CILANTRO JALAPENO “HUMMUS”

Posted in Appetizers, Vegetarian-friendly by sallybr

I haven’t yet met a “hummus” I did not like. This one is another example of a tahini-less version, with the garbanzo beans standing up to justify the name. 😉 The recipe is from a wonderful blog I recently stumbled upon: “Garnish with Lemon“. It called for peeling the chickpeas, and after reading a lot about the benefits of this extra-step, I went for it. You’ll need a considerable amount of Zen for the job, but I now believe it is totally worth the trouble. If I am making hummus just for the two of us, I might skip it. But, for special occasions you’ll find me standing by the sink, mindfully peeling pea by pea while wondering about the meaning of life, the origin of the universe, and the mechanism of iron uptake by Escherichia coli.

CILANTRO-JALAPENO HUMMUS
(adapted from Garnish with Lemon)

1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed and peeled

1 cup cilantro

1/2 cup Italian parsley

1 jalapeño, seeded

3/4 tsp salt

Juice of 1+ ½ limes

1/8 cup olive oil

2 Tbs non-fat yogurt (more or less according to consistency)

Place the beans, cilantro, parsley, jalapeño, salt and lime in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for at least two minutes, until well mixed and smooth, stopping to clean the sides of the bowl halfway through. Slowly add olive oil as the food processor is running.

Stop the processor, add one or two tablespoons of yogurt, depending on how thick or runny your dip seems. Taste and adjust seasoning. Place in a container and refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

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Comments: The composite picture above should help me convince the hummus-makers out there that peeling the chickpeas is a good move. See all those peels on the first photo? I had worked maybe half of the can at that point. The peels have a bit of a slimy texture. Getting rid of them can only improve your masterpiece.

This creamy dip is great with pita chips, Ak-mak crackers, carrot sticks, but trust me: it works tremendously well over grilled salmon, and it would certainly be great topping other grilled concoctions like chicken breasts, thick tuna steaks, pork tenderloin. Of course, being a lover of cilantro is mandatory to enjoy this versatile “hummus”.

ONE YEAR AGO: A Moving Odyssey (has it been one year already? 😉

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TWO YEARS AGO: Hoegaarden Beer Bread
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THREE YEARS AGO: Ancho-Chile Marinade: Pleased to Meat you!
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FOUR YEARS AGO: Shrimp Moqueca
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10Jul2013

CELEBRATE WEDNESDAY WITH HOISIN-GRILLED CHICKEN & SOBA NOODLES

Posted in Celebrate Wednesday, Pasta & Noodles, Poultry by sallybr

I adore soba noodles. Whenever I serve them, the meal feels special to me. For this dinner, I used green tea soba noodles, immediately kicking things up a notch (remember Emeril from the old days of FoodTV?). Green tea soba has a nice color that fades just a little during cooking. Of course, you can use any type of noodles, including whole-wheat, if soba is not available where you live. The whole menu came from the latest Cooking Light issue, which is full of great recipes, by the way. The hardest part of the preparation was cutting the sugar snap peas, but other than that, very fast from beginning to end, making it ideal to celebrate that evening still a bit far from the joys of the weekend… 😉

HOISIN-GRILLED CHICKEN WITH SOBA NOODLES
(adapted from Cooking Light June 2013)

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 + 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt
green tea soba noodles (or regular soba)
1 + 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved diagonally
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
toasted sesame seeds to taste
sliced green onions, to taste

Combine hoisin, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and five-spice powder in a large bowl. Add chicken; toss to coat. Grill for 10 minutes or until done, flipping the pieces half-way through cooking time. Remove from the grill, let it stand for 5 minutes tented with aluminum foil. Thinly slice across the grain.

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Prepare the dressing for the noodles by mixing rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and Sriracha in a small bowl. Reserve.

Add noodles to the boiling water; cook for about 4 minutes. Add peas; cook 1 minute or until noodles are tender. Drain. Add reserved dressing to the noodles & peas mixture. Toss to coat. Arrange noodles on a serving plate, top with chicken slices. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions right before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The recipe calls for cooking the sugar snap peas in the same pot with the noodles. It is a nice thought to simplify things and avoid having two pots of water boiling, but next time I will cook them separately. It will be easier to assemble the dish, tossing noodles with dressing, then adding the snap peas and mixing them gently. I like sugar snap peas barely cooked, almost blanched, to retain their bright color and bite. Leftovers next day were still very tasty, but just a minute in the microwave turned the peas into a sad dark green, dangerously pointing towards the gray. Delicate creatures they are!

I served cucumber salad as a side dish, as suggested in Cooking Light. The recipe is on the link I provided. You may notice I omitted the peanuts. Cucumbers have been a constant side dish these days. They are simply perfect for this weather. 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: The Manhattan Project

TWO YEARS AGO: Carrot “Nib” Orzo

THREE YEARS AGO: A Sticky Situation

FOUR YEARS AGO: The Garden

7Jul2013

IN MY KITCHEN, JULY 2013

Posted in In My Kitchen by sallybr

It is time to have some virtual fun again, joining my dear Australian friend Celia in her series “In My Kitchen“. Every month she publishes a post showing what is going on in her place, and many food bloggers do the same. I wish I could play more often, but better sometimes than never, right? So, let me invite you for a little peek into our home…

In our kitchen…
A collection of glass containers of several sizes and shapes, to bring some sense of peace and beauty to our pantry…

Here they are, fulfilling their purpose…

In our kitchen….
A bottle of Portuguese olive oil I am very fond of… must be my background? Vovó Florinda (my late Grandma) would be happy to see it, I am sure. It is fruity, with a very intense flavor. I use it sparingly, and savor each drop. Excellent on thick slices of juicy tomatoes.

In our kitchen…
Two delicious teas I recently found. Have I mentioned I am crazy for saffron? The saffron flavor is not too strong, just right. Not sure which one is my favorite, sometimes I am happy, sometimes more mellow…

In our kitchen…
A very special bottle of tequila (Anejo). Phil is turning into a serious tequila connoisseur, so I decided to give him a product recommended by the one and only Marcela Valladolid. According to him (and a few guests who tried shots) it is very smooth and complex.

In our kitchen…
A special mustard I found at a farmer’s market in town, cilantro-jalapeno flavored. Sounded too good to resist… 😉

In our kitchen…
The most beautiful fresh dill I’ve ever had! A gift from a colleague at KSU, he harvested it just half an hour earlier. Per his advice, the best way to preserve it is not by drying, but freezing. So now I am a proud owner of frozen dill, ready to use.

In our kitchen….
Buck, hoping that the Law of Gravity will act on slices of sourdough bread a little too far from his paws.

And finally, in our kitchen…. (click to enlarge)

That’s all for now, folks! 😉

If you have a blog and want to participate of the IMK series, write a post and link to Celia’s blog. Easy as pie!

ONE YEAR AGO: Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies

TWO YEARS AGO: Ina Garten’s Banana Bran Muffins

THREE YEARS AGO: Beer Bread with Roasted Barley

FOUR YEARS AGO: Tomato Confit with Arugula and Zucchini

3Jul2013

ROASTED STRAWBERRY-BUTTERMILK SHERBET

Posted in Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Tomato, tomahto = sorbet, sherbet? Not quite. Tomato and tomahto are the exact same creature, whereas the other pair refers to different concoctions. Sorbet has no dairy in it, sherbet contains up to 3% milk fat (from milk or cream). Pass the 3% level and you’ll get to ice cream territory. Feeling enlightened yet? 😉 I found this recipe in the latest issue of Bon Appetit, and the words “roasted strawberry” and “buttermilk” made me dream. The stars must be in a lucky alignment, because very little time elapsed between reading the recipe and getting to work. Fresh blueberries were a perfect match for this slightly tangy dessert.

ROASTED STRAWBERRY-BUTTERMILK SHERBET
(adapted from Bon Appetit, July 2013)

4 cups strawberries (about 1 pound), hulled, halved or quartered
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup sour cream
Pinch of kosher salt

Heat oven to 425°. Combine strawberries and sugar in a 13 x 9 inches baking pan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and add pod; toss to combine. Roast berries, stirring occasionally, until juices are bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let cool.

Discard vanilla pod. Purée berries, buttermilk, sour cream, and salt in a blender until smooth. Place in the fridge for several hours or overnight. Process mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer sherbet to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: My modifications of the recipe involved cutting down the sugar (the original called for 1 full cup) and reducing the buttermilk amount. The reduction in sugar had to do with our personal preference. The reduction in buttermilk had to do with the size of my blender. One cup filled it almost to the very top, a little more and we would have a buttermilk tsunami in the kitchen. I don’t think it made much difference, but check the link to the original recipe online in case you prefer to follow it. If you use the recipe I posted, please taste the mixture before you place it in the ice cream machine. You might prefer it a little sweeter than we do.

Add a little marshmallow topping and you’ll have a perfect dessert for the 4th of July celebrations: red white and blue, with Summer written all over it. 😉