I’ll be honest: Transitioning from a campus of nearly 30,000 students to a work-from-home job has been a little rough. I enjoy spending time alone and am able to stay focused on work — but there are certainly days when it can feel rather lonely and monotonous.
My No. 1 comfort in it all has been Dan. (It’s a toss-up between Tracker and me about who’s more excited when he gets home from class!)
It has also been a huge blessing to have my sister in town. She is busy adjusting to college life. However, she and her roommate, Savannah, have been nice enough to come out to dinner each week.
For them, it means one fewer meal in the dining hall. For me, it means a little bit of girl talk and an evening to look forward to.
This week’s dinner was “to celebrate Savannah’s birthday,” which was a great excuse to bake cupcakes.
First came the dinner: tabbouleh, pita and hummus and a Greek salad with roasted chickpeas.
Rosemary Roasted Chickpeas
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Keywords: roast appetizer snack vegan vegetarian gluten-free soy-free nut-free low-carb chickpeas Mediterranean
Ingredients (1.5 cups)
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1-2 T olive oil
- 1/2 t dried rosemary
- 1/4 t salt
- 1/4 pepper
Instructions
Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Dry them between two paper towels and roll them around a bit to remove the loose skin.
Put the chickpeas on a baking sheet and toss them with the olive oil until they are thoroughly coated.
Roast in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove the pan, toss the chickpeas with the rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Eat while hot or cold, alone or on top of a salad. Just enjoy!
The real highlight, though, were the cookie-dough frosted chocolate cupcakes. (I used this cupcake recipe, but the frosting is my own creation.)
Just take a second and look at that picture. Delicious vegan frosting that tastes just like cookie dough — on top of a cupcake, to boot. Can you imagine anything better?
Marian also introduced me to a new way to eat messy cupcakes…
See what I mean by “blessed to have her in town”?
