The archives [2]

The back of the pantry
Wednesday 30 January, 2008 - 20:31

My mission at the moment is to use up some of the "seemed like a good idea at the time" items from the pantry.

Having spent a good part of the day with friends and children at Questacon, and then most of the rest of the afternoon looking up 2012 references (exactly what effect will a DNA update from the centre of the universe, from 2-strand to 12-strand DNA, have on us? Indeed, will it hurt? And will it go with my current hair colour?) and avoiding the pressing work commitments I have (I should add Procrastination to my interests, when I get around to it!), I had no idea what we were having for dinner. So I opened the cupboard and found - TA DA! - a can of chickpeas. Now, while chickpeas aren't particularly exotic, they've never been a staple in this household. Sounded like a good excuse to go back to the computer - had to find a recipe. Hmmm ... no chicken, hoummus (with any variety of spelling) isn't quite dinner ... how about creamy chickpea curry? Chickpeas, coconut milk, tomato, garlic, curry powder (ok - I cheated a bit there - it should have been red curry paste), oil, brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice and coriander, accompanied by rice. It was looking a bit too liquid partway through cooking, so a couple of handfuls of red lentils were a quick fix.

Surprisingly (for a family with children who can whine about any meal without a morsel of it having passed their lips) it was a big hit! Even the husband ("You know I'm not keen on chickpeas." "Well, think of them as garbanzo beans then.") liked it. So know I know how to use up the several other cans of chickpeas hiding in the back of the pantry. And I know there are some dried ones in there somewhere too ...