CHICKPEA-DIA: SALAD GRINDS & BEAN PLANTS #55

Chickpea-dia

(Chickpea, Artichoke and Arugula Salad)

WORDS: Johnny Lozano 

I got into an interesting disagreement with my wife the other day. We were out to dinner and a little league baseball game was on.  The sportscasters were interviewing each of the tween players on who their favorite baseball players were and, lo and behold, the answers were almost unanimous. When my wife pointed this out, I suggested that this was likely because baseball is a stats-driven sport (Moneyball, anyone?). That’s not to say that the way somebody swings, catches, or throws isn’t beautiful in its own right. Rather, I’m brazenly suggesting that there is a definite “right” way to do those things and that being a valuable asset to baseball, and therefore a fan favorite, hinges on doing certain movements in a textbook fashion.

If skateboarding followed suit, then I imagine Nyjah would be the unanimous fan favorite and someone like, say, Nate Jones, would not have been on Real. 

If it’s not painfully obvious, I’m circling around the idea that, unlike other sports, skateboarding hangs its merits on style as much as (if not more than) proficiency. Unlike learning exactly how to position your hips when swinging a golf club, the only real black-and-white requirement for a kickflip is that it be flicked with your toe instead of your heel. Other than that, foot placement, flick, pop, catch and other idiosyncrasies are not germane to perfect execution (indeed, foot placement as abnormal as Jeremy Wray’s can even be a selling point).

Perhaps this is why skateboarding trick tips are often infuriating. We know that a hardflip scoops like a front shove and flips like a kickflip, but that’s not a sufficient roadmap to mastery. Thankfully, this kind of one-size-fits-all mistake is remedied by Trickipedia.  Rather than give step-by-step instructions to frustration, why not showcase the idiosyncrasies of each trick? Watching a minute of Mark Appleyard tre flipping will show you the intricacies of the trick in a way that talking about foot placement never could. Even better, why not put it to music to drive home how artful skateboarding can be? If you’re really looking to grasp how a trick is done—or you just want to sit back and marvel at how incredible Lizard King’s kickflips are—Trickipedia is the only trick tip series worth watching.

Much like any given skateboarding trick, there’s no wrong way to cook with chickpeas. Full of fiber and protein, they can be baked to a crisp, mashed into hummus, or tossed into salads. The chickpea isn’t about concrete steps; it’s about style, seasoning and creativity. Any way you swing it, however, it’s an incredibly filling legume to add to your post-skating repertoire. Much like any trick can be modified, I modified this recipe from Vegan for Everybody to make a delicious, satiating post-skating meal that can be served hot or cold, side or main dish. It’s insanely quick to make, keeps for about a week in the fridge, and can be further customized to allow for just about any spices you see fit. Like Trickipedia, this Chickpea-dia is all about style.

But don’t make this dish in the dark.

INGREDIENTS:

• Two 15 oz cans chickpeas (drained)
• 6 tbsp. olive oil
• squeeze of 1 lemon
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• ½ tsp. cayenne
• ¼ tsp. chili powder
• 1 can artichoke hearts (drained and diced)
• ½ cup carrot matchsticks
• ¼ cup sliced black olives
• ½ – 1 cup fresh arugula

DIRECTIONS:

• Add the two cans of drained chickpeas to a bowl and microwave it up for 90 seconds to loosen the chickpeas up some (this will help them absorb some of the flavors better). Once warmed up, add the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne and chili powder and stir it all up.  Let it sit for 10 minutes to cool down.
• While that’s cooling, chop up your artichoke hearts. Toss them into the chickpeas along with the carrots, olives and arugula and mix it all up.
• As with just about every cookie cutter trick tip, land on the bolts and roll away.

Happy shredding,

Johnny

For more recipes, check out_ www.saladgrindsandbeanplants.com _or find us on Instagram at @salad_grinds_and_bean_plants.