Throwing it all together

It's always great to have a couple of super simple salad recipes in your pocket. One of my favorites is a chickpea, bell pepper, and cucumber salad. It's quick, delicious, and healthy.
There isn't really a recipe, and it can be tweaked a zillion different ways. I like to use a can of chickpeas, 1 bell pepper, and 1 cucumber. Dice the bell pepper and the cucumber then toss them all together in a medium-sized salad bowl. After that it's up to you -- I usually make a quick vinaigrette of apple cider vinegar, honey, a squeeze of lemon, mustard, and olive oil. The sweetness of the honey pairs nicely with the little bit of bite the pepper provides. While red bell peppers are the prettiest I usually opt for green, simply because they're much cheaper.
That's a great little salad on its own, but it's even better on top of bitter greens. I love dandelion greens tossed in a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Bibb lettuce is also good if you want something a little sweeter. (The photos show bibb lettuce.)



In the future I want to soak and boil dried chickpeas. Of course, that takes away some of the quick-and-easy of this yummy little salad.