Cinnamon Sweet Potato Chickpeas

This recipe comes from Angela at Oh She Glows. I love the recipes Angela creates because the meals are packed with all the good things I need to keep me going on my busy marathon days. You know, the days when I wake up at 5:30, get to work by 7, spend the next 8 hours chasing after 4 year olds, and then sit in class for three hours and finally arrive home around 7:30? Yeah, those days.

This particular recipe was really interesting. The sweet potato and cinnamon are distinctly fall flavors (at least in my mind), and the coconut oil and sea salt really amp up the flavor. I'd never think to pair sweet potatoes with coconut oil, but in this recipe, they work!

Cinnamon Spice Sweet Potato Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, divided

Directions: Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a non-stick liner. Peel and chop sweet potato. In a large bowl, add the cooked chickpeas, uncooked sweet potato, cinnamon, salt, and 1/2 tbsp coconut oil. Mix well. Spread onto prepared baking sheet and place in the oven at 425F for 36-40 minutes. Remove from oven and place into a large bowl. Add the remaining 1/2 tbsp coconut oil and stir well to coat. Add additional sea salt if preferred. Serves 1-2.

This week. Ohh, this week. I'd be lying if I said I were sad to see this week pass. It rained all week. All. Damn. Week.

The pond at my job flooded.

This video was shot about five minutes from my job.

301 in PG County. This is about an hour from my house; I take this road to get to my daddy's house!

Getting out of bed when it's cold, dark, and raining took more will power than I thought I was capable of. Especially when a natural light show (read: lightening storm) kept you up most of the night. Until about 5PM this evening, I hadn't seen the sun in four days. I hadn't walked my dog in just as many days, and spent too much of my time bailing water out of my flooding basement. The lack of sun and excess of water and humidity put me in a weird funk. It put my students in a weird funk. It was just bad news bears.

Given my general state of grumpiness, I craved warm, yummy, comforting food. And who came to my rescue? Mama Pea! I made her chickpea and dumplings, and my tummy and heart felt so good! This dish has a savory, delicious flavor, and the dumplings were the bomb.

Chickpea Tacos

If the saying "you are what you eat" is true, I'd be a chickpea. With a smear of peanut butter for my hair. I add chickpeas to everything possible. When I found this recipe on the Peas and Thank You website, I knew I had to make them! The chickpeas achieved more of a chewy texture than crunchy, but I still devoured them. And my local Whole Foods finally carries Daiya Pepperjack shreds. NOMNOMNOM! Super simple and tasty, these are great for busy week nights!

Chickpea Cutlets with Mashed Butternut Squash and Corn

Source: Veganomicon

Reprinted: SparkPeople.com

My friend Mary has featured these chickpea cutlets on her blog more than once, and she always raves about them. Given my love of chickpeas, I cannot explain why I didn't try them until this weekend. And once I did, I realized how completely warranted Mary's praise is.

Aside from mashing the chickpeas, this required such little effort. I roasted the butternut squash while putting together and cooking the cutlets. Everything came together easily and quickly; these cutlets might quite possibly be climbing the ladder that is my list of favorite foods.

Pureed Spicy Sweet Potato & Peanut Stew with Chickpeas

Source: Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan

Fact: I love food. In the world of vegan food, there's little I won't eat (read: mushrooms). As such, the list of "ohmygod I love this" is quite extensive. On it, you'll find chickpeas, sweet potatoes, and somewhere near the top peanut butter. My love for peanut butter is so obnoxious, a spoonful of pb - be it smooth or crunchy, I don't discriminate - is a sufficient snack. When I came across this recipe, my reaction was somewhere along the lines of, "Ooooh, I have to make this!"

Combining sweet potatoes, peanut butter, and chickpeas might seem like an odd combination, but I've learned to trust Dreena Burton's sometimes unusual sounding recipes. I'm not sure I truly achieved "stew" consistency, but regardless, the flavor can be best described as absolutely delicious. Because bread is also on my "I love this" list, I paired the soup with a slice of French bread and a green salad. The end result? Total nomnomnom.

The online recipe is printed here!

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 5-6 cups sweet potato, chopped
• 2 cups onions, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 3-4 lg cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp cumin
• 3 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper flakes
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 3 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas 
• freshly squeezed lime juice, 1/2 lime

Directions

In a large pot on med-high heat, add oil, sweet potatoes, onion, celery, garlic, salt, cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add stock, water and 1 1/2 tbsp ginger (save the other half). Stir to combine and increase heat to bring to a boil. Once bubbling, reduce heat to medium-low and cover for 15 minutes or until sweet potatoes are completely softened. Stir in remaining ginger and peanut butter. With a hand blender, puree until just smooth then stir in the chickpeas. Add the lime juice and serve.

Number of Servings: 8