I remember watching my mum pack for vacation. I would sit on her large bed, and neatly fold anything she handed to me. She would go through a her neatly typed out checklist and effortlessly place every item into plastic bags, then into my suitcase. Watching her, I would be in awe of how organized her piles of shirts, socks and underwear would be. Somehow, she was able to keep track of what everyone in the family would need, and never miss a single thing. Most importantly, she would always make us pack seemingly random things that we thought we would never need. But guess what? She was always right. We always needed it.
When I was ready to travel off to the states for college, I watched her go through the same process. I tried to learn from her, but never was really able to match up to it. She would carefully label bottles, lotions and even went as far as taping up anything that would leak, and sneaking in packets of tissue, batteries, extra plastic bags…anything and almost everything.
Zoe and I have been packing for our first camping trip down to Moab in Southern Utah. I honestly hate hate hate packing. It takes so much energy, effort and time.Slumping back onto my chair, I just looked at the piles of clothes, toiletry, plastic bags that covered the whole couch in the living room. This would take forever! Zoe and I just looked at each other and dragged ourselves over to the couch. It took a while but we finally managed to finish packing.
Thankfully, I was saved by a call from my parents, who sent an entire checklist of things I would need. What would I do without them?
Obviously I would have much rather be cooking, blogging, sleeping or even watching a movie. But going through that tedious process of folding, packing, zipping, cutting…washing, running back and forth really made me appreciate all those times I would sit and watch my mum do the same thing for me. Maybe it was her wisdom, her patience or her ability to stay organized and calm, but I felt a prick of emotion running through me as I felt a deep sense of admiration. Mums truly are the best.
After that, a quick snack was needed. Zoe and I are going to introduce one of our new favorite salads that is quick, fresh and filling. We are taking you to the Mediterranean today! Feel free to substitute out any of the spices according to how you like it. That’s the great thing about this recipe – it is so versatile!
If you’re not so keen on beans or chickpeas, well, let me take this opportunity to change your mind. Chickpeas are just awesome, because they are packed full of protein, not to mention they are easily accessible and cheap. If you flavor it the right way, you can turn a simple can of beans into a gourmet dish. This salad is one of those examples: A chickpea salad with homemade pita chips (+ baba ghanoush) ? Mhmm. mhmm. mhmm..
It definitely makes packing a whole lot worthwhile.
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- ½ tsp oregano (add more if you like)
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- ½-3/4 tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking power
- 3-4 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Chickpea Salad:
- ½ can chickpeas
- ¼ english cucumber, diced
- ¼-1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (use fresh cherry tomatoes if you like!)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lime juice (or lemon juice)
- ½ tsp sumac
- ½ tsp oregano
- drizzle of honey (1 tsp)/agave
- ½ cup coriander leaves, chopped (feel free to add mint, parsley as well!)
- Salt and Black pepper
- Pita Crackers: Preheat the oven to 350F
- Mix together all the dry ingredients. Add in the wet ingredients.
- Roll the dough out into a circle, cut them into 8-12 large wedges.
- Bake the pita chips for 20 minutes, before taking them out.
- Salad: Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the chickpea salad together. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.
- Assembly: Scatter the pita chips on a platter and serve up the salad, hummus, baba ganoush
LOVE,
Zoe & Mia
(This post is featured on Project Inspired)
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