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Hummus on a Rainy Day

SunflowerSky01There are about a bazillion recipes for hummus in the world. I counted them all, so I know. Here is another one. I used canned beans and red peppers from a jar because, not that I have to explain myself to you people….but I didn’t want to have the oven and stove going all morning. I just wanted to make a quick dip to chill for later. If you choose to cook your own beans and roast your own peppers, congratulations. I do it sometimes too but today just wasn’t the day. :)

  • 2 cans garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup roasted red pepper (I used the convenient jarred kind)
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 2 T basil olive oil
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. curry powder of your choice
  • 1/4 cup almond milk (or water or whatever to make it the consistency you want)
  • 1/4 cup sunflower seed kernels
  1. Put the peppers in the blender, start on slow.
  2. Add the sunflower seeds and watch it splat around like crazy.
  3. Add the garlic (whole is fine, the blender will do the work)
  4. Slowly add beans and let them blend as you go. As it thickens add the olive oil and then the milk/water.
  5. Toss in the salt and pepper
  6. Add more beans until they are all in and add as much liquid as needed to make it the way you like it.
  7. Chill it for a couple of hours and enjoy. I like it kind of light and fluffy so I might have put in more of the liquids. Make it how you like it. I have made hummus by smashing the beans with a fork and it was chunky and delicious, but smooth is a nice alternative.
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Leaf Bug Comes to Visit

leafbug2

Do a search for green leaf bug and you will find many many many photos of this very same little chick/dude. I have no idea why this lovely creature came to land and stay on our deck all day today, but it’s a nice change of scenery.

leafbug1

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Work in Progress: Vegetable Korma Recipe

Today I am craving a bit of my favorite food, Vegetable Korma from a restaurant too far away to drive in this heat. I decided to make it myself. I have an old recipe that had butter, yogurt, milk, chicken. Well, since we stopped eating meat the chicken isn’t going in today. I’m trying to cut out as much dairy as I can so I got coconut yogurt and almond milk. We shall see how it goes. I will post as I go.

As of 1:40 PM, the oil is in the pan and the spices are about to go in. (and I’m typing this, but we’ll assume you know that from now on)

2:30 vegetables are chopped and it’s time to go get the 13 year old nephew from school. More cooking later.

5:11 Sauce is made, vegetables are in, simmering and smelling like loveliness.

7:00 PM, we had supper….I am sorry to say this was not the Korma I need:( I think I can’t quite get  that  certain flavor and richness that is what I crave. The spices I put in don’t quite hit it either…hmmm I’ll try again sometime, but until then I’ll make the 25 minute drive to another town and enjoy the real thing.

1/4 cup peanut oil

2 bay lieaves

20 cardamom pods,, green cracked open a bit

10 cloves

10 coriander seeds crushed

5 cloves of garlic

1 yellow onion

2 potatoes

2 large carrots

2 T. fresh finely chopped ginger

1 cup coconut yogurt

2 cups almond milk (original or unsweetened)

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Tofu Brownies Inspired by Post Punk Kitchen

Tofu Brownies

Oven 350
Ingredients
1/3 cup flour
2/3 cup vanilla almond milk
2/3 cold water
12 oz extra firm silken tofu, drained overnight to get the extra soy ‘juice’ out. If you use it without draining, adjust the amount of water you add.

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 3/4 cups raw sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup oil

3/4 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder

Beat the tofu, 1/3 cup flour, almond milk, and water.
Heat in a small sauce pan on medium low until it has big bubbles. Don’t let it BOIL boil, keep stirring it. It’s thick like paste.
After a couple minutes, turn off the heat, pour into a large heat proof mixing bowl, put in the fridge to cool completely.
Blend in the cocoa powder, vanilla, sugar, oil.
In another bowl stir together the rest of the flour, plus baking soda.
Fold it all together.
Add the chocolate chips.
It does have some lumps, it’s not smooth, but that was OK for me.
Oil a 9×13 pan, spread the mixture in the pan and bake for 30-40 minutes.

My oven run hot, it’s gas, so adjust accordingly. I baked it in the very top of the oven, on the top rack on top of another pan so the bottom wouldn’t get too cooked.

After they bake, let them sit for about a half hour, pour on the icing and chill for about 30 minutes to firm it up. If you like the runny-ish topping, eat them all gooey and nice…it’s up to you.

Icing
3/4 cup chocolate chips, semi sweet
1 T molasses
1 T coconut sake
3/4 cup vanilla almond milk

Bring milk, molasses and sake to gentle boil, reduce heat and swirl for a minute or two. Do not let it boil.
Pour the milk over chocolate chips in a mixing bowl, let it set for about 10 minutes so the chocolate chips will melt.
Beat with mixer, let cool, beat again and put on brownies. It’s runny, unless you add more chocolate chips or less milk. I like it runny so it kind of soaks into the brownies.

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