Chickpeas by the roadside

Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans (called “Hummus” in Arabic) are a big part of life here.  Of course, we all know and most of us love hummus spread (“yummus” my brother calls it).  Our family gets felafel regularly and occasionally makes our own (it’s made of chickpea flour and such great kid food.)  But we had never thought about how these legumes grow.  This year, chickpeas are being sold by the roadside, green and fresh from the field.  While we had loved ones here, we picked some up and boiled them for about 2 minutes in lightly salted water as a local friend had recommended.  Yum!  They reminded us of edamame.  Friends also eat them raw from the pod and we have heard of charring them and even roasting them to use as a coffee substitute…