chickpea soup

We're embarking on a new line of thought regarding what we will eat these days, but nothing radically different.  In a way, I think Michael just needs a different philosophy to keep him engaged in the day to day task of eating healthier.  So, here we are, eating a Mediterranean diet.  We've been cooking heavily from "The new Mediterranean diet cookbook : a delicious alternative for lifelong health," by Nancy Harmon Jenkins.  What we've noticed so far is that many of the soups and stews are just a big old pile of vegetables and broth.  Not a lot of meat involved.  And we're digging it.  These are light, high fiber, delicious and easily digestible meals.  A supper like the below chickpea soup leaves us feeling satisfied, but not weighed down or sleepy so that we can go about our evening business without wanting to collapse on the couch and stare at the t.v.  We'll keep you posted on our further Mediterranean adventures!

The Farinata Experiment

Well, week one of phase one is winding down here in the Mike's Health Mag household.  We've had some success, and some failure.  Tonight was an exciting night especially for Michael due to this new discovery--chick pea flour, and more specifically, Farinata.  Farinata are ancient Italian flatbread, still made in the region of Liguria.  Roman soldiers supposedly used these as quick sustenance while on the go, but I'm not sure how accurate that information is.

What I do know is, if you don't mind smoking up your house with a 550 degree oven, Farinata is for you.  Michael and I had fun with this one, heating our trusty old cast iron frying pan to a temperature it's probably never reached before, drizzling in some olive oil, and splashing in a ladle of batter.  Quite the spectacular sizzle!  We never managed to get one out of the oven before we burned the crap out of it.

Still, the results were crispy and delicious.  We'll be playing with this recipe again.  Michael has some ambitious plans to make a few undercooked Farinata and save them to use as a sort of flatbread pizza crust.  As for me, I loved them plain and I couldn't stop eating them.  You can definitely taste the chick peas, and for me, that's a very pleasant thing.  The texture really is like a thick tortilla or a huge savory pancake with a crispy outer layer.

  We served them alongside our chicken breasts cacciatore and they were perfect for sopping up the yummy sauce that had developed after braising the chicken with all of those veggies and tomatoes.  A very satisfying meal.  In the midst of our repast, Michael said to me "Please do this again!"