Everyday Life for Four Seasons

'A' and I are just about ready to start dinner prep. Dinner tonight is chickpea stew. I usually make it with spinach but tonight I'm using up some turnip greens instead.

We played outside for a while this morning. I was ready to go in long before 'A' and 'H' were. While I waited and tried to keep warm, I lay down on the driveway in the sun and listened to the birds. I'm hearing more variety in the bird calls now.

Candyland this afternoon, followed by card-making and present wrapping for Aunt Michelle and Uncle Howard. Hopefully, if I can get my act together now and do some research, we'll be watching some maple syrup flowing from the trees tomorrow morning!

Chickpea and Spinach Stew

This is a quick and easy dish that tastes great with crusty bread.

1 cup water
10 ounces baby spinach
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
Kosher salt
Pinch of saffron threads
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of freshly ground pepper
Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas with their liquid
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large tomato—peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
Crusty bread, for serving

Pour the water into a large deep skillet and bring to a boil. Add the spinach leaves and cook over high heat, tossing frequently, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain the spinach in a colander, pressing hard on the leaves to extract the liquid. Coarsely chop the spinach.

Using the flat side of a large knife, mash the garlic to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the saffron. Transfer the garlic paste to a small bowl. Add the paprika, cumin, cloves and black pepper and mash until combined. Stir in 1/4 cup of the chickpea liquid.

Wipe out the skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the skillet and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and tomato and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until they are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the spiced garlic sauce to the onion and tomato in the skillet and cook for 1 minute.

Add the chickpeas and the remaining liquid to the skillet. Add the raisins and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Add the spinach, reduce the heat to moderate, and simmer for 15 minutes. Transfer the chickpea stew to 4 deep bowls, drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top, and serve.
SERVE WITH Crusty bread.