Mike's Amazing Humus!

I asked my friend Mike to send me more recipes, and he quickly obliged. I was looking for something quick and healthy tonight, so I made this one - oh so delicious!


I have to say, my friend Ann has been a humus fan for a while - she'd buy those tubs from the deli section of the grocery store, and she really enjoyed them as a dip for veggies, or a spread for her sandwich. I'd come over and try a bite, and bleck. It seemed too stiff, kind of chalky, and incredibly bland. Plus the prepared stuff seemed to be just as high in calories as dips I really liked, so I never really got into humus. I just figured I didn't like it.

Then, while I was out a party at the South City Grill with Mike, Jessie and a number of other fun folks, we ordered a few appetizers, some of which included humus. Others were calamari, and fried zucchini and eggplant served with tzatziki (love love love this stuff!!) Oh and this amazing feta - just sliced with oregano and olive oil on it - so good! And it was an awesome party! Anyway - the humus was lovely and I enjoyed it. I also found enjoyable humus at The Silver Leaf Tavern - served with freshly baked flatbread. For a $2 nibble at happy hour, it's tasty with pinot grigio if they have any to pour. Oh and another fabulous place is Barbounia - the freshly baked just out of the oven flat bread served with the humus and other mediterranian dips is superb!!

So now I know - humus is like a chocolate chip cookie - you can have chips ahoy, but why waste the calories - go for the home made version, and you will be so much happier!

Here are Mike's thoughts on humus, and the fabulous recipe!

Humus in 5 minutes



History:


If you ask 100 people where the origin of Humus came from you, you’ll get 100 different answers. The Israeli’s lay claim that they invented it while the Turks, Greek, Egyptians and every other country in the middle east will do the same. Who originally invented? Since no one truly knows, I’ll speak out and say I did. Why not? Everyone else is claiming ownership, I might as well throw my name into the hat. In the end, regardless of who invented it, it’s a quick an easy vegetarian appetizer that can be made in literally minutes and is very healthy for you.


The traditional way of making involved taking dry chick peas, soaking them overnight in warm water, and then boiling them down for 2 hours to thoroughly cook them. With modern technologies, food manufacturers do the work for you and the canned stuff is just as good.

Ingredients:


One 16 oz can of chick peas (also known as Garbonzo beans). *
2 cloves of large garlic chopped down to small pieces
2 table spoons of Tahini (Sesame paste)
3 tablespoons of lemon juice (1 large lemon)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed black pepper
3-4 tablespoons of milk

* Brand choice for chick peas is Progresso. I’ve tried dozens of other brands such Bush, Goya and other brands but the best flavor seems to come from Progresso.


Add all of your ingredients into a food processor and puree until creamy. This may take 2-3 minutes. If your mixture is lumpy, add more olive oil as needed. There is no such thing as too much olive oil.

For the Vegans of the world, take the milk out and substitute with more oil.

Serve with toasted pita bread chips or veggie sticks.

So, I served this lucious dip with roasted carrots and roasted red and yellow bell peppers as well as some little crostini toasts I had left over. Yummy!!!
 
Note: the recipe's typo has been updated. 1 16oz can is correct. Initially I mis-read the recipe - I thought it was 2 cans of 16 oz garbanzos, but no, 2 cans of 8 oz, so my 1 can of 16 oz was just fine :) I had specially purchased the tahini, and will keep my eyes open for more recipes to use this delicious seseme seed puree. And I had lemons, and milk, etc. on hand. I hadn't heard of adding milk until Mike had it in his recipe, and I like it - it's not so heavy this way - very nice. Then I realized I didn't have any garlic - I know, how could that be? But it was. So I subbed some dried. It worked out pretty good! I'm sure the fresh garlic would have been even better. I will note that I used a nice extra virgin finishing oil in this - you know - that special oil you keep for salads, etc. Oh yes - so delicious!
 
This keeps great in the fridge too - whip up a batch - and share it with friends. Oh and while you buy the tahini, get some nice flatbread or pita too. Fresh though - not that stuff you find at the deli section with Ann's humus (LOL). If there isn't any fresh, you could perhaps try some naan - the Indian flat bread. I've seen that in the grocery, and it looks softer than the packaged pita. Unless of course you go the toasted route Mike suggests, then by all means, the deli pita is fine :) My favorite accompaniment continues to be the roasted carrots :)

Preserving Herbs

I ordered some rosemary and thyme and garlic this week from Fresh Direct. They always give a nice bunch, but they use these crappy vented bags which essentially render the herbs useless within a day or 2. Less than a day for delicate herbs.

I wanted to use these on a roast beef, and maybe the rest later in a white bean dip. I plucked the leaves from the rosemary and the thyme stems, and washed them. I popped them in my mini chopper with a head of peeled garlic and probably about a 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil.

I took half and spread it on my roast beef and set it to marinate. The remaining half I spooned in 2T portions in ziplock sandwich bags, which I then popped in a freezer bag. I seriously hope these frozen bits work well in the future. I really hate throwing away food.

Have you done anything to preserve cut herbs for use in the future?

Sunday Funday II

For our football snacks today, I wanted some buffalo chicken, but nothing too heavy. I love the buffalo chicken dip I made in South Padre, but even cutting it in 1/2 or a 1/4, just makes too much for the 2 of us.

This something I've made a couple times - Rick ate the whole thing last time (kind of mindlessly) and he was in pain that night from just eating too much. So this time I only put out 1/2 the chicken or so to create some portion control! I found these cute little appetizer picks at Pearl River Mart. I don't know if you can buy them online, but this store is a fun one for dishes and kitchen stuff.
The dish goes a little something like this:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into largish bite sized pieces. I usually get 6 - 8 bites per breast.
8 oz Frank's Hot Sauce
1 oz light cream cheese
2T Ranch dressing of your choice

Marinate the chicken breast bites in the hot sauce in your oven proof pan. I let it hang out on the counter for about an hour. Pop it into the oven at 350 for about a half hour, so your chicken is completely cooked.

Meanwhile, make your dipping sauce by melting the cream cheese and dressing together in the microwave. Try 30 seconds at 50% and go from there. You want the two ingredients to mix well to make the dip.

And serve! Go Patriots!

Suzee's Tzatziki

I have been wanting to make a Tzatziki for a long time. I had the greek yogurt, and the cucumber, I figured I'd just whip it up!






1 16oz Fat Free Greek Yogurt
1.5 hot house cucumbers
5 fat cloves of garlic
a bunch of dill, or sub dried
Juice of 1 lemon
.5 t sea salt

I sliced the cucumbers in half lengthwise, and scooped out the seeds. Yes, these are supposedly "seedless" but not really. That gets most of the water out. Then I cut long thin strips of the remainder, and chopped them up finely in a cross cut.

I dumped the cuke, the yogurt, chopped dill and minced garlic together and tasted. Hmmm... needs something....I had a fresh lemon, so I put in the juice. That added a nice brightness. I also added about a half teaspoon of sea salt, and mixed it all up.

I wish I had some roasted lamb now!!

Suzee's 30 Minute Meals

I love watching Rachel Ray – I think she makes cooking very accessible for many folks who may not try some of the cuisines, spices or combination. Lots of people say that watching Food TV is Food Porn. I disagree. Life is to short to have meatloaf every Monday night of your life, and Spaghetti and Meatballs every Wednesday.

But her meals always take me longer than 30 minutes. Mostly because I count the very important part that she doesn’t. The Clean Up. I hate cleaning, but I hate a dirty kitchen even more. Cooking on a weeknight should be no more than 30 minutes of active time in the kitchen, and that to me includes what happens after you eat.
There are key pieces of equipment required for Suzee’s 30 minute meals.

The first is a heavy professional sheet pan. I almost always use the sheet pan for my 30 minute meals.

And I line my pan with tin foil. (note to self – I have now removed the need to wash my pan – that’s worth 5 minutes right there).

I also judiciously use my dishwasher. I will put everything that I think will possibly come clean in it. The good news is my dishwasher is freaking amazing. When I do the remodel the kitchen, I sure hope I’m able to afford a dishwasher that actually heats the water and steams the dishes prior to washing them. I hope they still make such a luxury.

I have kitchen shears which come apart and go in the dishwasher. I use these to cut open the vacuum locked meats I usually get from Fresh Direct, and to open veggie packages. I wash them after every use. I got them from my Cutco Sales Kit I bought at least 25 years ago when I was a kid trying to make a buck. Really good shears if you have a kid in your neighborhood trying to make a buck.

I have a pair of OXO tongs and an OXO spatula– both get tossed in the dishwasher and come out gorgeous after I’ve used them to remove roasted meats and veggies from the pan.

I have a porcelain oven to table dish – simple white, and whether I serve in it or bake/broil in it, the dishwasher always makes it clean. It may not be shatterproof like corning wear, but I’d rather have the easy clean anyday.

So those are my tools.

My 30 minute meals are simple, generally involving a 350 degree oven, some protein and some fresh vegetable.

Proteins include boneless, skinless chicken breast (25 min), pork tenderloin (20 min at 400) or white fish (10 min at 400). The point here is simple protein, off the bone for quick cooking. I add one of the myriad of spices out there to make it taste a little different from the last time. McCormick’s Montreal Roasted Garlic Chicken Spice is a favorite on Pork, Tarragon and garlic powder is tasty on chicken, and to fish I’ll add a bit of Jamaican Jerk seasoning. Or I’ll add a relish or sauce, such as salsa, cilantro cream sauce or jarred marinara sauce (heated gently in an easily rinsed out and dishwashed pan) at the end just before serving.

On my tinfoil lined sheet pan, I’ll add a veggie – lately it’s be asparagus, or brussel sprouts, or broccoli, or cabbage ribbons, or onion, or fennel, or zucchini – or some combination there of. Sprinkle a bit of olive oil on and roll it about a bit, and add either a dusting of parmesan cheese or sea salt. The veggies are done in 20 min in 400 degree oven or 30 in a 350 oven. Notice all these choices stay pretty well in the fridge for a few days. If I add a sweet potato or butternut squash, I pre-bake in the microwave so it’s at least ½ - ¾ of the way done (5 min on high or so), and bake them with the other parts of the dinner on the sheet pan.

So – most times I’m able to plop it all on the pan, and go enjoy a cocktail with my feet up for the next 30 minutes or so. Prep is less than 10 minutes. When it comes out, I let the meat rest while I set the table ( 5 min), and then I slice and serve on the individual plates for the meat, and add a home style bowl if there are more veggies than our luncheon plates can really hold.

After we eat, it’s maybe 5 minutes to rinse plates and fill the dishwasher, and put away anything ( like that sheet pan) that needs put away. This includes prepping the coffeemaker for tomorrow.

Should I rename this entry to Suzee’s 20 minute meals? Nah – I like it when you think you got a time bargain :)

Jenny's Tomatillo, Orange and Avacado Salsa

I met Jenny not too long ago - maybe 5 or 6 (or 7?) years ago. We both were singing in a gospel chior located in South Berwick ME called Rock My Soul. After a few months of singing, she auditioned to be a soloist, and boy - she really kicked butt! Fabulous! You can hear her jamming on the first CD. I was going to set her up with my cousin Rob, and then I found out she was moving to Alaska for a guy! Considering she grew up in Alabama, I was surprised and pleased for her :)

While we made lots of music, I had the opportunity to taste some of her fabulous cuisine. I will never forget her mini pecan tarts with the the most flakey little crusts, or the time she catered all the food back stage for a concert in Dover (the choir literally snarfed everything down). And I do believe she had this salsa at that concert. It was a-maz-ing!

I invited Jenny to send a recipe as a guest post on this blog, and I'm so glad she did!


As Jenny says -

Here is the salsa recipe, I usually double the recipe. It keeps pretty well in the fridge for a couple of days, but trust me if you make it for a party it'll be gone quick!! You'll need a hearty chip, the thin ones break too easily.


The Herb Dressing makes quite a bit more than you need for the salsa. I've used it on fish also, it's a good all purpose blend.

The recipe is from a magazine I get called "The Herb Companion". It's such a fresh and bright salsa, wonderful for hot summer days! You'll love it, enjoy!

Herb Dressing

1 large poblano chile, roasted, peeled, seeds and stem removed, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 to 4 cloves garlic

1 cup firmly packed parsley leaves and tender stems

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, packed

2 tablespoons rosemary leaves

2 tablespoons oregano leaves (Yucatan or Cuban type if available)

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped orange peel, colored portion only

1 small serrano chile, seeds and stem removed

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all in blender and puree until smooth.



TOMATILLO, ORANGE AND AVOCADO SALSA


1/2 pound tomatillos, husks and core removed, washed and cut in 1/4-inch dice

1 large ripe avocado, peeled, pit removed and cut in 1/2- inch dice

1large seedless orange, peeled, segments cut into 1/2 -inch pieces

1/2 cup slivered red onion (soak in sugar water if too hot)

1 to 2 teaspoons minced, seeded jalapeño or serrano chiles

Juice of 1 lime

2 tablespoons Fresh Herb Seasoning Blend

Salt to taste

Additional chopped cilantro for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a glass or stainless-steel bowl. Toss lightly and taste for seasoning; adjust to balance salt and acid.