Hummus

I can't remember when I first tried hummus, but I remember thinking that it was some sort of exotic, luxury, and expensive treat I could only have a couple times a year. Hummus is essentially a Middle Eastern dip typically made with five ingredients: chickpeas (garbanzo beans), tahini (ground sesame seeds), lemon juice, garlic and salt. Yes, you can make your own hummus with only five ingedients (seven if you include extra-virgin olive oil and paprika for garnishing).

If you're wondering where you get Tahini, I usually find it in the "ethnic" aisle at the grocery store. The price is sometimes a little steep, but one jar will make around three or four batches of hummus, and each batch makes a little more than two cups (and I believe a serving is around two tablespoons). Please don't let buying Tahini defer you from making your own hummus.

I'll admit that the first time I made this I was terrified it wouldn't taste the same as store bought—the directions and ingredients seemd too simple. But once I made it and tasted it, I vowed to never buy the packaged stuff again.

This is an absolutely perfect base recipe for hummus, and from here you can let your imagination run wild with ways to spruce it up (roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, spicy red pepper, etc.). I'm usualy the first one to jazz something up with spice or other flavors, but believe me when I say that this is fantastic as is. The recipe below is only slightly adapted from the original (I added more garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes—naturally), so definitely taste as you go and create it based on your preference.

  Hummus

slightly adapted from Desert Candy

Ingredients: 
2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas
1/2 tsp salt
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water from chickpeas
olive oil, parsley, paprika or cumin for serving

Directions:
1. Rinse chickpeas. Place chickpeas in saucepan with water; cover by one inch. Place saucepan on the stove; bring to a boil and simmer until chickpeas are very soft: test a chickpea by squeezing it between your fingers, it should smush easily, this could take between 5 and 20 minutes. Remove from heat, skim off any chickpea skins that have floated to the surface and discard them.

2. Place garlic and salt in a food processor; pulse to chop. Add tahini and lemon juice; process until mixture is slightly whitened and contracted. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chickpeas to the processor (don't discard the cooking liquid); process until very smooth. Thin the hummus to desired consistency with reserved cooking liquid (I use about 1/4 cup of reserved liquid). Taste and adjust seasoning with lemon juice and salt. Refrigerate.

3. When ready to serve, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with spices if desired. Serve with pita bread, pita chips, veggies, or eat alone!

Oat Waffles

When my husband was a little boy, his dad would wake up early every Sunday morning to make waffles for the family. My husband loved this tradition, so when he requested we put a waffle maker on our wedding registry, I happily went along with the idea, thinking that we'd maybe eat waffles a couple times a year. Little did I know that when he said he liked waffles he really meant that he wanted to make them almost every Sunday. And even better (for me!) it meant he'd make them while I was still sound asleep. Can anyone see where I'm going with this? Almost every Sunday I get breakfast in bed! Have I mentioned we're still newlyweds?!

Anyway, back to the waffles. He started out making waffles *gasp* from "the box," but once he saw this recipe, "the box" hasn't made it back out of the pantry to see the light of day. He likes making the batter the night before so he can sleep walk to the kitchen Sunday morning and not have to worry about measuring and whipping up the mix. I highly suggest following in his footsteps.

And since we're also all about watching our figures over here, he makes several substitutions to the recipe below. We've had both versions several times, and I can honestly tell you that I can't taste a difference between the real and the better-for-you waffles. His substitutions will be in parenthesis.

If you own a waffle iron, take it out of your cabinet, dust it off, and take a few extra minutes to make these. They taste better than a box or the frozen variety any day! 

Oat Waffles

adapted from Alton Brown

makes about 8

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 ounces old fashioned rolled oats
• 4 ounces all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar (or sugar substitute)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 large eggs, beaten (or 3/4 cup egg substitute)
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled (2 ounces Brummel and Brown)
• 16 ounces buttermilk at room temperature (or powdered buttermilk)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spread oats on a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes or until toasted and fragrant. Cool oats in pan for 2 to 3 minutes. Grind toasted oats in a food processor until their the consistency of whole-wheat flour, about 3 minutes.

Heat a waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.

Whisk together the toasted oat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs, melted butter together, and vanilla in another bowl, then add buttermilk. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients; stir until combined. Rest the batter for 5 minutes (or cover and leave in fridge overnight).

Coat waffle iron with cooking spray before each use. Ladle waffle batter into the hot iron (amount will differ per waffle iron—we use about 1/2 cup). Close the iron top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from the iron. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately or keep warm in a preheated 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

Easy Fried Rice

There's just something about fried rice that I absolutely love. What I don't love is how absolutely horrible it is for you. Sure, there are veggies in there, but sometimes they're so tiny that you can hardly call it a serving of vegetables. Not to mention, it's typically fried in a lot of oil and then saturated with tons of soy sauce. Hello, MSG! But I love fried rice and continue to eat it all the time—in fact, I've had it four times this week!

Since I'm trying extremely hard to be healthy, I took matters into my own hands and tried making my own fried rice. It can't be that hard, right? But after three tries, I gave up. My attempts never tasted like the real deal. I chalked fried rice up as something I'll leave to the pros, and went on my way.

Then I found this recipe on Weight Watchers' website and decided to give it a shot since it had the word "easy" in the title. It turns out that not only was it ridiculously easy (seriously, how was I messing this up before?), but it actually tasted great, and it's only 3 points+ per serving! The trick, I think, is using older rice—if it's too fresh it just makes it mushy, so I made the rice in the morning and used it at night. I plan on bulking it up with even more veggies (bean sprouts, snap peas, more onions, etc.), trying it with brown rice, and adding some protein the next time I make it. In the mean time, this is a perfect, basic recipe for fried rice. Enjoy! 

Easy Fried Rice

adapted from Weight Watchers 

Ingredients:
2 spray(s) cooking spray   
2 large egg(s), lightly beaten (or 1/2 cup egg beaters)   
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup mushrooms, chopped    
1 cup scallions, sliced, divided  
3 cups cooked white rice   
1–2 cups frozen green peas and carrots (or mixed veggies), thawed  
1/4 cup(s) low-sodium soy sauce, or to taste   

Directions: 
Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; warm pan over medium-high heat. Add eggs; tilt pan so that eggs cover bottom. When eggs start to set, break them up into pieces with a heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon. Cook until eggs are cooked through, about 1 minute more; remove eggs from skillet and set aside.

Off heat, recoat same skillet with cooking spray; set over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, garlic, and all but 2 tablespoons scallions; sauté about 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in cooked rice, veggies, and soy sauce; cook until heated through, stirring once or twice, about 1 minute. Gently stir in cooked egg and remaining scallions; heat through. Yields about 3/4 cups per serving.

A Modern take on a Wedding Cake

It may not seem like it but I do have ALOT of recipes to post. I haven't been avoiding posting on purpose. We're having an internet problem over here and it hasn't been available to me. As soon as it's all fixed I'll be playing catch up. However Jessica's got plenty of great stuff coming out of her kitchen to keep everyone's mouths watering! While I have access I'll post a picture of a wedding cake I did this past weekend. It's a white and chocolate cake covered with white fondant and accented with black and teal designs. I LOVE how this turned out, hope you do too!

Cake made for Kara and Tiago Oliveira

January 28th 2010

Shrimp and Grits

I'll be the first one to admit that the very thought of eating shrimp and grits had me gritting my teeth. Not only does it not sound appetizing (grits reminded me of oatmeal or poridge, and why would I want to eat that as a savory meal?), but it sure doesn't look all that great when it's served to you. School cafeteria mush anyone? I had a teeny taste of grits for the first time at Cracker Barrel and vowed to never try them again. I swear it tasted like cardboard, even with two pads of butter melted in it. Simply put, it was bland, and I don't like bland.

But then I tried cheese grits and everything changed. I discovered there are grits (the kind that tastes like sand and cardboard) and then there are grits (the kind that is so savory and creamy you wish it was never ending). Shrimp and grits, however, is a whole other level of just deliciousness.

This summer, my best friend flew in from New Mexico to hang out in Georgia for a few days, and while she was here we hung out in Savannah. If you're ever in Savannah, there's this nifty kitchen store called Kitchens on the Square, and the best part is that they host cooking classes! We took a class and besides making the following recipe, we also made southern classics like Tomato Sandwiches, Buttermilk Dill Cole Slaw, and Stuffed Banana Cakes. The shrimp and grits were fantastic and I told myself I'd remake them someday for my husband. Well, that day was yesterday.

I served them along with these collard greens, and he loved it so much that he described the meal, through a mouth full of grits, as "so freaking good." Grits don't have to be boring and flavorless. Just make this recipe and see for yourself!

Shrimp and Grits

adapted from Kitchens on the Square

Ingredients:
1/2 cup diced bacon (about 5-7 slices)
2 tablspoons unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablspoons fresh chives, roughly minced
1 cup quick cooking grits *see notes for using stone-ground (not instant) grits
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream (can use whatever type of milk you have on hand)
salt and pepper to taste
shrimp, peeled, and deveined (desired amount)
1 cup goat cheese (or whatever cheese you would like—we had cheddar, so that's what we used)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a medium sauce pot, cook bacon until crisp. Add butter, garlic, and chives; saute another 2-3 minutes. Add grits and stir to coat with bacon fat (should look like bread crumbs). Stir in chicken broth, wine, and cream.

3. **Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until grits have thickened, 5-8 minutes.

4.Season with salt and pepper; transfer to baking dish.

5. Scatter shrimp evenly over grits; crumble/sprinkle cheese over shrimp. Bake in oven for about 10 minutes or until shrimp are pink and cheese is melted.

*When using stone-ground grits: increase the following: 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, 3/4 cup white wine, 3/4 cup cream
**When using stone-ground grits: Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for about 20-30 minutes, stirring often. Continue with step 4.

Collard Greens

I tried Collard Greens for the very first time at Paula Deen's restaurant, Lady and Sons. And let me tell you, if you're ever going to try a food for the very first time, Paula Deen's version is the best way to try it. I was hooked from that first bite and vowed to recreate it at home.

Since then, I've made this multiple times and love it more every time. With so much flavor packed into these greens, they're so good that I've eaten them as a meal and a side dish, but my favorite way to eat them is straight out of the pot right around the time that they're finished cooking.

If thinking about collard greens makes you squeamish, you're not alone. The first time I told my husband I wanted to make these, he looked at me like I was crazy and then said he'd try "one" bite. Emphasis on the "one." Then he tried it and had not one, but two heaping servings. These are not only quite delicious; they're very nutritious. Collard greens are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, fiber, and are just straight up good for you! And even though this recipe calls for four slices of bacon, you can chalk the bacon up to a great flavor enhancer.

Spicy Collard Greens

adapted by Sunny Anderson

Ingredients:

• four slices of bacon, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (less if you don't want it too spicy)
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 pound collard greens, chopped
• 3 cups chicken or veggie stock
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste; the bacon ads enough salt for us, so I don't add any extra)

Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. Remove cooked bacon; drain on paper towel. Add onions and saute until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, garlic, and bacon; cook another minute. Add collard greens; stir and cook another minute. Add chicken or vegetable stock, cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until greens are tender and dark green, about 40 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Operation Kitchen (Onions)

Oh boy are you guys in for a treat this morning! Today is my birthday and since I'm feeling a little generous, I have a gift for you.

My lovely friend Natalie from Oven Love came over to my house last week and we recorded a little tutorial all about how to cut an onion. This is our first attempt a video, so I hope you enjoy watching; we had a fun time creating it!



What type of tutorial would you like to see next?