This dish features the bright flavors of Provence, highlighting artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh rosemary. If you double the recipe, you can have an excellent lunch served at room temperature the next day. Offer the chickpea salad on a bed of mixed baby greens (mesclun) for a light and colorful presentation.

I never eat it in pita bread…I usually just put the bean salad on top of lettuce and eat it as a salad. But, I am sure a pita would be good too!

This recipe originally called for 2 Tbs. olive oil to go in as well (I guess in the dressing), but I left it out and it was great. I think this would also work with any other grain you would like–brown rice, amaranth, millet, barley…I love dill, but you could add whatever fresh herb you have growing in your garden!

1 pound fresh spinach, stemmed
2 cups chopped kale leaves…

This dinner is exotic! Crisp yam slices, roasted bell peppers, steamed corn, and BBQ tofu topped with a spicy black bean sauce.

1 can garbanzo beans – rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans – rinsed and drained…

3/4 pound green beans, washed and trimmed
1-1/2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained…

16 ounce can of unsalted garbanzo beans
1 boiled potato, peeled and chopped in chunks…

I “stole” this recipe from a local health food store. It would be perfect for a BBQ! Just double or triple this recipe.

1 15-oz. can black-eyed peas, drained
2 cups cooked brown rice…

Black Bean Tofu Patties for dinner, served with rice (spiced to a golden yellow color) and a selection of colorful, fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables, will look good enough to eat!

A couple of nights ago at Fresh Choice they were serving a Tuscan White Bean soup I really liked – so I decided I’d try to replicate it at home in the pressure cooker. Here’s what I came up with this afternoon.

Brenda’s note: This is a keeper! We were impressed with how nice the beans cooked, soft and perfect; easily mashed right in the pressure cooker when they’d finished cooking.

I made this simple soup last night and it was heavenly. Here’s what I did: I didn’t have leeks, so I substituted 2 chopped onions. I made up a mixture of Herbes de Provence following the recipe at the end, and at the very end, I pureed part of the soup using a hand-blender, trying to keep most of the carrot pieces intact. Also, I followed the regular directions, not the pressure cooker ones, because it was such a quick-cooking dish. Definitely a keeper.

Pressure cooking and stovetop instructions are included.