Chickpea Spread

My doctor told me I should wear heels.

Or wedges, he quickly said, perhaps trying to wipe the frightened look of my face. It was the first time he had met me.

Heels? Really?

I own one pair of wedges that I've worn to nearly every wedding I've gone to. I wore them to work for half a day. It was all I could handle.

Heels are not exactly conducive to my lifestyle. I've got a mile walk to work every day, dozens of trips up to my third floor classroom, and I spend a good part of my day kneeling and squatting on the floor next to my students.

But unfortunately, I recently dropped a table on my ankle. Yes, it's a little hard to imagine, but I had disassembled my table to tighten the screws, and I decided to mop at the same time. The table smacked down on my ankle hard, and I sat on the floor in tears, gripping my ankle and putting a call through to a dear friend who advised I ice my ankle for as long as I could take it.

So I propped my foot up on my bed, covered it with ice, and leaned back in my chair to relax and watch an episode of Master Chef.

Little did I know, but I had unfortunately chosen the one broken chair in my apartment. Moments later, I was on the floor.

Needless to say, it was not my night, though the doctor did reassure me I was lucky that my ACL hadn't been split right in half. I walked away with a tiny tear in the outer edges of my tendon.

Three weeks later, my ankle still hurts, but I still see no room in my life for heels. I'm making a concession and wearing sneakers around the apartment (they have some lift in them, right?).

Luckily, there is a place in my life for appetizers so easy you can't make a mistake.

To make this chickpea spread throw some ingredients in a bowl, mash and serve. If you want to get fancy (and create too much work for yourself), you can make your own crackers. It's much healthier than my go-to favorite appetizer: smoked salmon dip. It's easily made vegan (just use your favorite mayonnaise substitute).

It's the kind of spread you enjoy while wearing your Birkenstocks. 




Chickpea Spread
recipe adapted from Vegan Yum Yum

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise (add more if you want a creamier final product)
2 teaspoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 teaspoons mustard
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Your favorite serving vessel: crackers, cucumber slices, slices of bread, etc.

Combine all the above ingredients (minus serving vessels) in a medium bowl. Mash with a potato masher (or the back of a large spoon) until the mixture is chunky and well mixed.

The spread is delicious at room temperature or chilled, and it can easily be made a day or two in advance.