Trader Joe's: Drink This Not That With Your Roasted Garbanzos

Here the other night I was cooking up some spaghetti squash and roasted garbanzo beans, so I swung by Trader Joe's for inexpensive wine to drink. Anyone following this blog closely knows of my love for central coast red wines. Trader Joe's always has a few in stock, so I grabbed two bottles of red (syrah and a petite sirah) at the same price point. Fun!

Drink this:

2009 St. Somewhere Syrah. $9.99 worth of delicious. A fuller bodied syrah, with hints of jam but on the dry side for a syrah. I would definitely not only buy this again, but buy several bottles to keep in the house for whatevs.

Don't drink that:

Trader Joe's label 2010 Petite Sirah. Candy in a bottle. I will be saving this opened and unfinished bottle of pancake syrup for use in cooking, or even more likely to make hot mulled wine when/if it ever cools off in Los Angeles for the winter. 

Make some roasted garbanzo beans to munch with your wine. This is the easiest thing to make on the planet. You can literally use whatever herbs and spices suit your fancy or you happen to have on hand. Roast in the oven until they reach desired crispness for a sophisticated bar snack.

Rinse garbanzos in a colander until the starchy thick canning fluid is rinsed down the drain.

Toss on cookie sheet.

By hand, I mix the beans with about a tablespoon of olive oil per can. On the night in question, officer, I tossed also with cumin, smoked paprika, and Lawry's season salt. Taste the uncooked beans as you season, add a little at a time, you can always add more.

Spread one bean deep across a cookie sheet. Bake at 350f for about an hour. I like mine to retain a little moisture so they're not too crunchy. Dryer than a little al dente, but not much.

Serve up in little ramekins, drink and crunch at will.