What’s Cooking: Old Bay Roasted Chickpeas

Talia Whyte Food

Last week when Old Bay released its hot sauce, it sold out within an hour.  I’m not a hot sauce girl, but I do like Old Bay seasoning.  I was first introduced to this fabulous concoction when I dated this guy named Marcus in college.  He is a Baltimore native who carried around an Old Bay container in his backpack all the time.  He would put Old Bay on EVERYTHING. And when I mean everything, I don’t just mean seafood; he would also put it on oatmeal, scrambled eggs, popcorn, hot dogs, fries, pretzels, etc.  I liked the taste of it, but never really appreciated Old Bay until I traveled to Baltimore years later and quickly found out that this seasoning was a big part of the food culture in Maryland.  Everywhere I went, there was Old Bay, whether as a condiment on a restaurant table or in a movie theater.

Over the years, I grew to love Old Bay.  So much so that I have developed a few recipes.  One of my favorite recipes is Old Bay roasted chickpeas.

Recipe:

– one cup of chickpeas (preferably dry beans soaked overnight in water)
– 4 tablespoons of Old Bay
– 1 teaspoon of salt
– 2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
– 1 mixing bowl, 1 mixing spoon, and 1 large non-stick baking sheet

Preheat oven to 375º. Spread your drained chickpeas on the baking sheet and put it in the oven for 30 minutes. Then take them out the oven and transfer the baked chickpeas into the mixing bowl and add the Old Bay, salt, and olive oil. Mix well and then transfer and spread chickpeas again onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle an extra dash of Old Bay on chickpeas. Bake for another 15 minutes. Take out the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Store in an air-tight container for later use.

By the way, I spoke to Marcus recently to see if he got the limited edition hot sauce.  “Of course, I did!” he said.

I Tried The Impossible Whopper And The Beyond Sandwich…

Talia Whyte Food

I happen to be walking by my local Burger King the other day and saw the advertisement for the Impossible Whopper, their new plant-based burger.  I don’t really eat at Burger King unless I get the occasional fries.  I used to eat Whoppers when I was a teenager, but I stopped eating red meat after college.

So I was eager to try this burger.  It is great that more fast food restaurants are accommodating alternative food choices.  Some do it better than others. I thought the sandwich was delicious, and it tasted just like the beef Whoppers of my youth.  I know a lot of people say they don’t like it because of the different texture.  I didn’t really notice it, but I don’t have a red meat palette anymore.

But it is still an unhealthy choice because of the high amount of sodium in it.  I would eat again, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat it.  If I was somewhere where Burger King was the only food option, I would definitely eat it again!

I also tried Dunkin Donuts’ Beyond sandwich, which comes with plant-based breakfast sausage, egg, and cheese.  I was okay.  It was very spicy but okay.  I don’t think I will eat it again.  I don’t really eat real sausage unless it is my Cuban neighbor’s spicy chorizo during his Fourth of July barbeque.  But, then again, aren’t all the Dunkin Donuts okay?  The food there is designed for people on the go.

I Tried The Japadog!

Talia Whyte Food

Before I went to Vancouver last September, two of my Canadian friends told me that I needed to try Japadog, which is a chain of restaurants in British Columbia that serves hot dogs topped with a variety of Japanese-style foods like okonomiyaki, yakisoba, teriyaki, and tonkatsu.

I love trying new foods, so I went to a Japadog near my hotel in Vancouver on my first day in town.  I eat their signature dog – Terimayo.  It comes with teriyaki sauce, mayo, onions, and seaweed make.  I also tried the “Shaked Fries” with butter and shoyu.

It was amazing!!! I will never look at hot dogs the same way again.