I bought them because they were cheap

I had no clue what raw chickpeas would be like. I picked up one of those bags at the store, the ones that has the chickpeas still in their pods and are soft, a lot like edamame if you squint because I was curious to see what they were like and also because they were cheap. Those are two of the reasons I find myself in so many situations I wish I hadn't.

So shelling them is an experience in itself, you squeeze the pod, and the little green chick pea pops out, the whole thing looks as though it really doesn't want to come out. After shelling 100g of it, my fingers were starting to get a little sore. The flavour of raw chickpeas is like grass and almost milky, not what I was expecting at all. I think of chickpeas as a beige solid food that is either dried or canned, the raw version has a lot more moisture and colour and has been a real surprise to me.

Chickpeas also have a short window of time for cooking. You can steam them, lightly boil them, then add salt and a smidge of oil. That's all they need. If you overcook them, they lose everything that makes them remarkable. The difference in cooking time is minimal so that's why your chances to screw up the cooking are high.

What I'm really thinking about and I'm know that this is not exactly some very powerful revelation in life anyways, but it's how something that I have eaten many different ways over the years could still surprise me with the taste. That means eating something familiar in a different way can be a whole new experience again, that's really something isn't it.