Hummus February 19, 2006 zuzu Why have I never made this before? It’s so easy, and so much tastier than store-bought. I lurves my stick blender. Share your food revelations in comments.
Put some paprika and cumin in, along with a lot of lemon juice. Also, try mixing some sour cream in with the hummus, and then eating it on Wheat Thins. It sounds weird, I know, but it’s really good!
I made hummus with roasted red pepper, cilantro and toasted cumin seeds (and lots of lemon juice and garlic). I want to try roasted garlic next time, because it’s so mellow.
I’ve been lusting after an immersion blender for months, but haven’t quite gotten ahold of one. If you want to make me really jealous, make some great blended soups without spilling stuff in transfer between the food processor and the pot. And, while we’re on the subject, I may as well whore out my food blog.
Sara, a Braun stick blender is all of what, 15 bucks? It’s the single greatest appliance I own (after the life-giving coffeemaker, but I sometimes cheat on my coffeemaker). Go. Get. One. NOW!
Checked out your blog and left a comment. I’ll definitely check it out more when I get back to work and have a printer to exploit.
One of my big revelations was that it’s not actually easier to make brownies from a mix. And the homemade ones are much better. Almost everyone who tastes my brownies asks for the recipe.
Well I’m really saddened about food today because I found a great recipe for African Sweet Pea soup but one of the ingredients (cardamom) is $13 a jar! I might have to get a gang of my cooking friends together and make an investment in cardamom, then split it equally. As far as food necessities go: sofrito and cilantro. That about sums it up.
Things worth knowing about: Penzey’s Spices. Really, really great spices and cheap. Sadly, they’re based in Wisconsin, but they have a website! (Ground cardamom is only $3.49)
There are very few foods which are easier from a mix and none that are worth it, except, possibly, Nanaimo bars. (I am told on good authority that I am wrong about those, but I’m also lazy, and Nanaimo bars are a lot of effort for what they are.)
I’ve gotten cardamom pods for next to nothing at Indian groceries in Queens. You can also try your local hippie-dippy food co-op (for me, the Park Slope Food Co-Op is huge and member-only, but the Flatbush Food Co-Op is smaller and non-member-only. But Penzeys is also a great resource, but if you can find a bulk spice seller, you’re golden.
Sadly, they’re based in Wisconsin, but they have a website! Boo hoo, sad for you! Good for me, though, hehehe. Thanks for the tips, I’ll get on it right now.
My favorite brownie recipe is from the Joy of Cooking, although I use unsweetened chocolate instead of semisweet (with all the sugar it already calls for, I have a feeling they’d be way too sweet otherwise). Perfectly fudgy, with just a bit of cake. Marvelous. Kactus, you need to stop buying spices at wherever it is that sells cardamom pods for $13/jar. Buy ’em in bulk and revel in the goodness. Finally, two cooking revelations for you: 1) Free-range organic chicken, dressed in nothing but salt poured over the top, roasted in a 400F oven. Best bird ever. 2) For anybody who minces garlic on a regular basis and hates it, invest in a Cuisinart Mini-Mate. They’re $20 and will save you from the horrors of sticky, hard-to-mince garlic. And herbs. And so on. Pop the stuff in, WHIZZZZ, and you’re done. It’s beautiful.
I too love my stick blender. which I got for one reason only, and it has already made itself quite worthwhile. 2 words: watercress soup saute two medium onions (I use butter, but any oil of choice works just fine if you want it vegan) until just short of browning. reduce the heat, add a clove minced garlic, and just sweat that for a short time. add a significant volume of broth or stock (4 cups-ish. I prefer vegetable broth for this, actually), bring to a boil, add about a pound of watercress (should be about a bunch), simmer for 5 minutes or so, the watercress will get nice and soft. shut off heat, attack with stick blender until smooth textured. salt and pepper to taste. many watercress soup recipes online call for potatoes, or milk (or even cream). I don’t need it, but experiment if you like.
Yes on the stick blender. I can’t believe I wasted all that time trying to get hot soup/sauce/whatever from the pot to the food processor and back. My latest revelation – so simple I feel stupid even mentioning it – is tomato soup. It takes maybe fifteen minutes to make it from scratch, and for all these years I was eating Campbells? The nutrition information on a can of Campbells is atrocious. A can of tomatoes, a little broth, the dairy (or soy) product of your choice, and that immersion blender, and you’re in business.
Breadmakers are a thing of beauty, especially when it comes to making herby, sweet thai chillish pizza dough. My stick blender + frozen berries= smoothie bliss
Here’s one: Saffron doesn’t have to bankrupt you. (If no linky, http://www.saffron.com) We have purchased from them twice (we use our FoodSaver to make packets, then share with friends and family). They also have very reasonably priced vanilla beans.
Yes, what zuzu said! Buy your spices from the bulk spice bins in a health food store. They’re fresher and you can buy just a little more than you need. It’s very cheap and you don’t waste large quantities of overpriced spices.
Go zuzu! Hummus with a stick blender = pure gold. My suggestion, for a nice smooth consistency, is to peel the chick peas, which isn’t all that hard (hah! I say this as someone whose partner always does it), and don’t skimp on the tahini. That is, of course, if you’re making hummus tahini. I suppose it can be good sometimes to have the thick variety with roasting peppers and such, but this is the real classic.
Oh, and bulk spices are incredible. I love picking them out, labelling them in little bags or jars, taking them home, and making the kitchen smell good 😉