I like to buy things in bulk. It makes me feel frugal. But then my buying-things-in-bulk phase passes and I'm left with lots of bulk stuff to eat, which is sometimes more difficult. Recently (okay, not so recently now) I bought chickpeas. A lot of chickpeas. No, really, a LOT of chickpeas. So now I'm trying to use them up. This is one of Sean's favorite recipes. It is, as many of my recipes are, extremely mutable. In fact, after you make it once or twice, you probably won't bother with measuring things at all which makes it much less recipe-like and more just something you look forward to eating.

SIMPLE LEMON-Y CHICKPEAS

• 2 cups chickpeas
• 1 tbl Colonna Granverde (extra virgin olive oil pressed with sicilian lemons) - or just regular olive oil, but it's not nearly as good
• Parmesean or other hard, aged, grate-able cheese, about 1 oz, grated finely.
• hot red pepper flakes
• 1 generous tbl lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• bacon (optional)
• mushy-ripe avacado (optional)
• fresh parsley (optional)

Drain chickpeas and place in large bowl

Add Colonna, cheese, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes to taste (you'll need more of them than you think you will)

Add any of the optional ingredients that you choose (most often I do none because that's easiest and extremely tasty, so don't think you have to add any of these)

Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary.

May eat room temperature, cold from the fridge, or slightly warmed.

My mom makes something similar to this, my friend Marina in medical school made something similar to this. Orangette had something *very* similar to this a year or so ago. That surprised me, it seemed too humble for a recipe blog, but once she did it it made me realize that I can do it too! Everyone should know about lemon-y chickpeas!! But she uses regular olive oil and you'll have to take my word that the one from Bosco Pontoni that is cold pressed with lemons makes an enormous amount of difference.