Apologies! Recipe!

Hello lovelies,

I have been sadly MIA for a few days; I'm sorry! Mr Cee tore some ligaments in his ankle last weekend and things have been extra-busy lately. I'm cosied up with my PVR, which is blissfully full of Criminal Minds reruns, and I can't stop thinking about the gorgeous salad I ate today.

Let me preface this recipe by:

1) giving serious shoutouts to my girls (lovely bridesmaids) who were willing guinea pigs in my food experiment get-together last night. Cheers!

2) making a note to anyone tempted by this recipe: As I discovered today, this salad is best made the day before you serve it. The taste is way, WAY different today than it was yesterday; by "different," I mean "crazy better."

3) admiting that this is not an original recipe, but something that I found online, and tinkered with after deciding I did not like the way it turned out at first.

Ok, so without further ado, I give you: Summer Chickpea Salad

Summer Chickpea Salad

1 c sliced green olives
3-4 zucchini, quartered and chopped (not too big, but not too small either)
1-2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (amount depends on how much you LOVE chickpeas!)

Dressing:
1/3 c olive oil
Scant 1/3 c white vinegar (adjust for your own personal taste)
2-3 healthy splashes red wine vinegar
1-2 tbsp dried basil
Sea salt to taste

1. Combine olives, zucchini, and chickpeas in a large bowl.

2. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl with a lid. Put the lid on the bowl (tightly) and shake the bowl hard. make sure to turn it upside-down and mix thoroughly.

3. Pour the dressing on and toss the salad to coat well.

4. Cover the salad and put in the fridge at least a few hours before serving the salad. I strongly recommend letting it chill a full day before you serve it.

5. When you're ready to serve it, remove it from the fridge and stir it well.

Enjoy!

I finished eating some (ok, a lot) about 2 hours ago, and I literally have not stopped thinking about it since. Last night, my reaction was "meh, it's ok." So for my personal tastebuds anyway, giving it the time to settle so the flavours can really come together was massively important.

What if you aren't into olives? Well, first have your head examined, crazy person! Ok. If you don't like olives, you could certainly put in something else instead, but I would recommend trying to stay in the salty-flavour range, to keep the taste balanced.

If you decide to try it, let me know how it goes! If you make any changes, I'd love to know what you did and how it worked out for you.

This salad is Endo Diet-friendly, has good protein from the chickpeas, and is a nice change from the typical leafy salad. I think you could probably serve this on a bed of cooked and cooled rice or quinoa, or on a bed of baby spinach. The options are endless!