[1] Delicious, nutritious chickpea toast (photo © Betsy Haley For Salt & Honey Catering).

[2] Dried chickpeas will expand to twice their weight. These are from America’s leading provider of artisan beans, Rancho Gordo (photo © Rancho Gordo).

[3] Green chickpeas in the pod (photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

Move over, avocado toast—one more time. We previously wrote about mushroom toast, and it was delicious.

But now, there’s something more nutritious and less expensive than both of those toasts combined!

Bay Area Catering Company Salt & Honey Catering in Oakland, California has shared their popular Garlicky Chickpea Toast recipe with us.

In addition to a delicious change, there are benefits to chickpeas over avocados:

 
 
RECIPE: GARLICKY CHICKPEA TOAST WITH LEMON YOGURT

Make extra chickpea mixture if you wish; it’s delicious hot or cold and can be served as a side with eggs, vegetables, etc.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE combine yogurt, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, zest from one lemon and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. HEAT the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat; add the garlic and cook for one minute until fragrant.

3. ADD the chickpeas and the asparagus and cook, stirring occasionally, until the asparagus is just cooked through. Stir in remaining lemon juice, zest, red pepper flakes and fresh herbs.

3. SPREAD a dollop of yogurt onto a piece of toasted bread. Top with a heaping spoonful of the chickpea mixture. Finish with a pinch of salt and pepper.

________________

*Rehydrated dry chickpeas have a better texture than canned; and also aren’t packed with sodium. There are, however, low-salt and salt-free versions.

†If asparagus is out of season, you can substitute frozen asparagus; or broccoli (cut the cooked stems into strips and save the florets for another purpose), broccoli rabe, green beans or hearts of palm.

Including:

 
Check it out here.
 
 
ABOUT SALT & HONEY CATERERS

Founded by Dominican-American Olivia Colt, Salt & Honey believes in using locally sourced and sustainably raised-and-caught produce, meat and seafood.

The dishes are driven by the bounty of Northern California, finding inspiration in Caribbean, French, Italian and Mexican flavors.

The Bay Area catering and events company has created memorable weddings, parties and corporate events for Facebook, Google, One Kings Lane and smaller clients.

Need a caterer? For starters, head to the website.
 
  

The mini waffles recipe below. (photo #4).
 
 
RIM GARNISHES

We’d long wanted a set of wide-rim bowls (photo #1) that the better restaurants we patronize use to serve pasta, soup, and other foods.

The presentation never ceases to delight—especially when garnishes or decorations are set atop the wide rim.

We listened to all the reasons why these bowls were not a wise purchase: no more storage space in our small apartment, questionable number of uses per year, etc.

To those who questioned our judgment in buying a set of wide rim bowls (you know who you are!):
 
 
WHAT TO PUT ON THE RIM

We use our wide-rim bowls largely for entertaining, as opposed to daily use; but there’s no reason why you can’t do both.

No matter what’s in the bowl (cereal, chili, fish en brodo, grain bowls, green salads, ice cream, pasta and pasta salad, pudding, salad, soup, etc.), you can plate other foods on the rim.

Go wherever your imagination takes you, but here are some ways in which we “rim garnish” conventional foods:

 
Whatever garnish you might have put on a plate, place it on the rim and add some other compatible garnishes.

Truly, we have so much fun with this!
 
 
MAKING THE MINI WAFFLES

For August 24th, National Waffle Day, we copied this idea for mini waffles with two dipping sauces.

While in theory a breakfast dish, it was a great lunch!

In this recipe (photo #4), the ingredients have reversed places: The main food is plated on the rim, and the garnishes are in the bowl.

We didn’t have a mini waffle maker, so we made regular-size waffles and cut them into four smaller squares.

As for the dip, we used strawberry and vanilla yogurt; and garnished everything with blueberries and raspberries.

There are other waffle applications, too; for example:

[1] Soup with a rim garnish of halved cherry tomatoes, herb sprigs, and for a touch of luxury, lump crabmeat (photo © Seviche Restaurant | Louisville).

[2] A heaping bowl of pasta with an artistic rim garnish of minced herbs and breadcrumbs (photo © Explore Cuisine).

[3] Mac & Cheese with minced herbs (photo © Barilla Food Service).

[4] Mini waffles with dipping sauces (photo © Taisiia Shestopal | Unsplash).

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] Caramel pecan waffle sundae (photo © St. Pierre Bakery).

[2] Deluxe dessert waffle plate (photo © Screme Gelato).

[3] Fudge waffles; the recipe is below (photo © King Arthur Flour).

[4] Chocolate sauce for the fudge waffles; the recipe is below (photo © King Arthur Flour).

[5] You can use the chocolate sauce to make s’mores waffles (photo © Posie Harwood | King Arthur Flour).

[6] Or, just use a simple chocolate drizzle (photo © Linus Mimietz | Unsplash).

[7] Or, make a banana split waffle sundae. Here’s the recipe (photo © Krusteaz).

August 24th is National Waffle Day.

With roots dating to the Neolithic Age (ca. 6000 B.C.E. to ca. 2000 B.C.E.), waffles, along with pancakes and bread, began as a rustic hotcake made of cereal pulps, cooked on heated stones.

As is still done thousands of years later, the cake was “flipped,” so that both sides could be cooked by the heat.

But these were bland sustenance foods: no syrup, no whipped cream and no chocolate sauce, of course; and likely, no salt and pepper.

Check out the history of waffles.

Before we jump into dessert waffles, check out How To Make Better Waffles, which includes cooking tips plus an introduction to savory waffles for lunch and dinner.

Also, the different types of waffles.
 
 
RECIPE #1: FUDGE WAFFLES (Photo #3)

Think of dessert waffles as waffle sundaes: the same ingredients as a sundae, with a waffle added.

This recipe, from King Arthur Flour, is like a hot fudge sundae on a waffle.

Prep time is 10 minutes, cook time is 30 minutes.

There are more dessert waffle recipes below, plus a template to customize your own dessert waffle recipes.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the eggs, butter and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat until light, about 2 minutes. Blend in buttermilk, then flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Gently fold in nuts and chocolate chips.

2. COOK the waffles in a preheated, well-greased waffle iron until done, following manufacturer’s directions.

3. SERVE with the ice cream of your choice and fudge sauce (recipe follows). The waffles can be served immediately, or wrapped in plastic wrap and served the next day. Warm them in a toaster oven if you wish.
 
Variation: S’mores Waffles

Top with toasted marshmallows and graham cracker streusel. Here’s the recipe.
 
 
RECIPE #2: FUDGE SAUCE/CHOCOLATE SAUCE (Photo #4)

People interchangeably use the terms chocolate sauce, fudge sauce, hot fudge and chocolate fudge sauce. The difference is in the details.

The main difference between hot fudge and chocolate sauce is the texture. Hot fudge tends is thicker and richer from the cream and butter used, while chocolate sauce is thinner, less rich and more pourable, due to corn syrup for added for pourability.

Ingredients For 1 Cup

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the sugar, cocoa powder, corn syrup and milk half & half in a small saucepan. Stir to blend.

2. COOK over medium heat until mixture comes to a full boil; then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

3. REMOVE the sauce from the heat and add the butter and vanilla, stirring until the butter melts. Cool to room temperature, then store in the refrigerator.

4. SERVE warm or at room temperature. The sauce reheats easily in a glass cup in your microwave.
 

MORE SWEET DESSERT WAFFLE RECIPES

 
 
SWEET WAFFLE TOPPINGS

 
 
MORE DESSERT WAFFLE RECIPES