Hummus a Quick and Healthy Snack

I am sad to say that you will not find any Thanksgiving recipes on The Noshery this year.  We are hitting the road and heading out to Arkansas this Thanksgiving to spend it with friends, which I am pretty stoked about.  Because we have a 6 hour drive to a foreign kitchen I will not be doing any cooking this year, which I will secretly admit is kind of sweet.  I get to just unplug and enjoy my holiday stress free.   I guess I could have done some experimentation this past week but Obed was out of town and I did not feel much motivation to do any “real” cooking for just one.   Instead I sustained myself with sandwiches and veggie spread like this hummus.   

I am in no way talking down on this hummus. In fact this recipe is one 0f my favorite snacks.  I will usually make a batch of it and keep it in the fridge to snack on with pita bread and fresh veggies through the week.  Sometimes I will use it as a sandwich spread for lunch. It is very simple and very good for you.

 In a food processor drop in 3 cloves of garlic;

and squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lemon.

 Pulse the food processor a few times to mince up the garlic, or you can do it yourself , but I was being lazy.

Add a 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans or chickpeas, whatever you want to call them;

and 1/2 a cup of plain fat-free yogurt.  

Now season to season add 1/2 tsp of cumin; 

 and 1/2 tsp of course salt.

Finally add 1/2 tbs of olive oil that is a wee-bit out of focus. 

Flip the switch and puree the beans.  You want to puree it will it is just starting to smooth but you still have chunks.  

Garnish with parsley and serve with pita bread or fresh veggies. 

I love this stuff and I think even a picky eater will love it, especially if they like garlic.  This hummus is pretty strong on the garlic so you can cut it down to just 2 cloves if you like, but I stick with my 3 cloves.  I figured I am married now so I can squeeze by with a little dragon breath, as long as it is temporary. 

The pitas were fresh made using my new cookbook “Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day“.  I literally had fresh pita bread in no time, just by rolling out dough to 1/8 inch thick, from the master recipe and baking it for 5 – 7 minutes on a hot stone at 500 degrees.  I am telling you I am in love with this book. 

Print Recipe

Hummus

• 1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans, drained
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 tbs of olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of course salt
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• parsley to garnish

Combine everything into a food processor and blend until pureed but still a little chunky.

Garnish with parsley and serve with veggies or pita bread.  Can also be used as a sandwich bread.

Basil and Mint Melon Salad

Basil and Mint Melon Salad

Holy HOTNESS! No not talking about me, talking about the weather today.  Let me sum it up for you really quick.  It consisted of the following; flat tire, riding in a black car with leather seats and no air conditions, a heat index of 120, busted air conditioning at the office,  rocking the fan blown hair and riding in a VERY HOT black car with leather seats.  Not so fun.  

On such a hot stinking day a treat like this is guaranteed to hit the spot. It is utterly refreshing, sweet and the mint subtly cools your mouth.   Oh and it is so stinking, extremely easy.  It is definitely a win-win.

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

At approximately 11: 17 pm on Friday night I had this sudden urge to bake cookies.  I don’t know why exactly I just did.  I posted it as my status on Facebook and a flurry of friends encouraged me to stay up late and bake the cookies.  However, I resisted the temptation, ignored the encouragement and forced myself to bed. 

The following morning Hubby and I got up and ran a few errands, but those stinking cookies where still in the back of my head.  Finally Saturday afternoon I just had to give into the urge and bake some stinking cookies. 

I went poking around on the Internet searching for a cookie recipe.  Remember I am not a baker so I cannot make one up.  That would be very dangerous, trust me.  I found this Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip recipe for Joy the Baker.   You should check out her site it is very cute and she has some great recipes. 

Let’s begin….

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Limber de Coco (Coconut Cream Popsicles)

Limber de Coco

In every neighborhood in Puerto Rico there is an old lady that will sell you limber for 50 cents, back in my day it was 25 cents. Usually she will come out in a “bata” or mu-mu with curlers in her hair.  I remember when I was a little girl there was this lady that lived down the street and sold limber in 5 different flavors, coconut was my favorite.  Limber is basically a popsicle, but it is usually sold in small dixie cups.   These are a great treat on a hot day.  

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Homemade Fig Newtons? Fig & Walnut Newtons

Fig & Walnut Cookies

I FOUND FIGS!  Not fresh fig, dry figs, but I still found figs!  At Wal-mart, I found dry figs at Wal-mart, who would have thought, figs at Wal-mart.  How many time have I said figs so far?  Of course I had to buy them since I have been looking for figs everywhere.  Funny how you find something when you are not looking for it. 

When I got home I just had to try and put something together, so I did a little experimenting.  I definitely wanted to go sweet and I had a tube of Pillsbury Recipe Creations in the fridge.  I noodled on it for awhile and then remembered a lemon & fig cake that Stacey Snacks had made.  I decided to make a filling with figs, lemon zest, honey and walnuts and sandwich it in the Pillsbury dough .  I was very pleased with the result.  It was sweet, you could taste the lemon and the walnuts gave it a great texture.   They literally tasted almost like a fig newton…..Mmmmm.

I grabbed two and had them with a glass of milk.  They were also Hubby approved.

Here is the breakdown, as much as I can remember.

Fig Newtons

Ingredients

8 oz. dry figs
1/2 cup of honey
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 tbs lemon zest
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 egg yolk (keep egg white for wash)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tube Pillsbury Recipe Creations
1/4 cup powder sugar, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350, spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

Place figs in food processor and pulse until chopped.

In a large bowl combine all ingredients, except dough, combine well.

Roll out dough, using cookie cutter as a guide place 1 tsp of filling on dough. Fold dough over and cut cookies out with cookie cutter.

Place cookies on sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Garnish with powder sugar.

Yummy Homemade Granola

Yummy Maple Granola

I have been wanting to make homemade granola for a long, long time, but I never got around to it, don’t know why.  Well today was finally the day and it is a shame I didn’t do it sooner.  It was easy to make and delicious to eat.  It filled the house with a great cozy aroma.  When my husband got home he grabbed a handful straight off the cooling rack and being an accountant he began to wonder if it was more economical to make our own granola instead of buying it, not mention it just tasted better.   We didn’t finish the math because we were getting ready to go out for dinner, so I will have to answer that another day. 

When we got back home I was craving something sweet and made myself a bowl of granola, it hit the spot.  Enjoy!

 Yummy Homemade Granola

• 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup  shredded coconut
• 1 cup nuts of pecans
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place rack in the center of the oven and grease baking sheet

Combine oats, pecans, coconut, salt, cinnamon & nutmeg.

In another bowl combine butter, honey, syrup and vanilla, mix well.  Pour over dry ingredients and toss until it is well coated.

Spread on to baking sheet and bake for 30 mins, until golden brown, stirring about every 5 minutes.  Be sure not to over bake.

Remove from oven and cool on cooling rack.  The granola will still be a little soft but it will harden as it cools.

Enjoy in a bowl with some cold milk and fresh berries.

This is my weekend splurge, a chunk of Callebaut 60% Cocoa chocolate for the tartlets I am planning on trying this weekend.  Come back to see how they turned out.

I Love a Good Panini Mmmmmm

Grilled Eggplant Panini with Tomato Olive Spread

About a week ago I came across a recipe for a Grilled Eggplant Panini with Tomato Olive Spread on The Secret Ingredient.  I saved it to my favorites for when I had an eggplant. 

Today was a busy day and I had an eggplant in the fridge so I thought it would be day to try the Grilled Eggplant Panini with Tomato Olive Spread with a few adjustments. 

To start I was out of fresh tomatoes and I did not have kalamata olives.  Instead i grabbed a can of stewed tomatoes and some green olives for the paste.  Because I used the stewed tomatoes the paste was a little watery, so while I grilled the eggplants I put it in a cheese cloth, in a colander to drain some of the water.  I prepared the eggplant by brushing it with olive oil but I also grated some fresh Parmesan cheese and coated the eggplant with it.  I placed it on the grill for about 4 mins on a med-high heat.

Once the eggplant was ready I assembled my panini, but because I was going to feed this to my husband I had to add some meat.  I added some geona salami and used provolone in place of the mozzarella.  I was very pleased with the result and my husband enjoyed it too, although he would have liked some more meat.  

Below is the original recipe from The Secret Ingredient

Grilled Eggplant Panini with Tomato and Olive Spread
Serves 4

For Spread:
1 cup grape tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup kalamata olives
Olive oil
Salt/pepper to taste
Add the tomatoes, basil and olives into the work bowl of a mini-food processor. Pulse to roughly chop. Add olive oil, salt and pepper and pulse again until a chunky spread is formed. Set aside.

For the Eggplant:
1 large or 2 small eggplants, cut into 1/2″ to 3/4″ rounds
(Note: by leaving the skin on the eggplant, it helps it to not fall apart on the grill)
Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat.
Brush each side of eggplant rounds with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Grill for approximately 3-5 minutes per side, until softened and grill marks appear. Set aside.
(Alternatively, you can grill these on the panini press to save a trip outdoors.)

To make the panini:
8 slices country-style bread (Italian, peasant, etc) OR 8 pieces of flat bread
8 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
Olive oil for brushing
Preheat panini press to high heat.
Brush one side of each piece of bread with olive oil.
Placing the oiled side down, lay one slice of bread on heated panini maker.
Spread 1-2 tablespoons of the tomato & olive spread on top of the bread.
Place one layer of grilled eggplant rounds over spread.
Place 2 slices of mozzarella cheese over eggplant layer.
Top with another slice of bread (this time, oiled side UP). Close panini maker and press until heated through (cheese should be melted), and bread is nicely grilled.
Repeat with remaining 3 sandwiches.
Cut in half and serve hot.
 

Turkey Apple Panini

I came home today from work and was starving and realized I hadn’t use my panini press in awhile.  I, of course didn’t want just ham and cheese.  So I looked in my fridge trying to figure out what kind of sandwich I wanted.  With so much talk of fall I was thinking of when my mother made Thanksgiving dinner, she always put onions and apples in her stuffing.   I decided on a turkey sandwich with apples….hmmm.  I Incorporated the onion by taking some mayo and mixed in just a little Lipton onion soup mix and a pinch of sugar. I spread the mix on some 12 grain whole wheat bread.  I then peeled the apple, cored it and cut it into thin slices.  I assembled my sandwich turkey first, apples and then a slice of provolone.  Sprayed my press with butter spray and pressed my sandwich.  I ate it with well a few apple wedges and a glass of green tea.  I was quite satisfying.

Yummy Zucchini Snack

I have discovered another easy yummy way to prepare zucchini.  You might be starting to wonder if I am zucchini obsessed but I assure you I’m not I am just a big fan and excited to find new ways to make it.  Today I happened upon a Zucchini Salad with Yogurt on “Almost Turkish Recipes”.  I decided to experiment and whip it up for lunch today.  At first I was apprehensive because I admit I thought zucchini and yogurt was a weird combo, but it was YUMMY!  Check it out! It was scrumptious!  In the recipe you have to squeeze the excess water from the zucchini but to make it easier I use a cheese cloth to squeeze the water out.  Also, I substituted the walnuts for pecans and it was perfect! I may make myself another.

Zucchini and Yogurt Salad on Toast