Hummus

I want to like hummus because it's a really healthy dip and I know I need to eat more beans. I've never really liked it though. I was flipping through How It All Vegan for bean recipes and saw that they had Holy Moly Hummus. This series of vegan cookbooks has never let me down and I'm always pleasantly surprised with how things turn out so I figured I had to try it.

It turned out really well and will now be my go to hummus recipe. I'd like to try adding roasted garlic next time. This post is pretty unexciting but trust me, the delicious hummus recipe makes up for it! You must try it, whether you are a hummus lover or disliker (as I was).

Holy Moly Hummus
adapted from How It All Vegan

Makes approximately 2 cups.

1 small onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
splash of olive oil
2 1/2 cups cooked OR canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
3/4 cup tahini (about 200 grams)
1 1/2 tbsp Braggs OR soy sauce
1/2 cup lemon juice OR 1/4 cup water + 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt

In a small saucepan, saute onions and garlic in a splash of oil on medium heat until onions are translucent. In a blender or food processor, blend the sauteed onions, chickpeas, tahini, Braggs/soy sauce, lemon juice, cumin, cayenne and salt until you reach desired consistency.

Spinach, Crunchy Chickpea & Hazelnut Ragout

Why why why did I choose to make this recipe? I don't usually like chickpeas (though I'm trying), hazelnuts are definitely not a favourite nut of mine, wilted spinach bothers me, raisins only belong in raisin bread (though I am accepting them into other places more often now) and cooked tomatoes are unappealing (yes they have more of the antioxidant lycopene than raw tomatoes but cooked tomatoes are all mushy). The one good thing was the idea of baking chickpeas until they're crispy - however here they just become mushy again when added to the ragout. Oh and I also got to experience the joy of roasting hazelnuts and then rubbing them like crazy to try and get the skins off - I was surprised at how much effort and time it took. But then I think there were some very toasty ones that I kept trying and trying to rub the skin off of (though it was already off).

Sometimes I choose to make recipes with ingredients that I don't like. I have no idea why I do this. Maybe because I'm flipping through a cookbook, looking for a recipe, and it just sounds intriguing and hey you never know, it could turn out to be something delicious that you never expected (characteristic of recipes in the Rebar cookbook). I guess there were just too many ingredients here that I don't like - I couldn't even finish the portion I had dished out for myself. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with this recipe, if you like these ingredients, but I never ever want to eat this meal again. If somebody really wants the recipe, I'll post it, but I don't see the point. The recipe is from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet (Didi Emmons). And I'm not saying that this is a bad cookbook, because I have found other recipes in it that I like (sweet potato badi, sesame tofu). I just also found a recipe I really didn't like... so much for being adventurous!