Refreshing Chickpea Salad

For (future) readers, I am writing this on Day 6 (or is it 60? hmmmm, feels like 60, but the calendar says 6) of captivity, courtesy of corona.

Since we can only binge watch so much, I have resorted to making cooking videos to keep (mostly) myself entertained, and posting them on Instagram.  So far, this is what I have learned:

I am really not good at making videos.  I apparently lack the hand eye coordination necessary to keep the ingredients in the frame and talk at the same time. It reminds me of the time we were in Bermuda  and we wanted to rent scooters.  I never made it out of the practice area.  I guess dragging your feet to stop a motorized vehicle while heading for a wall disqualifies you from renting one.  Who knew.

God forbid I try to up the degree of difficulty and actually stir or combine ingredients.  I look like those videos of dogs wearing booties for the first time.  It is a completely unnatural experience and at any second, I could end up with tomatoes on the ceiling and my cupboards sprayed with chocolate. Plus, I cannot seem to master the idea of filming from a comfortable distance.  I may be talking about one ingredient, but I am showing a wobbly close-up of the cutting board and the bottom of the mixing bowl.  No worries that the Food Network will come knocking anytime soon.

As a former teacher, I generally don’t have a hard time speaking, but the second I start to film something that I can only do once, like adding milk to a batter, I hear words come out of my mouth that sound like a cross between Klingon and Dothraki.  Gene Roddenberry would be so proud, but trust me, it’s not pretty.

And then, just when I am on a roll, in the zone, and knocking it out of the park, the phone rings.  Repeatedly.  Turns out my vehicle warranty is up, my computer is out of date, and I can get some great deals on medicare.  Then the dog barks, the doorbell rings, the smoke detectors go off.  In short, all hell breaks loose.  At this point, I can’t remember what the heck I was talking about in the first place, much less what I was making.

Suffice it to say, the stars on The Food Network do not need to worry about their job security.

Ingredients:

• 1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
• 1/4 cup diced red onions
• approximately one dozen grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 ( oz) jar artichoke hearts, packed in water, drained and patted dry
• 1 jar ( oz) pine nuts, toasted
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the chickpeas, onions, tomatoes and artichoke hearts.
2. In a small container or bowl, mix the lemon juice and olive oil and pour over the chickpea mixture. Toss to combine, then top with  basil.  Refrigerate before serving, then top with pine nuts right before serving.