When I saw Rachel Ray made this salad, it knew I would like it. Red onions, celery, red sweet pepper were diced and combined with wine vinegar and olive oil.

nice accompaniment to a sandwich....

Chickpea Salad

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2008

Prep Time:

15 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

--

Level:

Easy

Serves:

6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 small red onion finely chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
• A few ribs celery and leafy tops, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced or grated then grinded into a paste with salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons rosemary, finely chopped, a few sprigs
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Combine chick peas with onions, peppers, celery, garlic, red pepper flakes and rosemary in a medium bowl. Dress salad with vinegar and oil, salt and pepper.

More cooking on my birthday

The next day, the day, I decided to cook kare-kare since it has been a while since we had this family favorite. Everyone I know who enjoys Filipino dish always look for this dish during family celebrations.

my birtday

After our trip to Mitsuwa week before my birthday, I decided to cook Japanese food. We started our celebration the day before my birthday which is a weekday. I had to pass by the market after work, so I presume we will have a late dinner. I tried to play it safe and decided to get some sushi. It was a good decision as the additional plate added different taste and color to our fried dishes. We had vegetable tempura with the shrimps and the tonkatsu (breaded pork chop). The appetizers were all bought from Mitsuwa. We had pickles, sweet/salty baby sardines and seeweeds. We had imported Japanese beer and sake. For dessert, instead of the usual birthday cake, my daughter brought some sweet from Papa Beard's bakery. The cream puff and chocolate lava cake were sweet endings to such delicious meal.

Hokkaido festival at Mitsuwa

We have our own little Tokyo in Edgewater, New Jersey. Last September, specialty foods from Hokkaido were featured. We tried the Shoyu Ramen which was sold out by midday.

Macaroons

I am trying an new recipe which I pulled out from one of the many foodie blogs I read.

My previous try in baking macaroons is a bit different. I also tried something different this time. I used the paint shop to improve my food pictures.