I’ve gained a huge appreciation for legumes over the winter. Certainly helps that it’s been cold and rainy and miserable for about the last 3 months, but it’s also that I’m trying to move away from the hurry-sit-down-and-eat-while-the-foods-hot type dishes to more it’s-fine-hot-or-warm.

So I soaked up a bunch of chickpeas, then cooked them slowly in chicken stock, and then looked a what Farm Box veggies I had and started to cook!

I started with some chopped up calcots. I know, they’re best grilled and steamed and all that, but I figure they’re just onions so can’t I cook with them too?

Then I threw in a couple long stalks of spring garlic. You can’t really tell it’s there, but it is!

Then after that had cooked down a bit, I threw in two bunches of the Lacinato Kale, more-salt-than-you-think-is-healthy, pepper, hot pepper flakes and powder, and tons of olive oil.

After it sweat down, I added some of the cooked chick peas and let it simmer together for a while on very low heat.

While it was hanging out on the stove Emma helped me make some caesar salad dressing. First we whipped up what is really just a mayo.

Then I prepped some salted anchovies and another sprig of spring garlic.

Chopped it all up, added some lemon and lots of parmesan, and it was done. And no sooner was it done than Emma’s big sister, Alexis, started saying “Daddy, really, you’ve got to let me taste this again and again to make sure it’s not poisonous!” Get your fingers out of there Alexis!

And here’s how it turned out, on the little gem lettuces.

No vino for me that night – it was just the three of us for dinner that night, as Mommy was out with some girlfriends so I just had a cold beer.

But I’ll tell ya, the chickpea dish was so good that the next night we repeated the meal at Sara and Jim’s house and here’s the wine he cracked out for our oenophilic pleasure. Wow, thanks Jim!