Healthy eating can be the last thing you have time to think about when you have papers due and midterms to study for. is curried chickpeas with spinach and
tomatoes recipe is an opportunity to cook a healthy meal while fulfilling your craving for a warm and comforting
dish.
This recipe was made with students in mind. It’s flavourful, delicious, nutritious and simple to make with accessible ingredients from your local grocery store or the
Hamilton Farmers’ Market. Unlike the other aspects of student life, cooking can be uncomplicated. This recipe is fast and easy to make regardless of skill level.

Have a little more time on your hands? is recipe is made to serve four and is perfect for sharing a homemade meal with your friends or housemates. Complete your curried chickpeas dish with flatbread, naan or steamed white rice.

Curried chickpeas also taste better the next day and freeze well too, so make sure to make the full batch and freeze the rest for those tight days.

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The Chef: Joanne Rappos

Joanne Rappos is the Hamiltonian home cook behind Olive and Mango, a food blog dedicated to sharing her recipes from a variety of food cultures, including her native Greece and Caribbean in fluences from her husband’s side of the family. From Rappos’ popular sheet pan meals, like Greek shrimp with tomatoes and feta, to her golden lemon ricotta wa ffles, there’s something for everyone try making in their own kitchen.

The Olive and Mango blog and Instagram feed are thoughtfully curated with photographs worth getting hunger pangs over, which may just be the push we need to get inspired by her recipes. Rappos’ was just as careful with creating this curried chickpeas recipe for the Sil, she even relies on it at least once a week because it’s just that good.

Curried Chickpeas with Spinach and Tomatoes Ingredients:

• 3 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 red chili, coarsely chopped (optional)
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated
• 8 oz fresh or frozen spinach, washed and drained if needed
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder (any curry you like — I recommend red Thai curry powder)
• 1 teaspoon ground chili powder
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 19-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 24-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes or diced with their juices
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro plus more for garnish (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Curried Chickpeas with Spinach and Tomatoes Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, chile and ginger; sauté until fragrant and softened for about three to four minutes.
2. Add the curry powder and the chili powder and continue to sauté with the onion mixture for one minute more. Then add the tomato paste and continue to cook it while stirring it in with the curry and onion mixture for another minute.
3. Add 1/4 cup of water to the skillet along with the spinach and continue to sauté for a few minutes until the spinach has wilted.
4. Add chickpeas and tomatoes with juices, squeezing tomatoes with your hand as you add them to pan or use the back of a wooden spoon to break apart on the pan. Add a 1/2 cup of water to the pan.
5. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until tomatoes are broken down and sauce has thickened, this will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Remove the pan from the heat and serve with rice and or bread. Recipe notes: If you’d like less intense heat, skip out on the red chili and instead use ½ teaspoon of dried chili flakes. If you use fresh chilies make sure to scrape out the seeds. To freeze, portion out into meal prep containers, cool completely, then freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat until steaming hot in the microwave or stovetop.

 

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Truthfully, I have no taste.

I eavesdrop conspicuously on every ANDY meeting, sitting not-so-silently from my desk, trying to acquire some artistic and cultural knowledge by osmosis.

But so far, it has not been successful.

At the end of the day, I still like bad horror films.

Sure, well-produced, intelligent thrillers are great, don’t get me wrong: I love a good scary movie.

But I adore a bad one. The predictable plots, the clichéd camera trickery, and the truly atrocious acting. For years now, I have been on the hunt for the kitschiest horror film the internet can bring me, and my search has not been in vain. Here, for you, is a list of the best worst scary movies my mind has not repressed over time, scored arbitrarily because I can’t decide what I love most:

(For those of you that genuinely want to be scared, I recommend The Strangers or El Orfanato (The Orphanage), to be watched alone in an empty, darkened house with a cranky heating system.)

 

The Stepfather (2009) – 12% on Rotten Tomatoes – I’ve-watched-it-four-times

In a misguided attempt for originality, the movie begins by divulging the identity of the killer to the audience. The storyline is, as a result, fantastically predictable and the murders themselves, while varied, are uninventive.

 

When a Stranger Calls (2006) – 9% on Rotten Tomatoes – 4 out of 10 stairs

Do not run up the stairs. That is never a good idea. The killer can, and will, grab your ankles. Come on.

 

It (1990) –64% on Rotten Tomatoes – 1 out of 2 parts

One among many Stephen King novels brought to the screen, this was initially released as a mini-series, but I watched It as a two-sided DVD. The scariest part of the movie is an unfortunately memorable make-out scene.

 

Red Riding Hood (2011) – 11% on Rotten Tomatoes – 3 quarters of a waxing moon

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the director of Twilight. That is all.

 

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) – 15% on Rotten Tomatoes - 5 out of 5 rake-fingers

This remake earned an impressive 80 per cent lower than the original. I can’t decide whether this is because the acting is so bad or because – no. Never mind. I can decide. It’s the acting.

 

Jennifer’s Body (2009) – 43% on Rotten Tomatoes – 4 out of 5 points of the pentagram

This movie went out to be a film pandering to teenagers, and hit all the marks: a soundtrack of all pop-music, unimaginative humour and moderate necking. Not to mention the plot, which focused on the demonic possession of Megan Fox. Also her cleavage.

 

Prom Night (2008) – 8% on Rotten Tomatoes – 3 out of 4 wrist corsages

Yet another remake. But this time, not even the original was good. The characters are even less dimensional than actual prom-goers.

 

The Roommate (2011) – 4% on Rotten Tomatoes – 3 out of 5 stars

Rotten Tomatoes says “The Roommate isn’t even bad enough to be good,” but I wholeheartedly disagree. It is plenty bad enough. Only slightly less scary than an actual dorm experience, but at least it doesn’t last eight months.

 

Sleepaway Camp (1983) – 70% on Rotten Tomatoes – 6 sleeps out of 10

I don’t want to spoil anything, but this movie may or may not have the weirdest twist ending I have ever seen. To this day, I do not know whether this movie is a good horror movie, or a bad horror movie, based solely on this ending. I am so conflicted.

 

Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2009) – 20% on Rotten Tomatoes – 1 bird .gif out of 2

That’s right. Two bird .gifs. That is 100% of the movie’s special effects. I guess it makes sense though when you consider they apparently only had enough budget for one camera. And a tripod on rent.

 

Hannibal (2001) – 39% on Rotten Tomatoes – 4 out of 5 fava beans

A sequel to one of my all-time favourites – Silence of the Lambs – this movie does it no justice. There is a scene with someone eating their own brain though, so that’s fun.

 

Paranormal Activity (2007) – 80% on Rotten Tomatoes – 7 ghosts out of who knows how many

A bit of a controversial choice on a bad movies list, I know, but bear with me. The documentary style drags the movie to a crawl and the plot is non-existent. The only thing about this movie that scares me is that enough people felt it warranted three sequels.

 

Children of the Corn (2009) – no score on Rotten Tomatoes – 8 out of 10 kernels

A made-for-TV remake of a movie based on a Stephen King book: going in we know this is going to be good (and by good I of course mean awful). Though both fundamentalists and children are things that scare me, this movie did not. The creators inexplicably added a juvenile sex scene though, which was very unsettling.