Beet Hummus

Wow. Somehow April is here. We’ve known it would come for a while now and all of a sudden it is upon us, sort of like the monsoon-type storm outside. The next couple of weeks promise to be as tempest-like as the rain beating against the window right now...filled with excitement, hecticness, new beginnings, and probably a touch of sleep deprivation, but oh, I can't wait. We're still waiting on the finalization of a couple details, but I look forward to sharing some exciting news very soon!

In the meantime, though, let's talk beets. Or rather, let's talk foods that are easy to prepare ahead of time and go grab when you're running from one place to another.

Beet hummus is one of them.

I first tasted this delicious dip at a party about a week ago. There it was on the table next to the olives and cheese, sitting quietly and yet drawing the gaze of every onlooker, like mosquitoes to a night light. I mean, look at it up there. Is that not an astounding work of nature? I will never cease to be amazed by what the earth produces. Unable to hold back any longer, I dug in and was delighted to discover that its taste was as mesmerizing as its color, which immediately landed it at the top of my next-project-in-the-kitchen list.

I am happy to say that beet hummus will now be a staple in our house. After you try it, I'm willing to bet it'll be one in yours too.

Beet Hummus

6 medium beets
1/3 cup tahini
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium clove garlic, pressed
3 tsp ground cumin
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste

Wash beets, scrubbing them well to get rid of all dirt. Slice each beet in two, put the beets in a medium pot, cover with water, and bring pot to boil. Lower heat so that water is at a light boil and cook beets for 40 to 50 minutes until easily pierced with a fork. Rinse beets under cold water and rub the skin off.

Put beets and all other ingredients in a food processor and process away.

Now, I made this recipe up, tasting and adjusting as I went so these ingredients (and quantities) are mainly suggestions; feel free to adjust to your heart's desire!

Salmon-Stuffed Jalapeños

It was one of those days. You know those days. The ones when you decide to eat two big spoonfuls of peanut butter before heading out on your 3 mile run (because for some reason you were craving peanut butter at 6 o’clock in the morning) and then you realize, one mile into the run, that that was a very bad idea and there’s no way you can go any further so you double back and walk all the way to your car feeling stupid for the self-induced stomach cramps, not to mention sabotaging your morning exercise. Of course by the time you get home you realize you should have been in the shower fifteen minutes ago, you can’t find your clothes because everything is piled on the back of your bedroom chair (which you swore you would put away last night...), you trip on your way to the kitchen and stub your toe because your shoes were left in the hallway, and after hopping up and down on one foot sucking in air for a minute (a minute you don’t have because, remember, you’re late) you finally limp your way to the fridge only to realize there are no leftovers for you to take for lunch and there’s no time to make anything. And it’s not even 8:30 yet.

Oh, and did I mention this is a Monday? As if Mondays aren’t hard enough just being Mondays.

We all know when it rains it pours, so I won't even get into the rest of the day. Needless to say, by the time I headed home that evening I was ready for something comforting, something that would excite my senses and bring a smile to my face.

My thoughts turned to the brightly colored sweet peppers in the fridge, to the green fiery jalapeños beside them, and I found myself craving a dish I had never even eaten...stuffed jalapeños.

The second the prospect of a new dish was on the horizon, the creative juices started to flow and the tension of the day began to melt away. I poured myself a glass of wine, put my apron on, and set to work. The chopping, mixing, tasting and altering, all started to soothe me in their usual way and by the time the peppers were ready to come out of the oven, I was feeling pretty good.

It turned out to be everything I had imagined: creamy sweetness from the salmon and goat cheese contrasting beautifully with the spicy kick of the roasted peppers.

The perfect aah-life-just-got-a-little-better food.

Salmon-Stuffed Jalapeños

10 large jalapeños
1 clove garlic, pressed
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), soaked and chopped
4 oz creamy goat cheese
½ cup grated cheddar
1 6oz can wild Alaskan salmon
1 Tbsp parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cover the sun-dried tomatoes with boiling water and let sit 7-10 minutes.

Slice the stems off the jalapeños and cut a thin strip along one side of each one making sure not to pierce the whole jalapeño. You want to be able to take all the seeds and membranes out, but have it hold together enough to hold the stuffing. (Note: Make sure you take all seeds and membranes out as those hold the spiciest part of the pepper. I would also recommend doing this with gloves; I decided to ignore this little piece of advice and my fingers burned for a couple hours afterward.)

Once the tomaotes are soft, chop them into small pieces. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except for the jalapeños. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Stuff the jalapeños with the mixture and set in a lightly oiled baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating once.

Serve as an appetizer or as dinner after a rough day. These little poppers will make your life better - I promise!

Mulled Cider and A Fall Party

On Friday we threw fall a party. It’s the least we could do, really. When I think of all the gifts fall brings us every year – breathtaking scenery, cool temperatures, crisp blue skies…it even manages to do away with those pesky mosquitoes! – honoring it with some sort of celebration seemed like a small but necessary gesture.

So we went out and gathered the ingredients that the season made readily available. We concentrated mainly on apples and asked friends to bring whatever stroke their fancy.

Someone brought a delicious curried sweet potato dip, while someone else brought a mouth-watering pumpkin cheesecake.

I made baked goat cheese with honey and apples, a combination lusciously tart and sweet at the same time.

Once baked, the apples become soft and just a little brown, melting into the warm cheese and creating a perfect silky bite with just the right amount of tang.

We dug in without holding back.

But the pièce de résistance was the mulled cider. I had it cooking on the stovetop when people started arriving, infusing the house with the scent of cinnamon and cloves. Pulled like magnets toward the spices, everyone walked straight to the kitchen, sniffing the air and inhaling deeply, nose above the pot and eyes closed in sensory pleasure.

I made three huge pots of it throughout the night. We kept taking breaks from the singing and music by the fire in the backyard to come back in and refill cups with the warming fall drink, relaxing more into the coziness of the evening with every sip.

And so, on this second Friday in October, we officially welcomed fall with steaming mugs of cider, friends, music, a bonfire, and belly laughs that ricocheted deep into the crisp night air.


Hot Mulled Cider, slightly adapted from Williams-Sonoma's Holiday Entertaining

This recipe makes 6 mugs full once you add the liquor. The original recipe calls for brandy, but we used rum and/or whiskey. My favorite is rum with a splash of whiskey - I don't usually like whiskey, but in this drink it gives it a nice little kick. I highly recommend it!

The recipe is also delicious with no alcohol, but it will make less.

4 cups (32 fl oz/1 L) apple cider
4 teaspoons honey or brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
8 cloves
8 cinnamon sticks
1/2 an apple, thinly sliced
rum, brandy, whiskey...your choice!

Select 6 mugs. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cider, honey, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and 2 of the cinnamon sticks. Bring to just below a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 20 minutes.

Pour desired amount of liquor in a mug. (Start slow if you're not sure how much you like - you can always add more!) Divide the hot cider mixture evenly among the mugs, pouring it through a fine-mesh sieve. Garnish each serving with a cinnamon stick, a sprinkle of your favorite spice, and 1 or 2 apple slices. Serve at once!

Note: Since I wanted people to be able to come and get refills whenever they wanted, I doubled the recipe and, once it was ready, passed it through the sieve into another pot, which I kept on low heat so that it stayed hot. I left a laddle next to it and people were able to get refills throughout the night without having to deal with filtering the liquid.


Baked Goat Cheese with Honey and Apples, slightly adapted from Williams-Sonoma's Holiday Entertaining

1/2 lb (250g) log soft or semi-soft goat cheese
1 crisp apple (my favorite is Granny Smith)
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Gluten-free crackers for serving

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Place the log of goat cheese on a baking sheet. Flatten it some with a spatula. Halve and core the apple and thinly slice it lengthwise. Put the apple slices in a bowl, add the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the honey, and turn the apples to coat. Drizzle the remaining two tablespoons honey over the cheese, and layer the apple slices on top.

Bake until the cheese is warm throughout and softened and the apples are tender, 8-10 minutes. Using a wide spatula, transfer the cheese to a platter. Serve warm with crackers!

Papas Bravas

When I think back on this three-day weekend, it is hard to remember that I never actually left North Carolina. My senses swear to the contrary.

On Friday night, as I mentioned in my previous post, Josh and I strolled along crowded Parisian streets, the scent of mussels and french fries infusing the hot summer night air.

On Monday, we went to Spain. We traveled there on burning lips, golden potatoes, and slow-cooked tomatoes.

The day had been planned for some time; ever since Josh mentioned that his favorite Tapas dish was one he had had in Spain called papas bravas. He hadn’t had it since, which is all I needed to hear to pull out my planner and mark the calendar with a “Tapas” day. What better excuse for another culinary adventure?

“Papas bravas” means brave or courageous potatoes, and once you’ve tasted the sauce that is served with this dish, you understand why. Its whole reason for being is to be as hot as possible, challenging anyone who crosses its path with its fierceness.

The tomatoes are cooked in onion, garlic, paprika, and dried chilies. They are left to simmer on the stove top until their bright summary essence collapses into the dark almost ferocious flavor of the spices. This sauce does not dance around the word "hot;" it embraces it as if its life depended on it.

But the potatoes, brave beings that they are, counter the heat with a softness so delicate that it is almost sweet. Add on to the mixture a drizzle of mayonnaise or homemade garlic aioli, and what you get is an explosion of heat immediately offset by the creamy softness of the starch and the sweet tanginess of the aioli. A veritable symphony in the mouth. No wonder it is one of the most popular Tapas in Spain.

Of course, to really turn the afternoon into a culinary adventure, we had to have other dishes from Spain.

First, we settled on a version of the traditional Spanish tortilla that, while still starring eggs and potato as its main ingredients, also included green and red peppers and was baked as opposed to cooked on the stove top. It had a golden puffy quiche-like quality when it came out of the oven that made it hard not to devour immediately, but somehow we resisted. We let it cool and then cut it up into delectable little squares, just the right size for popping into eager open mouths.

Lastly, we decided to change gears completely, and opted for roasted red peppers stuffed with crab. So simple and so delicious.

We spent the afternoon side by side in the little kitchen, pealing, chopping, dicing, and sautéing as we tried new foods, shared memories of Spain, and danced to flamenco music. The hours flew by as we worked, talking and laughing, and before we knew it the day had turned into night.

Finally, glasses of Spanish red wine in hand, it was time to sit down and eat.

There are few things that give me as much pleasure as watching someone get gob smacked by the emotion of the flavor in a first bite of food they love but haven’t had in a long time. Their face becomes a remarkable canvas of emotion; surprise, ecstasy, and nostalgia all fighting for first place before the person finally closes their eyes, sighs contentedly, and sinks into the magic of it all, letting themselves travel wherever the food may take them.

I watched gleefully as the emotions danced across Josh’s face. Then, sinking into the magic myself, I let the spices take me back to Spain.


Papas Bravas

The Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, pressed
3 teaspoons Spanish paprika
2.5 teaspoons chili powder (start slow and build you way up)
2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt


Sauté the onion and garlic in a heavy based saucepan on medium heat until translucent. Add the spices and cook, stirring often, for another minute. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and add the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve in a bowl or put in a dispenser to drizzle over the potatoes.

The Potatoes

4 large Russet potatoes
Canola oil for frying
Sea salt

Wash, peel, and cut the potatoes in 1 inch cubes. You can either boil the potatoes first and then fry them to get them golden and crispy, or deep fry them.

If you choose to boil them first, cover the potatoes with water and boil them for 10 minutes. Drain and let them cool before frying them to a golden brown in an inch or two of oil.

If you choose to deep fry the potatoes, fill a heavy pan with enough canola oil to completely cover the potatoes (make sure there are a couple inches between the oil and the top of the pan) and heat to the point that oil pops when sprinkled with water or fizzles when you put a potato in. Fry the potatoes for six to seven minutes, until they start to sizzle. Remove from oil, drain, and allow to cool. Once cool, fry again for another couple minutes until they turn a golden brown. Drain and sprinkle with sea salt.

Serve immediately with the sauce and a side of mayonnaise or aioli. Enjoy!

Cilantro Hummus

When Josh and I decided to go to the beach for the day, I knew we’d need a picnic. So I turned to our go-to finger food: hummus. I knew that the picnic would include some of our other favorites: olives, goat cheese, nut thins, and dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), but the pièce de résistance would be the hummus.

It always is. I swear we could live off the stuff.

Ah…there are so many reasons to love this creamy Middle Eastern dish. Not only is hummus delicious, but with garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas) as its main ingredient, it is also an excellent source of protein, fiber, iron, and manganese. Garbanzo beans have also been proven to lower bad cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar levels, making them an excellent food for diabetics or anyone dealing with insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.

But, health benefits aside, hummus is above all yummy and fun. You can play around with it as much as you want, twisting it this way and that to turn it into exactly the dish you desire. If you’re in the mood for red, throw in some roasted sweet red peppers. If you’re in the mood for green, throw in some fresh herbs from the garden. Or an avocado…you'll achieve pure creamy bliss. Avocadoes and hummus are a match made in heaven.

So are cilantro and hummus.

Whatever direction you decide to go in, original hummus is a good place to start. The ingredients are very simple: garbanzo beans, tahini (sesame paste), olive oil, lemon or lime juice, garlic, and salt. I like to add a teaspoon or two of ground cumin to my original hummus – it gives it that Middle Eastern flare I love – but to each his own! Once you have found your “original” recipe, use that as your base for any creative hummus surges you may have. The sky is the limit!

One last thing. If you eat a lot of hummus, I recommend cooking your own garbanzo beans. It’s cheaper, tastier, and much healthier. When you cook the beans yourself, you eliminate the preservatives and lower the sodium. Plus, it’s way more satisfying.

Cooking beans is really easy to do, it just takes a little bit of forward planning. Here is how I cook my garbanzo beans.

1 package dried garbanzo beans
Water
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps salt

Put garbanzo beans in a large bowl and fill bowl with water. Make sure there are at least a couple inches of water over the beans as they will double in size. Let soak overnight.

Pour out water and rinse beans. Put beans in a large pot, cover with a couple inches of water, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, lower to a simmer, add baking soda, and cook 40 to 45 minutes until the beans are cooked. Do NOT add salt. If you add salt at this point it will prevent the beans from cooking. You’ll notice that as the beans cook, white foam will gather on the water. This is normal. Feel free to scoop it off, if you wish. Once the time is up, taste the beans to see if they are cooked. If cooked, remove from heat, add the salt, and let sit 10 minutes. Pour beans into a colander, rinse, and voilà!

This will make a lot of beans. You can either use all of them for hummus, or keep some aside to throw into salads or soups and stews throughout the week. I also love sautéing garbanzo beans with garlic and spinach or kale in a bit of olive oil. Delicious!

Cilantro Hummus

If you take out the cilantro from the recipe, you’ll have my “original” hummus recipe. So if you don’t like cilantro, don’t let it deter you. The hummus is delicious without it. Also, if you would like to replace the cilantro with something else that tickles your fancy a bit more, plunge right ahead. There is no right or wrong with hummus.

The same is true of the quantities I have listed for the ingredients. I’m a big fan of garlic, so I put a fair amount in my hummus. I also love lime. And cumin. So there’s a lot of both. Feel free to start slow and taste as you go, adjusting the quantities to your liking.

4 cups cooked garbanzo beans
1 big bunch cilantro, chopped (about ½ cup once chopped), set aside a couple leaves for garnish before chopping
1/3 cup tahini
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tsp cumin
4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup water
Juice of two limes
1 tsp salt
1 dash cayenne pepper (go easy on the cayenne at first – it has a kick!)
Sprinkling of sweet paprika for garnish

Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until desired consistency is reached. If the mixture is too thick, add a bit of water. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Pour into bowl, garnish with cilantro leaves and a sprinkling of sweet paprika.

Note: This recipe makes a lot of hummus. Feel free to cut ingredients in half.

Serving suggestions:

Eat straight from bowl with a spoon (or fingers!)
Serve with crackers or raw vegetables
Spread on homemade bread with avocadoes and tomatoes
Add to salads...

...and, most of all, have fun!