The idiom “like two peas in a pod” can reference a lot of people in my life.  I don’t think it would be too hard to fit into a pod with me.  I have a lot of interests like dogs, crafts and cooking.  (I even have some interests that you may not know about yet.)

But where is the saying for the friend who you absolutely love but don’t necessarily have all the commonalities?  Are you not allowed to be “peas in a pod”?  Maybe we are just “chick peas?”  A couple of gals who just enjoying each other’s friendship.

I started thinking about this the other day as I was filling out a birthday card for one of my favorite chickpeas, Virginia.  I met her on my wedding day, she was one of my husband’s cousins and my first memory was when she caught my bouquet.

She was a young dark haired beauty who had a smile that lit up the room.  She approached me with the bouquet and offered to give it back to me.  Our florist didn’t show for the wedding and this little bouquet of red roses was all I had.  (One of my hubby’s aunts and cousins whipped it up for me at the last minute.)

The gesture was sincere and full of warmth.  It also the first of many gestures of kindness I would get from this dear girl.

Over the last 15 years, Virginia and I had the opportunity to run into each other at miscellaneous wedding, funerals and family gatherings.  We always would have zany conversations and make each other laugh.  (And she has a contagious laughter.)  Our friendship and sisterhood grew and we are more than just cousins by marriage, we are really great friends.

The funny part is we really don’t have those “pea in the pod” kinds of things that are the backbones to a friendship in common. I love all my foodie stuff and she still can’t have her food touching on her plate.  She has a radiance about her that is noticeable when she walks in the room and I am a bit of an awkward goof.  Virginia can pack up and go somewhere without giving it a second thought and something like that would make me need a Valium!  She can have a glass of wine without a problem and I have one drink and end up on YouTube.

When we do talk Virginia usually shares hysterical stories about dating and I just say inappropriate things that I wouldn’t repeat in front of either of our grandmothers!

The distance between us in years and miles has not kept us from being there for each other.  We are both older now than our first meeting (I am MUCH older) and we still don’t have that much in common.  (Unless you put shoes on the table and then we ARE peas in a pod.)

But even if we don’t match completely, the stories we have shared over the years have brought us closer together.  (Maybe it is the fear that we know too much and would have some wicked blackmail stories!)  Maybe we are just chickpeas on a pan, still close to each other but admirable of our differences?

So Happy Birthday to my dear friend and chickpea, Virginia.  You are an amazing friend and I am so happy you are in my life!  Love ya!

Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients

2 (15 ounce) cans of chickpeas

1 tsp of favorite seasoning (ranch, garlic powder, Italian, wasabi powder)

A grind or two of salt

Direction

Oven 350.

Rinse and drain chickpeas very well.

Place in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Sprinkle with your favorite spices.  (Experiment with this for fun)

Bake for about 50 minutes until peas are brown and rattle on the pan.  (I cooked the batch in the picture until it was just crunchy.  You can go browner if you want a harder crunch for your snack attack.)

Eat as a snack or use as the healthy crunch on your favorite salad or just nibble on them when you are on the phone with a friend.