They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I have to say, it was hard to come back to Mississippi after the vacation my husband and I went on last week.
We spent six days in Maine, going to see Acadia National Park, staying in a remote cabin you could only reach by canoe and generally, disconnecting from screens and work life. I plan on writing about all of the different delicious food we tried soon, because it is worth mentioning.
But honestly, going on vacation has left me worn out. Mostly because the second we stepped off of our plane in Memphis and back into humid reality, I had about a million things on my to-do list.
Besides catching up on work and what had been going on in the Golden Triangle while I was gone, I also had to catch up on laundry, vacuuming, and all the other basic necessities of being a human.
Unfortunately, the day after we got back from vacation, my car had an issue that prevented me from driving it temporarily. Which meant I had one more thing on the to-do list, interrupting all of the human-ness that I had intended to do that evening, like grocery shopping and planning meals for the week.
It took about four days of being back in town before I was finally able to make it to a grocery store. And let me tell you, by that point, my husband and I were living off of fast food, cereal and whatever we could scrounge from the back of the pantry. It felt like college all over again, but with a full time job during the day.
So when it came to planning meals for the upcoming week, I knew I needed something easy and repeatable. I also wanted something where I could make it once and then not worry about having to make something again for the next few days.
I also wanted something that tasted fresh, after our recent diet of Taco Bell, granola bars and prayers. That’s when I found this recipe for a Mediterranean chickpea salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing on “Jessica in the Kitchen.”
Key words: “Perfect for meal prep.” It was like a dream come true.
I don’t typically make chickpea-based recipes, so I thought this would give us a fresh new flavor for the week, all while giving us something easy to grab out of the fridge and take to work. I also don’t typically make vegan or vegetarian recipes, and this was written as one. (Though, I still used real feta cheese, since I don’t adhere to either diet.)
Making this recipe went by in a flash. All it took was opening a can of chickpeas, draining them, and then mixing them with the diced vegetables. After that, I portioned the salad out into jars, and portioned out balsamic vinaigrette dressing to throw into them just before eating.
Just like that, the next week felt a little brighter than the one before. And much more delicious. I loved eating this salad the first time, and the second, and I plan on eating it again for lunch throughout the week. And if you need something to help you through the week like I did, dig in!
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
(Adapted from “Jessica in the Kitchen”)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chickpeas, drained and dried
1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 cup diced English cucumber
1/4 cup feta cheese (or vegan feta cheese, if you want to follow the original recipe more closely)
1/2 cup chopped parsley, stems removed
Salt and pepper to taste
Balsamic vinaigrette dressing
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, feta cheese and parsley.
- If meal prepping, divide salad into separate airtight containers. Store in refrigerator until ready to eat. Consume within the first 2-3 days, and make sure your vegetables don’t go bad if your container doesn’t quite seal all the way.
- About 30 minutes before serving, pour vinaigrette dressing over the salad and toss again to combine. Allowing the dressing to sit on the salad lets the flavors combine and the chickpeas soak in the vinaigrette dressing.
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