Hummus!

Hummus has for a long time been one of my favorite snack foods. When it’s done well it tastes heavenly. Unfortunately, when it’s done poorly it tastes bitter, or like oil. In neither case something you really want to eat. I was having some friends over tonight, and decided I should try my hand at it. I’d never tried before, but the recipes I found online seemed fairly straightforward. I ended up selecting one that was part of a sandwich recipe on epicurious, but I changed it around a little to suit my tastes (as well as doubling it). One thing I did ad was powdered sumac, a slightly tart, Middle-Eastern spice I was able to get at a local specialty store. The Tahini was a little more expensive, but if you live near a decent grocery store that sells it, you will probably do better than I did. Serve this with pita wedges that have been toasted in the oven.

Hummus

Makes 4 ½ cups

2 16 oz. cans chickpeas (Garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed, juices reserved
4 cloves garlic
½ cup well stirred
Tahini
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup freshly chopped parsley
2 tsp Sumac Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Finely chop the garlic, then mash it into a paste with a pinch of salt.

2. Put the chickpeas, garlic paste, Tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor, and process until smooth.

3. Add 6 Tbs of the reserved chickpea juice (use water if you didn't save it), the parsley, the sumac powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Pulse to combine.

4. Enjoy

Best Popcorn Ever

I know that may seem like a boastful name for a blog posting, but this popcorn recipe has earned it. I began making it for my friends a few months ago, and it caught on fast. People liked it so much that I continued getting compliments on it the next day (who gets compliments for popcorn at all, not to mention the next day). The recipe uses some ingredients that might be hard to come by (I don’t know because I’ve never looked for them other than where I get them). The recipe relies on granulated roasted garlic and Vermont cheese powder. The two ingredients together really give this popcorn some zing. Truthfully, there is no particular recipe for this, you just add the spices until it tastes right. However, I’ve done my best to reproduce it below.

Garlic-Cheddar Popcorn

Canola Oil
2/3 Cup unpoped popcorn kernels
~7 Tbls Vermont Cheese Powder
~5 tbs Granulated Roasted Garlic (you can use garlic powder in its place, but the roasted is better)
~ 1 ½ tbs chili powder
4 Tbs melted butter (optional)

1. Pour enough canola oil into a large pot to coat the bottom. Place over medium high heat with 3-4 kernels in the pan. Heat, covered, until the kernels pop, then add the rest of the popcorn, and reduce the heat the medium. Make sure to recover, and wait for all of the kernels to pop, agitating the pan occasionally. Note, if you prefer air popped or microwave popped popcorn instead, do that.

2. Once all the kernels have popped, remove the pan from the heat. Add the butter at this point if you’re going to use it, it will help the spices stick to the popcorn. Add about half the cheese powder, granulated garlic, and chili powder, and mix the popcorn. Add the other half of the spices and mix again.

3. Pour into a bowl or serve right out of the pot, and enjoy.