Thursday, August 18, 2011

Birthdays and Hummus

Those two things just go hand in hand, don't they?  Where have I been lately, you may be asking?  Just letting the little things all overwhelm me.  Back to school stressed me unnecessarily, I'm trying to diet, and have been a little down in the dumps.  Coincidence, I think not!  But it does bring me to the hummus.



I'm a brand new Mark Bittman convert.  I took some of my hard-earned FoodBuzz money and purchased his book "Food Matters" and the cookbook that goes along with it.  I guess Mark's story is he was getting older and fatter, bad stuff was happening to his health, and his doctor told him he needed to become a vegan.  Which sort of clashed with his line of work, being a food writer and all.  But he decided to try a plan where he is a "vegan until 6" everyday...eating no animal products, just plants, plants, plants.  Then after 6 eat a normal dinner without gluttonizing, and it worked for him.  

So I thought to myself, if he can do it, maybe I can do it.  I like plants.  So I spent this past Sunday prepping veggies, and making beans and oatmeal and brown rice in mass quantities so I would have easy access to things I can eat and so far so good.  I've taken a few pounds off, and feel like it's something I can live with.  Why am I telling you all this?  Beats the snot out of me; here's Bittman's recipe for hummus.

  • 2 cups drained well-cooked or canned chickpeas, liquid reserved

  • 1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste), optional, with some of its oil

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus oil for drizzling

  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled, or to taste

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin or paprika, or to taste, plus a sprinkling for garnish

  • Juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed


  • Put it all together in the food processor and blend it together, adding more liquid from the chickpeas if needed.  

    So mine came out a little dry, guess I should have added more liquid.  And it made way more than I needed since I'm the only one who eats it.  Wonder if it freezes well.

    And as for birthdays, my little 5th grade flute-playing chickadee turned 11 today.  She's growing up so fast!  


    This was the first year she requested a homemade birthday cake, and she wanted the same one I made for her dad back in June, without the raspberry sauce.  So obviously that required extra frosting on top!  


    Just as delicious as I remembered.  And there's no chickpeas in it!

    11 comments:

    Monica H said...

    Happy birthday to your sweet girl. That cake looks delicious with and without the raspberry sauce.

    Good luck with your weight loss. I don't know if I could give up on animal products for that much of the day. It would be tough!

    pam said...

    I love that book too! I have really started adding more fruits and veggies and I've lost 9 pounds!

    Taylor said...

    I've heard of Mark Bittman but never knew his food philosophy...its very interesting! I'm tempted to try it out too! This hummus looks tasty!!

    Anonymous said...

    I had never heard of Mark Bittman until I started blogging - now I very much want that cookbook you have! I love hummus but have never actually made it myself. Happy Birthday to your sweet daughter and good luck with the weight loss!

    4*KowBoys said...

    I love hummus, and I use this recipe a good bit. I also love to add roasted red peppers to it... Soooo good!! Happy Birthday to your little one, too!

    teresa said...

    oh hummus is fantastic! this looks like a great recipe, i could practically eat it with a spoon!

    Kim said...

    Happy Birthday to your little flute playing sweetheart! Guess our girls are the same age.

    I'm right there with you as far as being stressed goes. Mine just went back to school too and I'm trying to diet as well. Funny enough I also made hummus and served it with triscuits. LOL! The only problem is that I want to eat copious amounts of it. Yours looks delicious.

    Heather S-G said...

    Welcome to the Bitty train!! I adore him =) And I adore hummus. Happy Birthday to your daughter!

    Kerstin said...

    Happy birthday to your daughter - looks like the perfect cake to celebrate!

    And homemade hummus is the best - yum!

    Coleens Recipes said...

    What a great cake!!! I've never eaten hummus, I'd love to try it. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

    The Blonde Duck said...

    I love roasted chickpeas, but haven't found a hummus I like yet.