efoodie

The most delicious low-cal, healthy, high-fiber snack, Roasted Chick Peas!

      Well, the bad news is that I've gained all the weight I lost on weight watchers (about 8 pounds), since I started working in Boston again. Sitting in that cube evidently works up quite an appetite. There's an Italian Deli and a convenience store in my building,  so all I have to do is ride the elevator down to the first floor, stock up and head back to feed in my cube. I fell into bad habits fast. By the end of the first week, each time I chatted with my sister on the phone, it was around three or so and I'd just returned to my cube after taking my regular afternoon walk to the elevator and to the convenience store where they sell old-fashioned penny candy. Penny candy!!!  And they had my favorites too, the tiny swedish fish, and those snowflake looking dark chocolate non-pareils.   Not good for the diet.

But, in an effort to get back on track, I stumbled onto an excellent new find. Just playing around one night, I opened a can of chick peas (garbanzo beans), rinsed them under cold water, and tossed them into a large saute pan. I drizzled about two tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil over them, added plenty of salt and fresh ground pepper and a few big pinches of crushed red pepper. I stirred them well, then threw the whole pan into a 350 oven for about 50 minutes.

They are positively swoon-worthy. The outsides get nice and crisp and crunchy while the insides are tender and creamy. The flavor from the seasonings adds just the right amount of spicy kick. These are best when served hot. Transfer immediately into a serving dish, so they stop cooking. I made a batch once and didn't do this and an hour later, they resembled shriveled, hard peas.

These are great as a healthy, high fiber snack, with cocktails as an appetizer, or tossed into salads for a little extra crunch.

You could also experiment with the spices. I bet it would be fantastic with fresh rosemary and a splash of lemon, or chinese five spice seasoning, or just about any flavor you like.

Enjoy!

:) Pam

Card Tricks--Chef Andrew's Clam Dip

      Before my friend Keri and her now husband, Andrew moved to Nantucket, they lived with me for a few months. This was at least 7 or 8 years ago, when I lived in Winthrop, MA, a tiny town just past East Boston, completely surrounded by water and with views and sounds of jets taking off at Logan Airport. We got so used to the sound, a constant hum that was like white noise in the background, that when the planes occasionally changed their flight patterns, the silence seemed strange. When I first told my grandparents I was moving to Winthrop, which was my first big move off Cape Cod and into the big city of Boston, they were thrilled. Relieved actually. They knew Winthrop well and kept a boat at the Winthrop Yacht club for something like twenty years. My grandfather said there was no crime in Winthrop, "There's only two ways in or out of town. Anything happens, they just block you in." He was right.

So, for the few months that Keri and Andrew stayed with me, we had mostly opposite schedules. I worked days at my office job, and they worked nights. Keri was a server at the Bristol Lounge at the Four Seasons and Andrew was a chef at several places. We usually had Monday nights off together, Monday's being generally slow restaurant nights. If Andrew didn't cook something amazing for us, such as mashed potatoes with many sticks of butter, sour cream, and blue cheese folded in, then we'd often sit in the kitchen, playing cards--usually pitch, drinking wine and snacking.

One of our favorite snacks, that we'd sometimes eat instead of dinner, was Andrew's clam dip. He'd make a big batch, then Keri would fill little individual bowls for each of us, and put a huge platter of chips in the middle of the table. More often than not, we'd sip Woodbridge Chardonnay, an inexpensive white that went so well with this dip. The first time he made it, I wasn't sure I'd like it. The idea of clam dip just didn' t carry much appeal as I'd had one once that was too clammy. This was different. One bite, and I swooned. It's the perfect balance of rich cream cheese, sour cream, bits of minced clam and a dash of hot sauce and worcestershire. It's best when you mix it up, then let it chill for 20-30 minutes.  Enjoy!

Andrew's Clam Dip

• 2 small packages (6 ounces total) cream cheese
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 small clove of garlic, crushed and finely minced
• 1 can (7 oz) minced clams, drained
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• dash ground cayenne pepper or hot pepper sauce (or both)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, and garlic together until smooth. Add minced clams and blend in with remaining seasonings. Chill thoroughly. Serve with chips, I like Cape Cod Reduced Fat the best, they're crispy but not as greasy.

:) Pam