Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Creamy Tuna and Chickpea Salad

It's been a week since I started student teaching and I think it's going great so far. The first week is supposed to be just observations, but, fortunately, I've worked with this teacher before so I observed the first day and then started moving around the classroom after that. I've helped students when they were working on problems individually, I've administered a quiz, and I've helped students who were absent. I also handed back students' quizzes yesterday so I was able to put a face to a name and learn them quickly. Besides working with the students, I've met the other teachers in the Math department and I've attended faculty meetings.

A typical day for me starts at 6:30 and I get home at 5. I'm actually done with student teaching at 3:30, but I'm also taking Weight Training and Piano, which start at 4. By the time I've showered and eaten dinner, it's like 7 or 8 and I am worn out! I did not anticipate such exhaustion, but I've carefully planned my cooking so that I still get a nutritious lunch and dinner each day. During Winter Break, I knew I wanted to find more recipes that I could make in a snap and this was one of them. All I have to do is open a few cans and toss things together. This is easy enough for me to make in the morning as soon as I wake up.

Also during Winter Break, I made a wonderful discovery. I don't know why I didn't think of this before: cooking beans in a rice cooker! It's so easy and convenient. So, instead of using canned chickpeas, I bought a bag of dried chickpeas and cooked them last night. Here's what you need to do: Soak 1 cup of dried chickpeas overnight. Rinse and drain. Add beans to your rice cooker and add enough water to cover the beans. Press button and cook! I don't know about the timers on other rice cookers, but mine takes at least 1 hour to cook even regular rice, so I knew this would work on the beans. No need to watch if the beans are boiling over anymore! This makes me extremely happy.

I love both tuna and chickpeas, so this recipe couldn't go wrong. Besides the mayonnaise, actually, but I replaced that with yogurt. I also used tuna canned in water and not in olive oil. This can be served in pitas, wraps, sandwiches, or on top of a bed of greens.

Creamy Tuna and Chickpea Salad

Creamy Tuna and Chickpea Salad
From Technicolor Kitchen

- 1/4 cup mayonnaise [I used yogurt]
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- 15.5-oz can chickpeas, or 1/2 cup dry chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked
- 2 5-oz cans tuna in olive oil, drained [I used tuna canned in water]
- 1 scallion, finely sliced
- 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves

1. Place the mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl and stir to combine. Add the chickpeas, tuna, spring onion and parsley and toss to combine.

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