Tag Archives: pulses

Ceci ‘wing’ bowl

This is a relatively fast, moderately healthy, and delicious meal that has a ton of fiber and taste.

If you are craving Wings, this may help hit the spot.

This quantity will serve about 4 people.

4 cups prepared bulgur*

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Toss these together.

2 carrots, cleaned and diced

3 scallions, diced

2 large celery stalks, diced

Mix all of these together in a bowl and remove about 1/3 of a cup for an end garnish.

Cook the rest in about 2 1/2T of butter, with salt and pepper for about 3 minutes. You want these lightly cooked, not soggy.

Toss the cooked veg with the bulgur and portion into 4 bowls

3T butter

2 cups (a bit more than 1 can) ceci/chickpeas/garbanzos/chana
1/4 tsp salt


In the same pan you did the veg in, melt the butter and add the ceci. Stir it up.

3 Tablespoons Frank’s (or other good hot sauce you like to taste)
1T white vinegar

Add to the ceci

Top the bulgur with the ceci. Then add the reserved veg.

3T blue cheese crumbles

Add to the bowls. Serve with blue cheese dressing.

* bulgur is amazing. Think of it as a whole grain minute rice- it’s cracked and steamed wheat that you basically just have to either pour water over in the morning and let it soak while you go about your day, or bring it to a boil and let it sit for about 15 minutes while you get the rest of your meal on. And it’s delicious- creamy and nutty and a whole grain that is just perfect for getting your fiber up!

Chick pea Marbella (etc)

Chick peas Marbella, bulgar, zuchini

Chicken Marbella was a hot and happening dish in the very early 80’s, and swept the country as a company dish. It’s got a complex flavor with some odd seasoning choices that make you go what? when you cook it and mmmm when you eat it. And it is a pretty good company dish.
But when you want a meat free pulse based meal… well, turns out, this works with chick peas.
It’s what we had last night for dinner. And that one change made the meal vegan as well as high fiber.

To about 3 cups (2 cans) of chick peas (garbanzo, ceci, hummus) add

1/4 cup chopped prunes
2T capers
2T red vinegar
2T olive oil
2 T brown sugar
2 T white wine
12 sliced green olives
1/3- 1/2 head garlic chopped
1 crumbled bay leaf
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt AND pepper

Pour into a shallow pan and bake about 40 minutes.
I assume letting this sit overnight would make a good cold salad for a hot day, but right away, the chick peas were bland.

That’s literally it, for a dish my omnivore family prefers to the meat version.

Last night I also discovered that bulgar cooks on the range in minutes. I always prepped mine for tabouli, by pouring boiling water on it and letting it sit for hours, so I never thought of it as a ‘fast’ starch. But it is, faster than pasta, slower than couscous. Took less time than the zucchini took to prep and cook.
It was 1 cup of medium ground bulgar, 2 cups water, 2 T oil, pinch of salt in the pot together, covered, for about 10 -12 minutes. Then off heat, the last of the water was absorbed.
2 medium zucchini, 3 cloves garlic, 1T oil, salt and black pepper. Cooked with cover on, mostly.

Gochujang Lentilballs

(yes, you can use meat in these instead, they are really good either way!)

A little sweet, a little spicy, and a lot tasty! Blends well with the lentil base blogged about earlier.

Peas, rice, and lentilballs. It’s what’s for dinner!

Lentil Ball Base

5 minced scallions

¼ each mirin and gochujang (your local Korean market will have a wide variety of flavors. I like the one for pork best for this, but they have a lot of them)
1/8 cup soy sauce

2 tsp minced garlic

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced

Extra bread crumbs if it’s really loose

Pre mixing

Mix all together, form into golf sized balls, spray with oil, and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes,

Gochujang Lentilballs literally chilling out…


About 25 minutes in, you can sprinkle them with sesame seeds.

Let me know what you think if you make them!