Indian Spiced Chickpea Soup

Ingredients
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cans chickpeas, drained
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 (14-ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes
• Warm pita, any flavor or variety, toasted

Directions
Heat a medium pot with extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onions, cook 2 to 3 minutes. Grind the chickpeas and onion and garlic in food processor. Place mix to pot and cook 5 minutes. Season the chickpeas with cumin, cardamom, turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Stir in stock, then tomatoes. Simmer soup 5 to 10
minutes to combine flavors. Serve with warm pita for dipping.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Merry Christmas!!! This is the perfect side dish to your yummy holiday dishes. Enjoy!

Salad
Spinach
Lettuce - red leaf, green leaf, and/or Romaine
16 oz. strawberries, sliced thin
1/2 cup Candied pecans (recipe below)
Strawberry Dressing (recipe below)

Candied Pecans
1/2 cup Pecans, chopped
2 TB butter (I use Earth Balance)
2 TB Brown Sugar (I use Succanat)
Brown on Med-Med High til Pecans seem caramelized. Careful not to burn.

Strawberry Dressing
1/3 cup Strawberries
3 TB balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 TB sugar (I use Turbinado/evaporated cane juice)
Sea Salt, dash
Pepper, dash
Blend in Vita Mix til creamy