Number 100003 in the list of things you can do with chickpeas

That's right. They make hummus, curry, salads, even flour, and now....a really tasty summer salad.

We are rapidly riding out the last weeks of the summer, and, unfortunately, the last weeks of cheap, fresh, delicious veggies. The day before yesterday our wonderful neighbor gifted me with a few stems of basil and some fresh tomatoes. Having no proper pasta or meat, this is the rather tasty result. I suggest eating it hot - if you're very hungry right after you're done cooking - or cold - if you're very hungry and it's in the fridge. It's tasty either way!

End of Summer Pasta Salad

1 cup raw orzo or other small noodles $.30
1 large, ripe tomato or 2 small roma tomatoes $.50
1 fresh bell pepper $1
1 green onion $.08
16 oz can of chick peas, drained $.79
2 T of capers or olive rings/quarters $.13
1 tsp minced garlic
2 T olive oil
2 T balsalmic vinegar
1 tsp mustard
salt and pepper
1/3 C shredded fresh basil (if available - if not, use 1tsp dried)
Grated cheese of your choice (to garnish)

Total Cost: $2.80
Servings: 6 generous
Cost per Serving: $.47

To Make

1. Boil water to cook the pasta according to package directions.
   
2. While the pasta is cooking, combine the vinegar, oil, mustard, capers/olives and green onion (sliced thin) in a medium mixing bowl. If you are using dried basil, add it at this point. Next, cut the tomatoes and pepper into chunks. If you like raw bell pepper, add it to the bowl as well as the tomato and the garlic. If not, reserve the bell pepper and garlic until the next step.
   
3. Drain the pasta and add it to the mixing bowl. Toss to coat. Using the same pot you cooked the pasta in, you can quickly sautee the pepper and garlic if you don't care for raw pepper (I chose to do that because I had a home grown bell pepper, which can have a slightly bitter flavor if eaten raw). Also, if you did not have green onion, you could chop up some red or yellow regular onion and fry it with the pepper/garlic at this point.
4. After cooking a minute or two (until just slightly tender, but not soft) add the pepper and garlic to the mixing bowl. Finally, dump in the drained and rinsed chickpeas and the fresh basil, if using. Toss everything to coat it evenly in the dressing.
   
5. Garnish with salt, pepper, and grated cheese. I think Romano or Parmesan would be the best, but we had it with cheddar and it was still delish!

Frugal Tips:

• Use what you have available! We try to stretch as long as possible between grocery trips, and that means leaving no leftover unused in the fridge! We happened to have some chickpeas in a tupperware, so chickpeas it was, but if you have kidney beans or pinto beans, it should work just as well. I'm not sure how it would taste with black beans....if anyone tries it, let me know. This goes for pasta as well. We used orzo because I had it on hand, but I think couscous or bulgar wheat would be interesting and potentially offer more whole grain.
• This should not be frozen, as it contains pasta and fresh veggies, but if you fill a tupperware up to the top and place it in the back of your fridge, I would imagine the vinegar will help preserve it for at least a week.
  

Good luck cooking!