It’s wonderful and thoughtful when you have two grown children who worry about your macular degeneration and want to be sure you’re eating all the right foods. When my son and his wife gave me the Air Cooker and a recipe book to go with it, I was delighted to find so many ways to do foods I really like but have skipped because they required frying. Then my daughter gave me yet another cookbook for air cookers, this one strictly vegetarian. It’s magnificent.
Here’s a great alternative for nibbling on nuts (though they’re great for you as well!) watching football games or soap operas on tv. Roasted Chickpeas, Tandoori-style has a lot less calories than nuts, a bit of salt and sugar from the peas, but 4 grams of protein as well.
Tandoori-style Chickpeas
1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry with paper towels.
2 tsp. curry power
1 tsp each of paprika and cumin
For more spice, add ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Mix the together in a small bowl.
Preheat the air cooker to 400 degrees, put the chickpeas in the fryer basket and roast for 5 minutes.
Remove the basket, spray the chickpeas with cooking oil and toss.
Return to the cooker, roast another 8 minutes, shaking the basket once or twice during the cooking.
Take the basket out, sprinkle the spice mixture and toss to coat. Put back in the cooker for another 2 to 3 minutes.
That’s it! Once cool, they’re great for nibbling!
Or how about radish chips? They even sound exotic!
8 large radishes, scrubbed and trimmed on both ends
Slice each radish into thin rounds and pat dry with a paper towel.
Preheat oven cooker to 400 degrees, put in the radishes and drizzle with 1 T olive oil, tossing to coat. If you choose sprinkle with a bit of salt and shake again.
Put the basket in the cooker and cook for 18 minutes, tossing once; the radishes should be crisp and light golden brown.
Take out of the cooker, sprinkle with a bit of curry power or Greek spice mix, enjoy either hot or cold. They’ll keep well in an airtight container as well for a few days.
