Some days, nothing will cheer me up after a Crappy Day at Work except a stiff G & T, a hug from Michael, a long phone call with my sister, followed by a spicy chickpea dish served along side a refreshing salad.

Today is one of those days.  Let me share my recipe for happiness.

First, the gin and tonic:

Obtain a bottle of Bombay Sapphire from your local booze shop.  The big bottle.  Just in case tomorrow also turns into a Crappy Day.

Tell the woman who is outside said booze shop and seemingly has locked her keys in (vague hand wave) “that truck over there” and who (long pull on cigarette) “needs a few bucks to get to Leduc” that (clutching purse to chest hoping the jingle of multiple twoonies can’t be heard through leather) “I never carry cash, ever, I use magical pixie money, money that if it sees the light of day will turn into a vicious evil monster and rip my limbs off and you will get blood splatter on your face”.

Then, for exercise and death defying thrills, walk the long walk through the Superstore parking lot full of after-work people desperate for dinner ideas and not thinking to avoid pedestrians, to get to the store to obtain one tiny bottle of cumin seed. It’s rather fun, you see, standing in line with people with loaded carts and crying babies, and there’s me with my one bottle of cumin seed feeling rather smug that I foiled Superstore’s plan to taunt me with a palette of Lipton Sidekick rice dishes, a box of Halloween candy, or a Star magazine.

Get home… remember, we are making G & T, in case you forgot while I digressed…

Take favourite glass from shelf. Fill with ice cubes.  Slice up a lime in quarters; squeeze the juice from half the lime into the glass. Slice a fresh slice of lime for prettiness, and add to glass. Carefully measure a sloppy 1-¾ oz measure of gin into glass. Add a splash more, because you remember somewhere that a US measure isn’t the same as a Canadian measure, but that might be wrong, but just in case…. Top with tonic. Stir. Drink. Turn TV on to Cricket Plus for meditative background sound. Golf Channel will work for those without Cricket Plus. CBC Radio-Canada (French) FM  will work for those without television. Listen to your fridge hum if you don’t have TV or radio.

As the first sips of the G & T relax the tension of the day, it is time to make…

The Salad:

Dice a red onion
Dice a cucumber (peeled and seeded)
Dice a few tomatoes

Add as much as you please of each. Add lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

Put in a bowl, toss, and put aside.

The Spicy Chickpeas:

Slice a large onion and sauté until medium brown in a small bit of oil
While the onion is sautéing, add cumin seed to the pan
When the onion is brown, add fresh chopped garlic to taste
When that cooks for a few minutes, add a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas
Add cayenne pepper and salt to taste
Cook just enough to heat the chickpeas through.

Eat.

Shout out to Shalma, as she’s the one who brought this recipe (minus the Gin and Tonic) in to work for a potluck lunch a long, long time ago. She shared the recipe, and I have been making this dish ever since.