Pineapple Coconut Chickpeas

Cooking and eating healthy goodness is always better with amigos.  Last week, my friends and I decided to enjoy a post-exam night with some Bangin' Bird Food.  More importantly, we just wanted to hangout!  My friends are wonderful people and quite quite sweet!!  They leave me cheesin' on a regular.  They are always hyping me up when it comes to cooking and I very very very much appreciate the love and support.  I wanna give a shoutout to TC and Diana and Sonja and...  (microphone gets pulled away).   I love to cook so I get the Grand Prize every time folks tell me how much they enjoyed the food.  They may not, however, understand the method to this madness. What they see as great cooking skills is simply the result of being a Jamaican child of a Jamaican mother.  I had no other alternatives.  :)

Bangin' Bird Food Perfection. 

You just added 5 years to your life  :)

Beautiful people! (L - R: Sonja's roomy, Diana, TC and Sonja)

The chef is in the building!
Don't hate on my pig puffs, okay.......they're too cool for med school :)

Let's do this:
2 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas
1 can of coconut milk/1 packet of coconut powder mixed with 1 1/2 cups of water
2 tbsp of chopped or sliced ginger (I used organic)
1/3 to 3/4 of a yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
5-7 sprigs of thyme
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 cups of pineapple juice with or without pineapples (your preference)
1 tsp, more to taste

A little added heat if you like:
1 tbsp chopped jalepeno
or
1 tsp chopped scotch bonnet pepper
or
1 tsp cayenne pepper
or
1 tbsp red pepper flakes

Saute all veggies (green and red peppers, onions and garlic) for 5 mins.  Add chickpeas and stir around for 1-2 min.  Add the coconut milk, ginger, pineapple juice (with or without pineapples), salt and thyme and your choice of heat if desired.  Turn the stove on high until boiling, then reduce it to a low flame to simmer.  Let simmer for 15 - 20 mins.  The color should be peachish and the aroma should be mouthwatering!  Food will tell you when it is ready.

NOTE: This is one of my FAVORITE meals to date, hands down.  It just has an amazing savory flavor that is so mmm..mmm..mmm!

Enjoy!