Spicing It Up

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

Happily, mine has involved some running – 5 miles, hooray! Following a very conservative running plan mixed with lots of cross training this week has seemed to pay off – the Achilles is a lot less cranky than it has been recently. Slowly but surely, I think it’s coming along.

After spending most of my Saturday afternoon holed up in Starbucks studying and working on a project for school, I needed some time away from the books (and any kind of thinking, really). I found myself in the kitchen with a bunch of ingredients and somewhat of a plan.

First, I turned on the iTunes for my latest obsession (Adele!) and made some pumpkin chocolate chip squares (it’s cold out, so pumpkin is still allowed, right?)

And then I started brainstorming about what to do with a recent jar of free peanut butter scored at a Peanut Butter and Company event.

Spicy peanut butter doesn’t exactly sound delicious paired with jam or fruit, so I wanted to create some sort of savory dish with tons of veggies.

Before I knew it, the dish was coming together as I belted out Adele songs (sorry, neighbors!)

Canned chickpeas sounded like a great addition to the mix

I tackled making a peanut sauce with ingredients I had on-hand – the peanut butter, vinegar, lime and green onions

Delicious – the peanut butter had the perfect amount of kick to it, and I mixed it in with the veggies and chickpeas.

It may not look beautiful (and I had to use my iPhone for these pics), but the taste was out of this world amazing. I separated the dish into Tupperware (oh yes, I will eat well this week!)

Chickpea and Vegetable Salad with Spicy Lime Peanut Sauce (four servings)

• 1 cup snap peas
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 cups broccoli, chopped
• 2 cups cauliflower, chopped
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup crimini mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 tsp chili pepper flakes
• 2 tsp olive oil

Spicy Lime Peanut Sauce

• 2-3 tbsp smooth peanut butter (if you can’t find “the heat is on” peanut butter, add some chili flakes to regular pb!)
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• Juice from one lime
• 1 tbsp chopped green onions

Directions
Heat 1 tsp olive oil each in two large skillets, and add snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, sprouts and carrots to one skillet, chickpeas to the other. Sprinkle chili flakes onto chickpeas. Cook both until tender, combine and set aside in a large bowl for a minute. In a separate bowl, combine peanut sauce ingredients and mix with a whisk until mix is smooth. Add sauce to veggies and chickpeas, mix together until everything is evenly coated. Top with more green onions to garnish, if desired and ENJOY!

After this dish, I also roasted Brussels sprouts, made some sweet potato fries, sauteed kale and broiled Hake fillet for dinner. By the time I looked at the clock, I was shocked to realize more than three hours had passed.

Even though I had been standing and working hard in my (tiny) kitchen, I felt refreshed. There’s something so therapeutic about cooking, baking and preparing meals that is both decompressing and energizing at the same time. Playing with food is so underrated.

Question: Any more ideas on what to make with spicy peanut butter? Do you spend a lot of time in the kitchen?