There are seasons to cooking, or so I’ve always thought: Grill in summer. Slow cooker in winter. Roast in fall. Brunch in Spring.

Yes, I know “brunch” is not a cooking method.

But today it’s spring with a vengeance in Seattle, and I think I’ve got everything mixed up. I should be out enjoying the sunshine, before it disappears behind another Seattle cliche cloud.

I recently picked up a copy of Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook (NYM Series), mostly because it is full of vegetarian recipes, and I am desperate for ideas for The Child that don’t involve pasta or fish sticks. The first recipe I tried, Chickpeas with Chard, was worth the price of the book: Tasty, fresh, and light.

Like spring – in a slow cooker.

The Child refused to eat it, which was disappointing, but then again, she’s also sleeping through the first sunny day we’ve had here in over a week. She doesn’t know what she’s missing, which is okay – this recipe, I’ll make again, so she can try it then.  Can’t guarantee any more sunny days though.

Chickpeas with Chard from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook (NYM Series)

1/2 cup dried chickpeas

1 bunch swiss chard (I used rainbow chard because it’s so dang pretty)

2 cups water

1/4 cup olive oil

2 small white onions

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon salt

pinch cayenne pepper

pinch black pepper

Rinse chickpeas; soak overnight in three inches of water. Drain, put in slow cooker, add the two cups of water, and cook on high setting until tender, about three hours. Make sure chickpeas are covered with water at all times.

Chop the chard, blanch in boiling water for three minutes.

Chop the onions, and cook with the olive oil in a small skillet until almost golden and browned around the edges, about eight minutes.

Add chard, onions and oil, and remaining ingredients to chickpeas and water in slow cooker. Cook on high setting another 1 1/2 hours.

This is my contribution to Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Why not swing by and see what other simple pleasures await?