More garbanzo fun!

See, doesn't that title just shout out "read me, read me" to you?

No, huh.

Well, toasted chickpeas shouted out at me this week.

And they could not be any easier to make.

Can of garbanzo beans, drained. Check.
Olive oil, garlic, salt and any seasoning I wanted. Check.
Ovenproof skillet. Check.

Done.

Seriously.

I had a few doubts that this could be tasty, but my daughter loves these beans and I wanted to make all her bean dreams come true.

I love my daughter, so I prepared myself for massive amounts of prep work. Anything for her. Heating the pan, putting in the oil, tossing the garlic in and seasonings and the drained beans. I was tired after, but soldiered on. After 5 whole minutes of sauteing, I lifted the enormously heavy pan into the preheated oven and let them cook for 20 minutes. I forced myself to shake them every 5 minutes or so, and finally, after what seemed like hours - they were done.

Warm and right out of the oven, we shook liberal amounts of salt and pepper on them and dug in. Oh man, were they good. And the kitchen smelled wonderful.

(Now, I have had toasted walnuts, pine nuts, etc. I have seen crispy green beans in Whole Foods. Wasabi peas - never tried them, but I hear they are good. Goji berries, acai, etc - seem to be very popular. But crunchy garbanzo beans? Surely you jest!)

Nope. They were delicious. And they were all gone. But for $1.29, I can make more. And more.....

They have a wonderfully crunchy seasoned shell on the outside, and are still slightly chewy on the outside. I drizzled mine with extra lemon juice, and they were phenomenal. Like the taste of hummus, but with texture. And filling - wow! Very filling snack. I can see these with chili powder, dill, sage, rosemary - oh, the places we'll go!!!! Prolly Disney.

(This picture is of the fried oatmeal from a few weeks ago - I knew my mom would want to see it. Fried oatmeal, sauteed bananas, pecans, coconut, raw sugar and chocolate chips with a drizzle of cream. Yum.)