Hummus!

I believe I conquered Hummus! I've been trying to match the traditional hummus I find in Middle Eastern restaurants.. It's been a difficult journey, but here it is, at its best.

**I typically don't measure when I cook so this is my best estimation.

Need:

1 large can of chickpeas
1/4 cup tahini(good tahini from your local middle eastern/asian market, trust me!)
The juice of one large lemon
4-5 cloves garlic
1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil(plus the amount you drizzle over the top)
1 teaspoon salt
good pinch of cayenne
1 teaspoon parsley

You'll need a food processor or a blender(I used a blender and it worked just fine)

Throw the chickpeas,tahini, lemon and garlic in a food processor or blender and blend for a few minutes. While still blending slowly stream in the olive oil until it's fully incorporated. I like my hummus pretty smooth so I blend for a good 4-5 minutes(again, rough estimation). Throw in the herbs and seasoning(not cayenne) and blend for another 30 seconds or so. After it's done flavor as you desire(more lemon, salt, etc.) Don't forget to drizzle olive oil and cayenne on top(a little chopped fresh parsley if you have it)!

**I like my hummus with a strong tahini taste so that's what you'll get from this recipe. Also, full disclosure, that's not a picture of my hummus.

Eat! Eat!

Chicky Chill Chill

Here is my recipe for Chickpea Chili
or Chicky Chill Chill (as Tom Haverford would probably say)
it's pure comfort food, and super hearty which is good because it was like 8 degrees in Chicago this past week.

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste
• 2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in cumin and next 7 ingredients (through red pepper); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 1 1/2 cups water, tomato paste, chickpeas, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Stir in cilantro and juice.

Keeeeen Wahhhhh

it's totally cool to pass off your husbands recipes as your own...right?

• 2 large zucchini, cut lengthwise into 12 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place zucchini slices on bed of paper towels. Sprinkle with salt, cover with paper towels, and let stand to release moisture while preparing quinoa.

2. Bring broth, quinoa, tomato sauce, onion, and oregano to a boil in saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 25 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and stir in basil, and parsley.

3. Layer quinoa tomato sauce, then zucchini slices. Repeat, top with remaining quinoa tomato sauce. Bake lasagna 30 minutes, or until zucchini is tender and top is bubbly.

modified from this recipe

Butternut, Carrot, Ginger

Happy New Year
and, so Happy to be here!
This is my very first post here on Bacon vs. Tofu
_______________________________
Every year around this time
I panic a bit and make a resolution
to start the new year with a healthy detox cleanse*...
*a break from the coffee, sugar, dairy, and copious amounts of pure garbage that I usually enjoy

When my girl Monica e-mailed this recipe
I thought...
I have a few hours to kill on a Sunday and I'm going to seriously make this soup
since it's all cleansy vegan and what not.

Like actually make it, and not just write it down

It turned out so good

next time I'll make a quadruple batch, and eat it for weeks
and also, next time, I wont try to blend it in the blender while it's still boiling hot.

Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing

This recipe is shut-your-face- delicious. Seriously. Ms. Mosely joined C and I for an after-Thanksgiving-Thanksgiving-meal where this dish was the star. We made a last minute executive decision to modify the recipe a bit and carmelize the onions and cook the chickpeas and serve it all hot. That was the right decision! And it made yummy lunch leftovers too! I'm really excited to make this one again, and again, and again...

Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing
Recommended by the lovely Shannon, Found on Smitten Kitchen, Adapted from Orangette, who adapted it from Casa Moro (whew!)

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients for salad:

• 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
• 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt
• One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 of a medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
• black pepper to taste

Ingredients for Tahini Dressing:

• 1 medium garlic clove, finely minced with a pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the butternut squash, garlic, allspice, olive oil, and a few pinches of salt. Toss the squash pieces until evenly coated. Roast them on a baking sheet for 25 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the oven and cool.
3. Meanwhile, make the tahini dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic and lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Add the tahini, and whisk to blend. Add the water and olive oil, whisk well, and taste for seasoning. The sauce should have plenty of nutty tahini flavor, but also a little kick of lemon. You might need to add more water to thin it out.
4. Carmelize the onions in olive oil, then add the chickpeas to the pan to cook.
5. To assemble the salad, combine the squash, chickpeas, onion, and cilantro or parsley in a mixing bowl. Either add the tahini dressing to taste, and toss carefully, or you could serve the salad with the dressing on the side. Serve immediately.

Note: Molly says this salad, lightly dressed, keeps beautifully in the fridge, that you should hold a little of the dressing on the side and that it can be reheated in the microwave. (I agree! We didn't keep any on the side, just dressed and tossed the whole thing, but it reheated wonderfully in the microwave).

¡Tortilla Soup!

I think the best Mexican Food in Chicago is actually in the close burb of Lincolnwood — Wholly Frijoles (I know, what kind of a name is that?!) But it's super delicious. And here's the kicker, with every entree you get a bowl of their tortilla soup. It's everything you ever wanted out of a soup and a meal and sometimes your day. Seriously. So, yesterday, Chris and I decided to try to recreate it. After looking at several blogs for their tortilla soup recipes, making a list, then leaving the list at home, and a quick market trip we were ready... The outcome was really close to Wholly Frijoles and also super delicious! (Please note that this was a season as you go recipe, so the amounts are estimates, season to taste...)

Tortilla Soup

Makes about 6-7 bowls

Ingredients

• 1 large spanish onion
• 7 cloves of garlic
• 3 limes
• 1 jalepeno (they seem to be very spicy right now, so one should bring enough heat)
• 2 mexican zucchini
• 1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatos
• 3 14.5 oz can of vegetable broth
• 1 cup of cilantro
• 2 cups of crushed tortilla chips
• 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground corriander
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 dried red chilis
• olive oil to saute

Directions

1. Saute onions and 4 cloves of garlic, chopped, in olive oil until soft
2. Add 1 jalepeno and 2 zucchini, diced. Add 1 tsp. soy sauce. Saute for another minute or two
3. Add cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt, pepper and ground corriander and the juice of 2 limes. Cook for another few minutes.
4. Add broth, tomatos, bay leaves, dried chilis, 2 more cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup of cilantro. Bring to a boil. Then turn down to low heat and let cook for an hour. (You could probably cut this time, but we wanted the flavors to blend well.)
5. Remove the bay leaves and dried chilis. Blend 3/4 of the soup with the tortilla chips, the juice of 1 more lime, 1/2 cup of cilantro and 1 more garlic clove
6. Return blended mixture to pot, add cheese and cinnamon and cook 10 more minutes on low heat to let flavors blend.
7. Serve with the toppings of your choice – tortilla chips, cheese, avocado, sour cream, etc...

Bananadoodles

I make Snickerdoodles probably twice a year (even though Chris wishes I would make them every week). I use the Martha Recipe from her Holiday Cookies 2006 magazine, which is different, for some reason, than the one on her website. Recently, I've started substituting one banana for the 2 eggs called for — And I think they are even better! The banana helps them stay really soft and you can definitely taste the banana flavor in the cookie, it's like it's been rolled in cinnamon and sugar... Yum! For those that don't like banana flavor, I'd stick to the eggs (or another egg substitute).

Bananadoodles (aka Snickerdoodles with Banana)

Makes about 24

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
• 2 large eggs (I substituted 1 large banana finely choopped)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or if you are sans mixer, like me, just use a large bowl, a rubber spatula and your arm muscles), combine butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs, or banana. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.
2. In a small bowl, stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Shape dough into balls (about the size of a golf ball); roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheet lined with parchment.
3. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden and the center begins to crack (they will not brown), about 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to coo. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.