ve been adding chickpeas to many dishes in the past year, but this week I tried a few new recipes and each time they were well received.
I’d been reading about roasted chickpeas for a while now so I thought I’d take a stab at making them. There’s something about chickpeas that Moroccan spices come to mind, so i thought they’d naturally go well together in this manner.
Roasted Bottoms or Hearts (Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans)
1 can chickpeas
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp turmeric (optional)
⅛ tsp cayenne (optional)
sea salt and ground pepper to taste
Tbsp olive oil
Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and spread out on baking sheet. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
So easy and so delicious! Brought these as an appetizer to a party with kale chips and turkey meatballs. My eldest son liked them so much that he blurted out in class (complete segue I gather), “Has anyone tried roasted chickpeas? They’re delicious!”
I’ll post the dukkah and other creation later.
