Chickpea Salad with Tehina and Garlic Dressing

This salad is as hearty and delicious as it is colorful. I don't know about you but I always have canned chickpeas in my pantry and as I peruse the shelves I always stare at them longingly for a while and then move on because I can't think of what to do with them. This salad is a great way to get them on your table in a delicious, nutritious and eye catching way. You could really throw anything into this salad like olives, or roasted vegetables, or corn but this is what I had lying around. I also happened to have tehina in my fridge and since this salad sort of reminds me of Israeli salad in a way I thought a dressing made from tehina would be great and it was. Another good thing about this salad is that it stays well in the fridge for a while and I threw in some grilled chicken and had it as a meal a different day. So, bottom line, sharpen that knife and get ready to dice a little (ok, alot) and then dig in.

2 (15oz) cans chick peas, drained
2 cucumbers, diced
2 stalks celery, diced (optional)
1/2 cup scallions, diced
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, diced or the equivalent of cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup yellow pepper, diced
1/2 cup orange pepper, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Dressing:
1/2 cup Tehina
4 Tbl lemon juice
2 Tbl water
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste