Hello friends of the Hive realm. Today I am sharing a sunny day with you here in Canada. I usually complain non stop about the weather but I'm taking a break. We have some warmth and sunshine finally.
Even though I'm exhausted from work, I had to take the opportunity to feel the sun before winter comes back. My favourite way is to go to the park with my significant other and have a picnic.
Too tired for a plant based barbecue, we had some items made at home, and brought with us.
Sometimes the best way to create a dish is to use up what random items are in the fridge and pantry. I had an abundance of canned chickpeas for convenience and pasta that I bought on sale. I usually have spinach and cherry tomatoes all year round in my fridge. Yes they are imported even when they are growing here. Sometimes a fresh market will have locally grown items but I can't always get there.
Chickpea pasta salad
500g chickpeas cooked or canned
1 package of pasta 400g
80 grams chopped red onion
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 pint cherry tomatoes
75 grams baby spinach
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 jalapeno (optional)
For my pasta salad I added green and purple cabbage, not only for texture but also for colour. My mandolin is a handy tool to finely shred the cabbage the way I like.
I opted for red onion which is something I like in salad to eat raw.
I added a jalapeno pepper for some mild heat. When I was growing up and was a young adult, adding a hot pepper to a pasta salad would have been unheard of. These days pasta salad comes in all shapes, sizes, and flavours
After boiling the pasta, I added ice to it while it was draining. I also rinsed in cold water to cool it as fast as possible to avoid over cooking.
While the pasta was draining I added the other items together.
The spinach was organic baby spinach which is my favourite for a salad. If I'm cooking with it I usually use a more mature one.
While I mixed the pasta with the other items, I realized there was an abundance of this salad. This is good for leftovers so no problem.
My dressing was made from as random of items as the salad itself. I knew one thing. It would have fresh lemon in it for sure.
Back in the day, here in Canada, the two classic pasta salads were dressed with either mayonnaise or oil and vinegar. Each person may have added preferred seasonings into it, but those were basically it.
This dressing is creamy and tangy the way I like.
Dressing
3 tablespoons vegan mayo
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 or four garlic cloves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons agave nectar
1 teaspoon thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
The dressing was poured onto the salad before leaving to the park. I couldn't make up my mind to put it on first or take the dressing. The easiest way would be to mix it first so I opted for easy.
I had some baguettes that were given to us by Marc's mom so they would become a bruschetta to tag along with the salad.
I always have fresh tomatoes in the fridge so these were simply diced, along with red onion and dressed with a vinaigrette. It is simple to make and on a toasted baguette it's a good snack for a hot sunny picnic.
Ideally roma tomatoes would be used as they have less water. I didn't have those so I took as many seeds out as possible from the tomatoes. I would have added basil but I didn't have any. The bread was grilled at home on my electric grill, then dressed at the park.
I didn't take photos of this, as it was an after thought, done quickly before leaving.
Bruschetta
3 large tomatoes or roma tomatoes diced
1 cup diced onion
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste.
Mix everything together and get to the park!
We found the most perfect spot where we had a good amount of grass to ourselves.
Marc takes care of pouring the wine.
This was a perfect and simple way to have a picnic. There were no leftovers from what I took to the park.
We grazed for a while as we waited for the sunset.
Thanks for dropping by and have a great day.
design by: @KidSistersPhotos taken with a Nikon D7500
This is great for picnic 😃
Much appreciated friend!
🙏🙏
How nice my friend, pasta salad with chickpeas, it must be very tasty and nutritious. I am glad to see you in your Hive activities my friend, yesterday and today I practiced yoga and made a post about it. From Venezuela I greet you with great joy and look forward to your kind visit.
I appreciate your visit my friend. I wish you the best. Thank you.
Igualmente, siempre pendiente de usted, deseando que tenga mucha felicidad familiar y éxitos en Hive.
it is very good picnic food dear friend You are the vegan Master. I would like to do one day this menu. Thanks for sharing. regards to Marc. Enjoy your free days. :)
I think you are a food master my friend. Thank you for your kid words.😊💚
Scrumptious, delicious; the food, the setting and the gorgeous black dress. Yum! 😁❤️❤️
Thank you so much. It was a good day.
Thanks for the compliment on the dress. It was actually a cheap shirt worn with shorts. The heat was up to 36C that day haha.
The best to you.😊
You've been curated by @plantpoweronhive! Delegations welcome!
Thank you @plantpoweronhive.
That salad looks pretty awesome! I do like the combination of chickpeas and pasta. I have been having big cravings for the budda bowl salads that are all the rage these days and trying to make some home-made combos!
I love budda bowls. It's a great way to suit your taste of the moment, if you have a bunch of items prepped and a few different dressings.
Thanks @mypathtofire!
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Thank you @hivebuzz.
A new badge for your collection! Keep striving for greatness on Hive @carolynstahl.
Very nice picnic with some nice red wine! I would fall asleep after one or two glasses of wine!
The colourful salad looks very yummy. But I would love to have some warm soup too!
You have been working very hard nonstop! Great stamina you have !
Enjoy life and stay healthy!
My stamina is running low but I have to deliver.
Don't worry I fell asleep on the sofa later haha. A bowl of soup sounds good right now.
Me too! I could feel that my strength and stamina have been affected by the changing weather and negative vibes in the world. Just have to ground myself more often!
You should get more grounding on grass and around trees!
Hello lady @carolynstahl
It's good that you are finally having sunny days there in Canada, you are doing very well to enjoy the outdoors in the company of your partner on these beautiful days.
I loved the recipe and the ingredients you used, the salad looks healthy and exquisite
enjoy it a lot
Thank you Abigail. I only wish the sun would shine forever but that is the way it goes here haha. I wish you a good day @miprimerconcurso !
Your picnic was perfect - the cool air and bright sun made it worth your while. Most important is the healthy meal you prepared with your perfect spaghetti salad bowl, the bruschetta was so fresh. I loved seeing all the dishes on your picnic table.
Thank you for your wonderful comment. It was a very hot day to be taken advantage of. Today is cool again haha. It goes up and down but it's better than snow haha.
Good morning dear friend @carolynstahl how are you?
How good to see you enjoying this beautiful day outdoors in the company of your partner, the recipe you prepared is ideal for a picnic day
May you enjoy it a lot
Yes it was a once in a while thing while having to work in a restaurant. We get lazy on days off and don't want to go anywhere. We forced ourselves this day and it was worth it.
Thank you for your visit my friend.
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Thank you @hivebuzz although I feel somehow that it was not legitimate. It's very strange and unusual. I don't want false credit, if you know what I mean.
You're welcome, @carolynstahl
We understand your concerns. But that's how upvote trails work on Hive, so relax and enjoy your success. ❤️
Thank you @cryptomother !😊