Hummus with a Twist and Breaking Records

Yesterday hit record temperatures here in the valley. It was 99 degrees. Have you noticed that is in April?I have learned in the last 15 months that Las Vegas really just has Summer and Winter, with a brief two week flirtation with Spring. The pool at my condo complex is already full of jovial happy people.  I, personally, am not impressed or happy regarding this temperature. This is because the air conditioning in my car is broken.  Because it is so hot outside, rolling down the windows simply creates a hair dryer effect. Fixing it is becoming a higher priority with every ride to work that I take.  I'm going to be eating out of my pantry possibly for what feels like the rest of my life to squeeze the necessary funds out of my meagre budget.

The big plus here, though, is that I frequently forget what I have in that pantry. I was sitting at work the other day, thinking about food, craving hummus, lamenting how I can't shop for food right now unless I'min dire need of something like spinach for my daily salad, when i did a mental inventory of my pantry and realized that I had everything that I needed to make hummus myself. Take that, gods of fate and fortune!

Since it's so hot, a nice cool dip with some carrots and maybe a few crackers is something that can really hit the spot.

Hummus is beautifully simple and it comes together quickly and easily. I adore it. I don't make it that often, because when I do I have a hard time not eating it all instantly. I tend to run out of dipping materials quite quickly. 

This recipe is a very classic recipe, though I add an odd and awesome little twist that, in my opinion, gives it a little extra depth.

Hummus with a Twist

The twist in this hummus is a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. It adds a little nuance to the finished product. It isn't overpowering, just enhancing. 

1 Can Chickpeas, drained with 1/4 Cup of liquid reserved

1 Large Lemon, juiced

2 Cloves of Garlic, peeled

2 Tablespoons Tahini

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Ground Pepper

In a blender or food processor, put 1/4 Cup of the chickpea liquid. Juice a large lemon, or use 5 tablespoons on lemon juice. Then, add in the olive oil, salt, pepper and the garlic. Blend this together, then add in the tahini and blend again. Blend in the chickpeas until a smooth paste is formed. When you're happy with the texture, stir in the balsamic vinegar and taste. Feel free to add in a little more acid if your palate leans that way!

Makes about 1 1/2 Cups of Hummus. 

Want something sweet with this? How about a Vanilla Bruise Pie!

Lentil and Rice Salad and Letting the Dust Settle

The dust has finally started to settle after a really busy two weeks. My family is all back in England, my Stunt Guy is back in Georgia. My apartment is starting to get back into a more habitable state after looking for a few days like all hope was lost and it should be condemned.

I'm back to eating Single Girl's Lunch Salads daily, and the best part is that I'm finally managing to get back into the kitchen.

I'm starting to think that I might have a slight cooking magazine problem. See, I'm lucky. I often find really good deals on cooking magazine subscriptions, so I tend to get a lot of them in the mail. My problem is that I don't read them at the rate that they arrive. I read maybe one for every five that come in. This wouldn't be too big a problem, except that I keep finding stacks of unread ones all over my apartment.

Here is most of my unread pile.



I've started to get pretty good at marking recipes, then clipping them for later, though I don't think that the shoebox I am storing those clippings in is necessarily the best organizational tool. It is also getting a bit full.

But, the good thing is that I now have lots and lots of inspiration when I need it. I just dip into the shoebox, leaf through some clippings, get an idea and I'm good to go.

I also mark things in recipe books. I always have a little package of sticky tabs with me when I'm reading a cookbook. You can tell how much I like a book by how many tabs are sticking out of it.

I came home from running errands today and had what I thought was a pretty clear vision of something I wanted to make, but I thought maybe I should thumb through a book just in case. I pulled a random book from the shelf and started thumbing through the pre-marked tabs. I used to be vegetarian, and the one I grabbed happened to be a vegetarian cookbook. Inspiration, as usual, came before I'd gotten to the 10th tab. I found a lentil and rice salad. I liked the idea of that, but I decided to just use those two ingredients as my base and then make the rest up from what I had in the pantry and fridge. Luckily, it turned out pretty awesome, and I'm delighted to share the fruits of my labors with you.

I really do believe sometimes that the best food is borne out of raiding what you already have in the house. Sometimes it allows you to think up combinations that you normally wouldn't consider. This is a prime example.

Vegan Lentil and Rice Salad with Lime and Tahini Dressing
Inspired by Vegetarian and Vegetable Cooking by Christine Ingram

When you're thinking about rice for this salad, I would really recommend trying to include a mix that has wild rice in it. I have a rice medley that I pick up from Fresh and Easy and it's brown, white and wild rice mixed together. That extra chewy earthiness that wild rice has goes really well here. But, if you don't have it, use whatever you feel like.

Salad
2 Small Carrots, peeled and grated
1 Cup Cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 Cup Uncooked Rice
1/2 Cup Uncooked Green Lentils

Dressing
1 Teaspoon Tahini
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley, minced
1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
Juice of 1 Lime
Salt and Pepper to taste.... be generous with the Pepper!


Soak your lentils for thirty minutes in unsalted water, then boil them for 15-20 minutes until they are just tender. You want them cooked, but not mushy. Cook the rice, drain and set aside.
Grate your carrots and shred your cabbage. Then, mix your dressing together. Make sure to stir the every loving heck out of the tahini before you add it in. Taste the dressing and adjust the seasoning as you like. I added a smidge more vinegar than listed here, but I crave acid in everything. If you wanted, you could also substitute rice wine vinegar. Mix everything together in a large bowl. Serve with a little extra parsley on top.

You can eat this by itself pretty easily. It would go really well also as an accompaniment to fish, probably salmon or tilapia marinated in lemon juice.

Makes 4-6 Servings.

Want something sweet? Try these Chocolate Coconut Macaroons