Snack Attack--Roasted Chickpeas

Sit tight and hold your skirt; we're taking a ride on the chickpea bandwagon! These little medallions of good health (otherwise known as garbanzo beans) seem to be popping up on food blogs everywhere particularly among the homemade hummus crowd.

I've yet to make my own hummus (that's "on the list"), but I did discovery my newest favorite snack to sneak into the movies: Sweet and Spicy Roasted Chickpeas. Stealing the flavors from a successful batch of spicy roasted nuts, I followed these cooking instructions and found my taste buds quite pleased, noting "Hmm, now that's something different. I think I like it." after I popped piece after piece of these crunchy snacks into my mouth.

Recipe (courtesy of Christie's Corner and Slashfood)

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (more if needed)
  
• 2 Tbsp real maple syrup
  
• 2 Tbsp crushed dried rosemary
  
• 1/4 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper depending on your spice preference
• 2 tsp sea salt

(All spice quantities can be varied according to your tastes)
Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Pat them dry on a couple of dish towels.
3. Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and maple until combined. a
4. Mix in spices. Toss in the chickpeas and continue to cook for 2 or 3 minutes.
5. Spread the hot chickpeas on a rimmed cookie sheet or baking pan.
6. Cook 30 to 35 minutes, checking them frequently in the last 10 minutes because they will burn quickly.
7. The chickpeas are done when they are crunchy but not burned. (Note: If they aren't cooked enough they will have an unpleasant semi-firm texture. Return them to the oven until they CRUNCH, but keep an eye on them since they go from gold to garbage in minutes.)

What I Love About Teaching

Besides providing firsthand accounts of "inappropriate elimination" (yes, a term related to cats and their bowels that I have now applied to what comes out of students' mouths) which makes me at times laugh in disbelief, explode in anger, or grab a happy hour rita with friends, teaching ultimately refreshes me. This summer, while working with student teachers, teaching my own public speaking class, and working with some of Houston's brightest educators, I am learning about a new speaking technique which actually cures the ever-present and unfortunately prevalent Death-By-PowerPoint!

Check out Japanese-originating Pecha Kucha:




This new product of Japan is blasting through business training and surprisingly through the social realm crossing borders. I feel quite fortunate that a colleague introduced me to this presentation style this summer, and it's a breath of educational fresh air to experiment with my students with the 20-seconds-for-each-of-20-slides speaking extravaganza.

Yes, extravaganza. With this format and a motivating assignment or two, student creativity should flourish. I look forward to updating after this initial trial run and await the fall when I hope my new students can embrace a fresh and effective presentation style.