Hummus

Channa Dal Garbanzo Beans Left - White Garbanzos Right

I know, really... a blog about hummus?  Yep, based on popular request, here it is.  Hummus can be plain and boring or it can be as exciting as you want to make it. You can call it humus, hummus, or hommus, but every time I make it, it's gobbled up with enthusiasm.  It's easy to make and way better than spreads with lots of unknown ingredients from the store.

For me, hummus started out a long time ago with my 1977 edition of Molly Katzen's,  Moosewood Cookbook.  

I've altered the recipe over the years to suit my taste and once again I've had to find some more precise measurements rather than a dash, a squeeze, and a taste.

Hummus is a rich and tasty spread made from garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, and spices.  It is rich in protein and can be used in many ways.  As the basis of a delicious sandwich, a dip with crackers or pita bread, or as an entire meal surrounded with vegetables and breads.  It's simple to make and healthy beyond measure.  Don't let anyone knock it until they've tried it, as hummus has a huge likability factor.

Before the recipe, let's talk beans.  You can use canned garbanzo beans or as I prefer, cook your own.  If you are in the mood to cook your own, may I recommend finding Channa Dal garbanzo beans.  These are a little smaller and are a rich dark brown with their skins on.   The traditional white garbanzos are fine, I just prefer the darker, nuttier flavor of the Channa Dal beans.  You can most likely find them at an organic food store.  Always use organic ingredients whenever possible - You're worth it.

Hummus Basics 

1 cup rounded of dry garbanzo beans
Rinse the beans and place them in a pot.  Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Cover the pot and leave sit for 1-2 hours.  Drain and rinse the beans and cover with fresh water.  Cook until the beans are tender (about 90-120 minutes or 15-20 minutes in a pressure cooker).  Cool the beans to room temperature
or
use 2 cans (about 2 cups drained) of garbanzo beans with most of the liquid drained off and kept for later, if needed.

Place the following in a food processor:

the cooled or canned garbanzo beans with a little of the liquid
3-5 cloves of garlic
2/3 cup of tahini (tahini should be stirred before measuring)
1/4 cup of lemon juice (+/- to your taste)
2 tablespoons of tamari (+/- to your taste)
1/4 cup packed of minced parsley or 2 tablespoons dry parsley
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of salt (to taste)

blend this all together until very smooth.  It takes a bit of blending to get a really smooth consistency.  If necessary, add additional liquid from the beans or additional lemon juice based on taste to make the consistency smooth and not dry.

That's ready to eat!

I like to make a double batch and freeze it in small quantities that I can pop out for lunch or for a quick appetizer when needed.

You can also experiment with different flavors added to the hummus.  Here are a few suggestions to try:

pitted greek olives (watch the tamari and salt with this one)
fire roasted red peppers
fresh basil instead of parsley
2 teaspoons of curry
artichoke hearts 
cayenne or black pepper
or any combination that sounds tasty.

You can also experiment with different beans.  Try white beans like cannellini or great northern, or try black beans, or lentils.  They all make a delicious hummus.

A favorite lunch or dinner is 2 slices of toasted sourdough bread, spread with a thick layer of hummus, add a big slice of ripe tomato, some fresh garden lettuce, spinach, or sprouts.  If it doesn't start falling apart or the hummus isn't oozing out, you didn't put enough on!

Enjoy!

Eggs - Another Spring Bounty

                  
Another sign of spring - EGGS!  If you have your own backyard flock, you will now be appreciating more and more eggs as the hens return to production from their winter rest.  

I thought I’d share with you a recipe that I developed over 20 years ago while living on Steamboat Island Road in Olympia, Washington.  Back then, I had 24 chickens and way too many eggs.  I would make this big batch of custard and have it for breakfast in the mornings.  You can cut the recipe in half if you aren’t ready for the big batch.

Farm Fresh Egg Custard

6 cups of milk (you can use any kind, whole to non-fat dry milk with water)
3/4 cup sugar    
1 3/4 cups of whole fresh eggs (10-12 eggs)
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon salt

Microwave the milk until hot (on high 5-8 minutes) or bring it to just below a boil on the stove.  This is called scalding.   Scalding is an old term for heating milk to 180 degrees prior to using it.  I don't understand all that happens in this process, but it does have an effect on the milk proteins and it reduces whey separation in custards and yogurt making.

Crack the eggs into a 4 cup measuring cup until you have about 1 3/4 cups.  Add the vanilla, sugar, and the salt, and mix together.  Mix thoroughly, but avoid incorporating air into the eggs. 

Mixed, strained and ready to pour into my custard cups.

Temper the egg with about a cup of the hot milk stirred quickly into the eggs and then pour the egg mixture into the hot milk and stir well to dissolve the sugar and salt and get the mixture consistent.

Then using a small screen strainer, I pour the mixture back into the measuring cup through the strainer.  The measuring cup makes it easier to pour into the custard cups.

After placing the pan in the oven add an inch of water to the pan.

Pour into custard cups (about 8 -12 cups depending on the size) and stand the cups in a pan with an inch of water. If you like, you can put a little sprinkle of nutmeg on the top of each cup.

Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  The custard will dome up and be jiggly when it's done.



Once cooled, cover and refrigerate your custard.  Serve it plain or if you desire, you can top it with a tablespoon of maple syrup, fresh strawberries or raspberries that have been tossed with a little sugar to bring out the juices, or a dollop of whipped cream.

Spring is in the Air!

The Window Herb Garden

We’ve made it through the month of March with it’s predictably cold and wet weather. Not that we can’t expect more of it in April, but the sun is well on it’s way back north. That means planting time!  I’ve had years of experience with trying to plant tomato seeds and the like in trays indoors, only to have them become tall and spindly and never make it to the garden. In my well earned wisdom of senior years, I don’t plant anything before April. Here on this mountain, the earliest outdoor planting can safely occur, is Memorial Day and even then sometimes things have to be covered from an occasional frost or snow flurry.

To curb my appetite for getting started, I get my seeds early, organize and dream, and just for fun plant some little pots of herbs for a kitchen window.  A few years back I was in need of pot markers. I searched around looking for something to mark the plants that suddenly go from a single small row in a seed tray to an entire tray or two in the greenhouse.  Here is my secret revealed!  I spied  a couple of yogurt containers in my recycle bin and a light came on in my head.  My markers just became free and unlimited.

Unlimited pot markers!

  
I bet you have a few of these empty containers around or know where to find them.  I start by cutting straight down the side and then around the bottom, removing the bottom entirely.  Then I cut strips along the side, about ½ inch each and point the bottom.  I use a black sharpie to write my plant name on the white side. 



I love these markers!  I save them from year to year for the plants that I always grow and always seem to need a few more for the plants I give away.


This year I bought a heat mat for starting seeds - wow does that make a difference!  Heat mat or not, put your little seeded pots in a plastic bag, blow it up like a balloon and put a twist tie on it.  This helps to keep the seeds evenly moist until they emerge.
 

Put your seed pots in a plastic bag to raise the humidity.

April's full moon is happening on the 6th so spring planting is ON! 

Slow Cooker Roast

Italian Pot Roast - Ready to cook!

I was planning something completely different for this post when a friend emailed and said, “We’ve used all the steaks and ground from our side of beef and now I’m left trying to figure out a good way to use up the roasts. I know you must have a tasty recipe or two.”

Well, yes I do.  Initially I thought I’d tuck the idea away for a while because I had already been working in a different direction.  But then ... oh what the heck, here it is.  Like I’ve said before, I’m not a recipe cook and so I never have anything written down.  That means I have to make it myself and try to figure out measurements, proportions, and times before I can give someone my recipe for anything.

Roasting is a slower cooking method for cuts of meat that are less tender.  The slower, longer cooking allows time for the connective tissue to break down and naturally tenderize the meat.

I was having company last Sunday and so I thought it was a great opportunity to document this recipe.  So I could enjoy my company and not be greasing up the kitchen while they were here, I decided - Let’s to a roast in the crock pot!  I did all the prep Saturday night and it took me about 45 minutes before I put it in the frig waiting for the next morning when I put the crock in the pot and cooked it for about 5 hours.

The minute my company walked in the door, the lid of the crock pot was being lifted with comments like "that smells delicious" and "what are you cooking".  The roast was ready in 5 hours with the first 3+ on high and then I turned it down to low.

Now, to make a long story short... I've had this post on my desk for over a week pondering how to explain the fact that this roast disappeared so fast that I had no time to photograph the final product or a plated version. This has bothered me, but short of remaking it just for the shoot, you'll have to take my word for how delicious it was and how quickly it disappeared.

You can change the flavor (country) based on the herbs and spices and a couple of ingredients.  I'm giving  you an Italian and a French version to choose from.  I made the Italian version, but the French version is equally as easy with a completely different taste.  It's all in the herbs!

Slow Cooker - Pot Roast

2-4 pound organic or natural beef roast - chuck, rump, shoulder
1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper OR a savory dry rub

ITALIAN                                                                     FRENCH
4 Tablespoons organic olive oil                                 4 -6 Tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 cups chopped carrot                                               2 cups chopped carrot
2 cups chopped onion                                               2 cups chopped onion
4 cloves of minced garlic                                           4 cloves of minced garlic

1 teaspoon sugar                                                      1 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon dried parsley                                       1 Tablespoon herbes de Provence

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning                                     OR  1/2 tsp fennel seed (optional)
1 28 ounce or 2 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes   1 tsp each thyme, marjoram, basil 
1 cup of good red wine                                              1 bay leaf

                                                                                   1 cup of good red wine 

                                                                                   2 cups beef stock

I like to use a savory rub on my meat.  It’s my own combination of herbs, spices, and salt.  If you don’t have a dry rub, you can just use salt and pepper.  Rinse the meat and pat it dry.  Rub the meat with the salt and pepper or rub, wrap it up, and put it back into the refrigerator for an hour or so while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  I do not incorporate a lot of salt up front, but suggest that you taste the final product and add salt to taste before serving.  This is a better overall way to reduce salt and let the flavor of the different herbs shine through.

Veggies and herbs

Put the chopped carrot, onion, garlic, and seasonings in the bottom of the crock pot.  If you want to, you can saute these in a little olive oil before putting them in the crock pot, but it is not necessary.  I don't saute for the Italian version, but the caramelizing would be a good support for the French version.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and brown the meat thoroughly on both sides.  Put the roast on top of the vegetables.

Browning the meat adds flavor

Add the tomatoes and top it off with 1 cup of red wine.  In the French version, since you don't have the juice from the tomatoes, add 2 cups of beef stock or water.

That’s it!  If you want to cook it tomorrow, refrigerate the covered crock until you are ready to start it.  Set the temperature at high and let it cook for about 3 hours and then lower the temperature to low and continue to cook another hour or 2 until the roast is fork tender.

If the sauce is too thin, you can put it into a pan on the stove top and bring it to a fast boil to reduce it to a thicker consistency.

You can also cook this in a roaster in the oven - I would have the oven at about 300 degrees and cook it for at least 3 hours or until fork tender, covered tightly.

I served mine over fluffy jasmine rice with a side of green beans, but serve it over your favorite rice - potatoes - polenta and with your favorite salad or veggie.  Enjoy!