Today is a holiday Monday in honour of Family Day…so Happy Family day to you if you are one of the lucky ones celebrating! Happy Family Day to you even if you are not celebrating. ;)
Eric and I are taking a bit of a RENO-cation this week. We originally dreamed (and hoped and wished) to go on a Winter vacation during this week, but we opted for a RENO-cation instead. Eric is taking a few days off work and I will probably work half days and then do renos the rest of the time and in the evening. We still have a lot of reno work to be done on the house that will take many months (years, decades!) so we really couldn’t justify a vacation right now. I guess it’s an investment in the house instead of our immediate happiness. Ugh, we are such responsible adults now!
Anyways, we promised ourselves that we could still make some fancy drinks with umbrellas while we roll around in the sand. 
Unfortunately, not that kind of sand…the sand that comes from refinishing hardwood flooring!
Yesterday, we spent the entire day putting together an Ikea PAX wardrobe in our closet and I concluded that I will never get those 12 hours of my life back. Sketchie did too. A piece of me died inside yesterday and you can find it buried under particle board and cardboard boxes.
Joking aside, it was pretty easy to put together once we got the hang of the instructions (lie), but of course we encountered some speed bumps along the way. It wouldn’t be an Ikea experience for us unless we had a missing piece, a broken limb, or an improper installation…
I will never forget the time when Eric built my desk the wrong way and he had to take it apart and start over. Whenever he makes fun of me for anything, I remind him of that time and he hangs his head in shame. I win.
Check out the fun ‘jewelry’ organizers on my side of the closet:
I installed all of those drawers myself…I’m just your average Mike Holmes, ya know.
Speaking of our luck with all things Ikea, we opened a box and one of the huge wardrobe pieces was badly damaged with a huge crack on both sides. We have to drive back to Ikea today tomorrow (it’s closed today!) to replace this broken piece. Not fun, but whatcanyoudobuthaveabeer?
And eat great food…
By the way, Eric and I are officially obsessed with these macaroons. We discovered if you put them in the freezer and then defrost in the micro for 15 seconds they have this slightly cold and crisp crust with a warm gooey middle. Insanity. I’d say they are probably one of our top 5 dessert cookies of all time.
And I’m just having way too much fun coming up with fun salads lately.
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Chickpea Salad with Tahini Avocado Dressing
Inspired by Avocado Bravado and my 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta Sauce.
Yield: ~3/4 cup dressing
For the dressing:
- 1 small avocado (about 1/2 cup flesh)
- 1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
- 3 tbsp tahini (or to taste)
- 2-4 tablespoons water (depending on the thickness desired)
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice (or to taste)
- 1/2 tbsp lime juice (if preferred)
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt
Directions: In a food processor (or blender if you think it will work!), process the above ingredients together to make a sauce. I suggest adding the ingredients slowly to taste. You can adapt this recipe to suit your own taste buds! You might like more or less tahini or more EVOO, etc.
To make the salad I used:
- 2-3 cups greens (I used mix of romaine and spinach)
- 1 cup chickpeas, cooked
- 3/4 cup chopped veggies (I used red onion, cucumber, orange pepper, tomato)
- Freshly ground black pepper + Paprika
- Tahini Avocado dressing (whatever amount you desire! I used about 3-4 tbsp)
Note: Dressing lasts at most 2 days. You might want to make a half batch if you don’t think you will use it all up quickly!
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Some of the dressing ingredients…
Feel free to adjust the dressing recipe to taste. You may like more or less tahini, olive oil, salt, seasonings, etc.
By the way, I showed 3 garlic cloves in the photo, but I actually only needed 1 clove.
The dressing turned out soooo thick and creamy!
To mix it, I put everything in a big Tupperware container, added some dressing, put on the lid, and then shook it all up so it was coated very nicely. Then I just transferred it to a bowl.
[But trust me, if I wasn’t taking a photo of it, I would have just eaten it straight from the messy Tupperware container!]
I enjoyed it with some Mary’s Crackers (dipped in more dressing).
The dressing is super creamy and luxurious, with a tangy kick.
As I was eating it I realized how happy I am that I am not afraid of ‘fat’ anymore. Olive oil, tahini, and avocado are such wonderful foods for the body. Let’s do our bodies a big favour and leave the 1990’s fat-free era behind, sound good? 
Thank you again for your votes in the Best Health Blog Contest!
You can vote once per day until March 21st and I would really appreciate your help for this contest. I have never actually won any blog contest before and I would be so excited if I actually did. :) I am nominated in the Eat Well category.
Uh oh, the husband is calling me..nothing good ever comes of this. He mentioned something about me ‘stripping’ (wallpaper…I think?). And shaving the ceiling. I shall return with more Reno-cation updates and the delish grub we eat while doing so.
Can you put a note about freezing and microwaving the macaroons on the recipe page? I won’t be able to make them for a while and it would be nice to remember that when I do make them! Thanks!
Those top pull outs on your drawers are neat! And very impressive install job, might I add.
Can you guys come to GA and install the curtains I bought today? ;)
I’m so glad I’m not the only person who mixes their salad and dressing in a tupperware container! Ha. And, I always just eat it out of said container. :)
This looks sooooo good! I can’t wait to try this. Beautiful photos as always. : )
Hehe
IKEA is in my opinion a lifesaver!
I am a single mum and my flat looks a bit like a branch of IKEA. and (*boast*) I have put it all together myself! including new bathroom cabinets!
as for fat… it is a fact that the brain consists of mostly fat (neurons couldn’t live without it!) and it is fueled on carbohydrates so i have never understood how a fat-free and low-carb diet is going to help.
I personally believe that a little bit of everything and nothing in excess is the way foreward.
if you want sweets, have a couple, but not the whole packet…
And avocado, olives and such are packed with other nutrients too so i am fully convinced they are good for you.
I was watching E-entertainment channel the other day and there was a program about celeb diets and how they had lost huge amounts of weight in shockingly short amount of time to either fit a character they would portray or the dress for the red carpet… I was on the verge of tears! some of them put themselves thru so much pain. Just to fit into a dress and look “good”. Personally i don’t think the skeletal look is a good look for anybody and i almost screamed at one of the “experts” who critizised a new mother (her baby was 2 months old) for having a flabby midriff. she was sooo skinny and there was no fat on her. How she even carried a healthy baby is beyond my understanding…
My point is (before i get carried away) that we need better role models. there needs to me a turn in how we expect our bodies to look.
These women do not look healthy. They look hungry and grumpy and malnourished!
we need to start admiring health rather than flat (empty!) bellies and bony backs.
there is a huge difference between starved to size zero and healthily toned.
Angela, you could start a campaign for “Healthy and happy” women across the world.
You allready have a good start!
that was todays rant… hehe
Love your blog!
Hugs, Marit
Honestly, I never get bored of my daily salads. I know how to make them taste incredible every time! This one looks fantastic Angela!
If you liek the avocado/cumin mix, you might like this dip I made a while back: http://www.caseylorraine.com/2010/08/the-almost-daily-daily-carrot-cumin-and-herb-dip/
I often thin it down and have it as a dressing and also often leave out the carrot entirely.
So good!!
Hello, here´s your Number one fan from the Czech republic:)) I have to tell you that your recepise look always soo delicious that they make me seriously hungry:) Which is bad, because there is still one hour left till my lunch break:) I need to make this salas as soon as possible, I love chickpeas in every form and combination – and avocado definitely makes a great combo!
That salad dressing looks so so good! I wish I had tahini on hand!
I think I’m the only person in the world that actually enjoys putting together flat pack furniture! It’s my tomboy side coming out. I’m just about to go and vote for you now too – good luck, you throroughly deserve to win :-)
any recipe that calls for avocado and i’m in. this looks so yum!
Just jotted down ingredients so I can make this recipe this week. It looks like spring to me and I need it after the 18 or so inches of snow we just got!
Great looking salad.
I am visiting my mom and sister right now and we saw that some cereal was tossed in driveways with the newspaper and we laughed and thought those pesky neighborhood squirrels would probably come running soon and eat through all the boxes just like they did to those glo bars.
Hope you had a good day off yesterday!
YUM, this salad looks really good. I love the looks and color of the dressing. Can’t wait to try it!
PS: Good luck with the contest!
I love the drawers! :) I need to get me some! :D
I dieee, I love salads especially with crackers!! Mary’s are so good, but so expensive:( I curve avocado tahini dressings!
love reading about your renos!
we buy a lot of stuff from ikea, cant beat the prices!, but it seems like half the time something is broken before we even open the box!
I had this for supper last night with the sesame salad topper, and it was fantastic. Filling and delicious! Thanks
I decided to the salad challenge with you and make salad one of my main courses everyday. I have always been afraid to suggest salads for dinner with my boyfriend because he likes meat, but I am so happy to announce that he wants to do the salad challenge with me and he is SO excited to have a big salad every night. He said it makes him feel “so responsible.” Haha. I Love him.
I made this salad dressing today, and it was amazing! I don’t have a food processor, so I just used a hand potato masher – it still worked (and tasted) great!
Excited to say I’m going to make this for dinner tonight. Been craving chick-peas (I’m 6 months pregnant) and can’t wait to dig in!