Savory Pumpkin Hummus

Savory & Dessert Hummus 

If you love hummus and you love pumpkin, you may love Savory Pumpkin Hummus. This version uses Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning for the salty kick and, then, an ice water technique to produce a creamy consistency without adding so much olive oil. I'm not a fan of tahini in traditional hummus ...it's truer to say that it doesn't like my tummy. I DO like the way this recipe turned out! You really need either a food processor or one of those fancy-schmancy blenders to make hummus.

SAVORY PUMPKIN HUMMUS

1 15 oz. can Chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans)

3/4 cup 100% Pure Pumpkin (a.k.a. puree or pack - not the pie filling)

opt. 2 tablespoons White Miso (white miso is milder or you could use tahini or omit, altogether)

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

6 tablespoons Ice Water

1 Garlic clove, minced

1 to 2 teaspoons Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning

1/2 to 1 teaspoon Cumin

opt. 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika (again, optional)

• Drain and rinse chickpeas
• 
  In a food processor, add chickpeas, pumpkin, miso, olive oil and garlic
• Pulse a few times to get it started and, then, let it rip, adding the ice water a tablespoon
  at a time. You may need to stop occasionally to scrape down the sides
• Add in Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning (we just call it Tony's), cumin and smoked paprika 
• Blend until smooth and taste-- Does it need more of something? When you're confident of owning the flavor, spoon into air-tight container and chill until ready to serve with veggies, naan or crackers

Yep. It's that simple! Go play with your food! Let me know how it turned out...

"Sam"

Tuesday Recipe: Hummus

Hummus is all the tasty rage and has as many variations as it does ways to eat it! Interestingly, many think it is made either from nuts or from some exotic ingredient. Nope! It's made from stuff you can toss in the buggy-basket from your local grocer. The key is to have a food processor.

Cilantro & Jalapeño / Chilis Hummus

1-2 cans of Chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans), drained & rinsed.
2-3 cloves Garlic
Fresh Cilantro, coarsely chopped (including stems) the chopping of the stems prevents them wrapping around the center of your processing blade.
4 oz can Green Chiles or 1 Jalapeño, chopped with seeds
Olive Oil
1-2 Limes, zest and juice
Salt
Water

• Toss all ingredients except oil and water into processor and click on high speed.
• While it is processing, pour olive oil and some water down shoot until the hummus starts to look creamy. Alternately, scrape down the sides.
• Taste, add salt. Does it need more oil or water for a creamy texture?
• Store in lidded container in fridge! 
• Serve with tortilla chips or veggie sticks!

Suggested Variations: 

• Hummus with Sun Dried Tomatoes & Pine Nuts, omitting cilantro and jalapeño. Make sure your pine nuts are fresh; otherwise, you may get a metallic taste...for days.
• Hummus with Cilantro, Sriracha & Pepperdews, one of my faves, but it looks kinda gross.
• What about Hummus with Walnut Oil? Truffle Oil? 
• Hummus with Lemon & Basil -- It's next on my #playwithyourfood list!

Go #playwithyourfood to create your own hummus and let me know how it turns out!

2-on-Tuesday: Greek Black Bean Burgers

HA! YES! This was a great recipe I picked up from Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean!

Seitan is pretty great, but this filled that hawhnger in mah belly! Easy to make. My hubby found it yummy, too! I served on a bed of greens with sliced tomatoes and a dollop of olive tapenade on the side! But, it could have easily been between two buns with lettuce and tomatoes. I'm pretty sure this would be awesome rolled into "meatballs" with spaghetti...TONITE!! 

Greek Black Bean Burgers

1 small Red Bell Pepper, roasted, peeled & diced
2 3/4 cups Black Beans (I used 2 cans), rinsed
1 1/4 cup Quinoa, cooked and drained
1/4 cup Hummus (homemade or store-bought)
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup Onion, diced
1/2 cup Breadcrumbs (all I had was Panko, which worked great!)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Greek Seasoning

• Use a potato smasher in a medium bowl and smash those black beans!
• Add quinoa, hummus, garlic, Greek seasoning and onions and combine well.
• Add red pepper, feta and breadcrumbs. Mix until breadcrumbs are well combined.
• Form into patties (or "meat"balls) and squeeze firmly to make sure they stick together.
• Bake 400 degrees for 9 minutes - FLIP - 9 more minutes! 

I baked on parchment for ease of scooping, flipping and clean-up! Don't be skeered to re-use the parchment you just baked one batch of burgers on. Bake the second batch on that sheet of parchment.

How else can I use this recipe? Hmmmm....

~"Sam"

2-on-Tuesday: HummNooch!

The Saffron Jasmine Rice was from my #FoodiePenPal

When I decided to make better choices by eating plant-based nutrition, I stuck with the usuals that meat-eaters tend to easily think of;  beans, salads, beans, fruit. Not fun and gets boring fast. I'm glad to live in the age of technology where researching new and fun plant-based menus for myself and the family is easy!

One such recipe involved something called "HummNooch." I noticed many vegans and vegetarians referred to this new-to-me ingredient. I just figured it must be an exotic spice that really didn't sound appetizing. Boy, was I wrong! By far, my fave of the online versions is from Heather of For the Love of Kale. But, I can't leave it alone, I just have to play with my food!

HummNooch or Hum-Nooch is really two different ingredients combined to make a sauce. "Hum" is short for hummus and "nooch" is the clever first syllable sound of Nutritional Yeast. Hummus + Nutritional Yeast = HummNooch. I understand this really isn't a great definition because it's leading to another question: What is Nutritional Yeast? Yep, I asked the same question and found the best answer and how to cook using it with Susan of Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.

Don't be skeered! If you are looking to add some spice and jazz up your nutritional palate, try my take on -  

Humm-Nooch...with roasted stuff

Roasted Stuff: 
(Your choices, I haven't found rules in plant-based cooking)

Potato (Sweet, Red Skin or Blue) diced bigger (I prefer the Sweet)
Parsnips (they are akin to a sweet, white carrot)
Extra-Firm Tofu, 1 block - drained & diced bigger
Olive Oil or Coconut Oil

Total of any combination of above diced items: 3 cups-ish

Humm-Nooch Sauce:

6 tablespoons     Hummus (purchased or make your own)
3-4 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast (I use Bragg)
1 tablespoon       Olive Oil or Coconut Oil
1/2 cup                 Soy Milk (I prefer Light Vanilla, it works for me!)
1 tablespoon       Masala (a spicy, dry Indian spice blend. "Garam Masala")

• Heat oven 400 degrees while prepping food.
• First, drain your block of tofu by wrapping the block in paper towels or napkins; sandwiching the wrapped block between two plates or pie pans; weighting down the top plate with a heavy item, pot or brick (I use my tea kettle filled with water). The idea is to squeeze out the moisture in the tofu. This usually takes 20-30 minutes.
• Cut your choice of veggie(s) to be roasted into larger diced pieces.
• Toss all items to be roasted (veggies & tofu) with a little oil (I prefer coconut oil to a spray oil in this recipe) and spread out on a large cookie sheet. 
• Bake or Roast for up to an hour until root veggies are fork-tender.

While the above items are roasting, heat all of the HummNooch Sauce ingredients together. This step doesn't take long. When roasted stuff is ready, combine everything and serve over a bed of rice!

For additional nutrition: Stir and cook down a fistful of kale into the HummNooch Sauce -OR- add shredded/flaked coconut.

TIP: If you have a meat-eater who absolutely refuses to try tofu, substitute cooked & diced chicken breast for their serving.

Any questions? It sounds involving, but I whip this dish up in a hurry!