September 5, 2009

I just now thought of this??  Really?  Where have I been?  This is the easiest healthy hummus recipe ever, and dare I say…the most delicious?

As usual I haven't been to the WallyMart or Tarzhay for groceries, so my pantry is bare except for 2 lonely cans of chickpeas.  I already used 2 other cans this week in a tasty chickpea salad with olive oil, lemon, mustard, lemon pepper and feta.  What else could I do with these 2 cans but make HUMMUS!!  You knew I'd say it, didn't you?  The Hummus Queen lives!

So here's my revelation.  Use store-bought pesto in your healthy hummus recipe!  I had a nice bunch of basil that I was going to make pesto from, but someone…

Gaby Baby the Basil Cat Burglar

…discovered it on the counter and has been secretly munching on it as a midnight snack over the last week, so needless to say, the surviving basil leaves were in sorry shape and they had to go to Herb Heaven (aka garbage disposal).

But store-bought pesto carries no shame!  And cheap pesto from Sam's Club is just fine in this.

I use my basic hummus formula:  2 cans drained rinsed chickpeas + 1/4 cup olive oil + juice of 1 to 2 lemons + 2 tblsp tahini + seasonings.  Usually, I add fresh garlic and maybe chives or whatever herbs I have laying around.  Sun-dried tomatoes are awesome in hummus too, by the way.

But tonight, I skipped peeling and crushing garlic, and just added 3 tablespoons of that Sam's pesto as an experiment.  And voila!  It's so ding dang good I can't stand it!  It has a nice pale green color, and the unmistakable flavor combination of garlic and basil, but it's slightly subtle and not overpowering.

I'm dying to to replicate the artichoke hummus from Ziziki's Greek restaurant, but until I do, THIS is my new favorite…Healthy Pesto Hummus!

~BigSis

August 12, 2009

I think that if you looked at my genetic makeup under a microscope or DNA viewer or whatever the heck you would use for such a purpose, you would see that I'm 1/8 Choctaw and 7/8 Chickpea!  I eat SO many chickpeas, I'm sure I'm close to turning into one!  I honestly eat a chickpea in some form or another at least 4 times a week.  If it's not hummus, then it's one of these other two go-to lazy vegetarian girl dishes:

• Marinated Chickpeas – Ok, pay close attention because this is super-duper complicated.  Take a can or two of chickpeas.  I actually wouldn't even bother with just one can because I'm such a chickpea piggie.  Dump the chickpeas into a colander.  Rinse them with cool water to get rid of all the slimy gross liquid they've been swimming around in since they were canned.  Drain them well and pour into a bowl.  Add fresh lemon or lime juice, extra virgin olive oil or your favorite delicious healthy oil (could be macadamia or walnut or whatever), sea salt, fresh pepper, and voila!  You're done!  If you want to get fancy, add other seasonings, like Frank's Red Hot Sauce, lemon pepper (Penzey's is my choice), fresh herbs, or even parmigiano reggiano shreds.  Eat it up asap or let it sit for a while.  I'm addicted to this as much as I am to hummus.  You can crush the peas a little bit if you want, or leave them whole.  I like this at room temperature.

• Not-Tuna Chickpea Salad – Here's another high-difficulty gourmet recipe.  Rinse and drain the chickpeas, and then whir them around in a little food processor or chopper til they're crushed up some but still have some texture.  I don't like them completely pureed.   You may need a little olive oil or lemon juice if the mixture is too dry, but usually they mush up fine.  Then, basically make your usual  tuna salad recipe with whatever you like, substituting the chickpeas for the tuna, of course.  I like a dab of mustard, some mayo (dairy-free would be fine), dill pickle relish, a little lemon juice, Frank's Red Hot, lemon pepper, and sea salt.  Pile it onto whole grain bread or crackers, fill a pita, or just gobble it up with a spoon.  It would also be good wrapped up in some lettuce leaves or piled into a hollowed out tomato for lunch.  You may say “weird” right now, but try it and you'll say “hmmm, BigSis was right.  This is yummy!”

That's it guys and girls…two of my easy, healthy, vegetarian staple chickpea dishes.  Certainly not on the menu at LilSis' house, but at Casa BigSis, it's a scrumptious meal!  You know, I like to eat healthy but I don't usually have much time for cooking in the evening so I need fast food that isn't junk food.  I'll have more easy meatless recipes for you later.  Have a tasty day!

~BigSis

March 26, 2009

I'm literally making a batch of hummus every week. I didn't make one last week though, and guess what? I was a little bit low in energy and my workouts weren't 100%. I don't think that hummus is a miracle food – although it is really healthy – but I think it gives me a great boost of protein that I need. Last week I guess I was on more of a salad kick and didn't have good balanced meals at night, so back to the hummus I go!

I used my usual Healthy Hummus recipe, and tweaked it a touch. I had some dill and chives left over from last week's Potato Ho Down Dilled Potato Pie, so they went into the hummus, giving it the great green color. I used 5 cloves of garlic, crushed and sauteed as always, and the juice of 2-1/2 lemons. I clearly like my hummus really lemony and garlicky. I also like to use a great flavorful olive oil in it, even though it doesn't take much. My favorite right now is Texas Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I'll talk more about that incredible product next time.

Dill Chive Hummus with Green Dippers

All this green hummus needs is some lovely green veggies to scoop it up with.  Besides my hummus addiction, I'm still nursing my asparagus obsession, and probably will until it gets too expensive.  I found great asparagus at Central Market for $1.50 a pound, and also got some fresh sugar snap peas.  I blanched them separately for just 3 minutes, and shocked them in salty ice water before draining and drying them off for a week of tasty dipping!

~BigSis

January 8, 2009

For me, the party's over.  I mean the eat-pretty-much-whatever-is-in-front-of-me-food party of the last 3 weeks or so.  There was the Christmas party where I ate too much cheese and crackers, and the family Christmas where I ate too much of everything.  Then we have tons of leftover sweets and snacks that we just can't toss, right?  Before you knew it, we had New Year's Eve with it's snack-fest, and New Year's Day with cheesy buttery cornbread that was leftover to haunt me for days.

Now, the party's over.  Whatever is left in the fridge goes in the freezer or the trash-o-rama.  It's time to get back on track, and I'm actually looking forward to getting back to my usual disciplined plan of eating.  I think we all feel better when we're eating healthfully; I know I do.

One of my go-to healthy recipes is hummus, and I'm really glad to know how good it is for us.  Chickpeas are full of protein and fiber, plus zinc, folate, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.  For vegetarians, hummus is an excellent source of protein, especially if you aren't a fan of the meat analog products or soy in general.  The peas have a very negligible amount of fat, so the primary fats in this dish are the healthy fats from the small amounts of olive oil and tahini.

Bowl o' hummus loveliness!

LilSis assures me that hummus is a snack and not a meal; and I know in her household of guys it would never suffice as a meal.  But for me it is frequently a weeknight meal, when combined with grape tomatoes, raw mushrooms and blanched asparagus as dippers.  My favorite basic recipe is very simple and very lemony and garlicky.  You can whip it up in a food processor or blender in just a few minutes.  The blender will give you a creamier texture, but the food processor works just fine.  This recipe will make a good size batch of hummus, but I find that it lasts really well in the fridge.

Bring on the pita chips!

HUMMUS

(adapted from Veganomicon)

2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + 1 tablespoon for sauteeing
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons sesame tahini
1/4 cup water, more or less
Seasonings to taste:  Penzey's Lemon Pepper (healthy amount), Shallot Pepper, Toasted Onion Powder, and salt.

Saute the crushed garlic on very low heat in the 1 tablespoon olive oil for a few minutes, but don't let it brown. Set aside when done.

Meanwhile, add half of the drained chickpeas to the blender or food processor, along with the olive oil, and pulse a few times until pureed.  Then add the rest of the chickpeas, the garlic/oil mixture, lemon juice, tahini, and seasonings.  Pulse again a few more times until the mixture is creamy, stopping to add a little water as needed to reach the texture you wish.  Store in the fridge.  The flavors improve after the hummus has chilled it's heels for a while.

For a variation in flavors, add fresh herbs (chives, parsley, dill, etc.), sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, hot sauce, other dried seasonings (cumin or paprika, for example), or olives to the hummus.  Your imagination is your only limitation!  I want to try adding a bunch of roasted garlic next time.

I like to serve the hummus at room temperature with a drizzle of olive oil on top.  Healthy, filling, and delicious!

~BigSis