time for snacking.

I'm a hardcore snacker. I'll admit it. Nibbling between meals is something that I'm guilty of doing every time I'm doing something for a long time. Man, oh man . . . especially if I'm caught up watching a series or a movie! Back when I was younger, I'd gobble up candy, ice cream, and other junk food that I could get my hands on. Ah, junk food.

Nowadays, I try to get my snacking under control. If I do snack, I try to opt for a veggie-fruit smoothie or a fruit and cheese plate. Sometimes a granola bar or a fruit and veggie pop. Sometimes just a couple glasses of juice. Oh, I also looooove me some hummus! I'll oftentimes swap between pita chips or carrot sticks whenever I make a batch. If I felt like treating myself, I'd warm up some pita bread and just snack away a piece or two browsing the internet.

The problem with hummus, tho, is that sometimes I get bored of making it. Don't get me wrong, I'd pick hummus over a french onion dip anytime . . . but sometimes I'm just not in the mood for it. I like variety on my palate and that's when I try making different stuff to satisfy my fickle tongue.

Enter this baba ganoush recipe. I had saved this on my pinterest board but never really got around to trying it. Probably because I don't buy eggplant all that often . . . turns out, the hubby has an aversion to it. Blarg. I grew up eating eggplant. From breakfast, to condiments and sides, and just about every filipino dish I've ever come across. I love eggplant. So, if ever I can, I try to occasionally sneak eggplant into our dinner rotation.

But back to this dip.

Since I had some eggplant lying around from a couple of days ago, I thought I'd finally try my hand at making this dip. I like that it's largely hands-off and relatively easy to do. I was missing some ingredients in the dip, but I found that I liked how it turned out. I was stoked! I deviated slightly from the recipe by seasoning the eggplant with salt and garlic during the roasting process. I think that made this ten times tastier.

So here's a few things I learned along the way: I like my baba ganoush slightly chunky so it got blitzed just before it turned into a puree. Also, I found that I prefer this as a warm dip as apposed to having it cold or at room temperature. All in all, I thought this turned out mighty tasty. Now, I have one more recipe under my belt! Huzzah!

---- o o o o ---- 

Baba Ganoush
(adapted from The Mediterranean Dish)

1 large eggplant, cut in half
2 garlic cloves, minced or 1 tsp bottled minced garlic
2 tbsp lime juice
1 1/2 tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp sumac, additional for garnish
salt and pepper
toasted pine nuts, for garnish
chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

 
Preheat oven to 425F degrees.

On a foil-lined baking sheet, lightly coat with olive oil then sprinkle with some salt. Place eggplant flesh-side down then drizzle with olive oil. Cut a few slits into the skin. Open each slit and add garlic, evenly distributing between each opening. Transfer tray to the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven then let stand until cool enough to handle.

When cooled, scoop out the flesh and transfer to blender or food processor. Discard skins. Add lime juice, tahini, sumac, and a pinch of pepper. Blitz for a few seconds then adjust seasoning to taste. Blitz again until desired consistency is reached.

Serve warm or at room temperature, drizzled with olive and topped with pine nuts, parsley, and a generous sprinkle of sumac.

Makes roughly 1 cup.

hummus say, haven't we met before?

oh hummus...my favorite dip evar. :D this time around, decided to make a slow-roasted red pepper version. i probably could've done the peppers faster but i didn't think about it and i was multi-tasking so it worked out. :) this was awesome with the second round of pita chips i made. enjoy!

 
Smokey Slow-Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
(makes about 2-3 cups)

2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed with half can of the liquid reserved
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 medium red bell pepper
2-3 tbsp lime juice
2-3 tbsp tahini
2 tsp smoked paprika
a couple dashes of onion powder
a couple dashes of garlic powder
water
salt and pepper to taste
sumac and parsley for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take the bell pepper and cut in half. Remove core, stem, and seeds and place skin-side up on a foil lined baking sheet. Roast for 55 minutes then remove from the oven. Carefully, bring up the foil from the corners and make a sealed tent over the peppers and let sit for ten minutes. Afterwards, remove and discard the skin and then place peppers in the blender/food processor.

Add the rest of the ingredients in the blender/food processor and pulse to combine. If needed, adjust consistency with water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with a little sumac, and a little bit of chopped Italian parsley. Serve!

taste it and make it: pita chips!

i love baba foods. they're a local company here in our city that produces healthy and tasty mediterranean condiments that come in so many wonderful flavor combinations. they also offer different variety of pita chips that goes awesomely with their dips and sauces. my favorite of the variety would probably be the lemon pepper pita chips! every time i go to the farmer's market, i always try to nab a box of those zingy suckers.

alas, since i've been home bound these last few weeks, i've been a little depraved and haven't been able to make my way there. i have been hankering for some of my favorite dippers! and of course, because it's me, the itch to get some hit when my local mediterranean stores were already closed. man, i made the hummus already...so what's a girl to do?! well, make my own of course! and that's exactly what i did. :D

 

Homemade Lemon Pepper Pita Chips
(makes about 2 cups of chips)

3 pita rounds, cut into wedges or strips
1/8 cup or so extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning (or make your own, like i did. :D)
1 tbsp lemon juice (or more, depending on how lemony you want it to be)
kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine olive oil, seasoning, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Set aside. Prepare the pita breads and arrange on a lined baking sheet in an even layer. Brush the olive oil mixture on the bread and flip them over, doing the same for the other side. If needed, season with the kosher salt. Place in the oven and bake, flipping the chips over once during the cooking, for approximately 15-20 minutes until golden and crispy or until desired doneness. Let cool before serving.

Alternatively, you can also just make the oil mixture and toss the pita chips in it and bake as directed. I'm all for doing things easy too, lol. >:D

small ears.

oreccheitte pasta has always been a favorite macaroni of mine because of the shape. those small little ears gives just the right amount of pasta in each bite and, bonus? you can pierce it with a fork or scoop it up with a spoon! i experimented with making a salad with some ingredients i had on hand and ended up with a great tangy recipe that i adore. when cooking the pasta, make sure to use plenty of olive oil or butter so that the orecchiette doesn't stick together when cooking (urgh...mine did, lol).

 

Italian Orecchiette Salad with Tomato, Basil, and Arugula.
(makes 6 to 8 servings)

for dressing:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp italian dressing (used wishbone)
1 tbsp lime juice (only had the bottled kind at the time, so used that)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground pepper (used mccormick's peppercorn medley)
1 tsp dried parsley (or you can use fresh italian parsley, about 2-3 sprigs)

4 cups cooked orecchiette pasta
1 clamshell grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup red onion, chopped or sliced

1 small sprig fresh basil, slivered
2 large handfuls of arugula
1 cup shaved parmesan

Combine the ingredients for the dressing, whisking together well. Add the orecchiette, tomatoes, and onion to the dressing and season to taste by using the listed seasonings. Refrigerate overnight (or at least an hour) for the flavors to develop. Right before serving, gently fold in arugula, basil, and shaved parmesan. Best served chilled.

tasting the garden.

made hummus today! after a long hiatus of not making it for a while, got inspired by this recipe but decided to add a few extra things in it for an even more garden-y flavor. i ended up with a nice, light hummus with the taste i was definitely aiming for! be forewarned tho...the measurements for the veggies are vague for a reason. more room to customize!

 

Vegetable Garden Hummus

2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed with half can of the liquid reserved
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
handful of chopped red onion
handful of baby carrots
handful of chopped yellow bell pepper
handful of italian parsley
2-3 tbsp lime juice
2-3 tbsp tahini
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cellery salt
a couple dashes of onion powder
a couple dashes of garlic powder
water
salt and pepper to taste
toasted pine nuts for garnish

Combine everything in a blender/food processor and adjust consistency with water. season with salt and pepper to taste. garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle of sweet paprika, toasted pine nuts, and a little bit of chopped italian parsley.

makes a little over 2 cups.

jammin' with apricots.

one thing that i find that sits in my pantry is a bottle of jam or preserves. call me crazy, but i rarely eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. why? i have no idea...probably because it's a little too simple and i like me a challenge. not to say that making a kick ass pb&j sandwich won't be challenging, but i rarely have sliced bread in the house so that adds to the difficulty of things. and so now, i currently have both apricot and strawberry that's slowly inching it's way to expiration. lucky for me, i still have about november of next year before it goes bad.

so what to do? omgoogle, of course! using jam or preserves in cooking isn't a new thing for me. i've cooked with it before and it turned out pretty awesome. this time, after googling "apricot preserves" i stumbled on this recipe for grilled chicken. rosemary? apricot? winner!!

followed the recipe ingredients and added some paprika (just because it's my favorite spice) and deviated from the directions entirely. the result? not too sweet, a little tangy, and very prominent rosemary flavor. definitely a permanent fixture in my recipe repoitoire. and so is the quesadillas i decided to make out of them!!

 

Apricot Rosemary Chicken
(adapted from A Kitchen Muse)

3 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary, divided (didn't divide mine)
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar (didn't have it, used light brown sugar and closer to 1 tbsp)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (used a peppercorn medley grinder, about 10-12 turns.)
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1¼ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes (skipped this and left the chicken whole, about 2-3 medium-sized thigh meat)
¾ cup apricot preserves
3 tablespoons soy sauce (didn't have any regular, subbed ponzu soy sauce)
½ teaspoon hungarian sweet paprika

Take chicken and pierce with a fork all over (this is to help with the marinade process). Combine all other ingredients well and place everything in a ziploc bag. Marinate for 1-2 days, turning bag occasionally. When ready, take chicken from bag and drip off excess marinade. Grill until done and let rest ten minutes before serving. Discard marinade or cook in pan until reduced and thickened to drizzle over chicken. (this is where i deviated from the recipe. to see original instructions, click here.)

(serves two to three)  

(not my picture but it looks similar, lol.)

Apricot Rosemary Chicken Quesadilla with Wild Arugula and Marinade Reduction
(serves one)

1 Apricot Rosemary Chicken thigh
handful of wild arugula (i got mine from trader joe's, also labeled "wild rocket salad")
a couple handfuls of mexican four cheese blend
2 medium flour tortillas
½ cup marinade from the chicken, cooked until reduced and slightly thickened
chopped italian parsley (optional, for garnish)

1. roughly chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. set aside.

2. take one tortilla and toast on one side. flip over, add a handful of cheese just enough to cover the tortilla and let melt.

3. when melted, add the chopped chicken. drizzle wih a couple spoonfuls of marinade then add arugula. cover with the rest of the cheese and top with the other tortilla. let sit to slightly melt the new cheese then flip over. toast the bottom tortilla until crispy.

4. remove from heat, cut into fours, and drzzle top of quesadilla with remaning marinade reduction. garnish with chopped parsley if desired. enjoy! :D <

hummus say, sir...i'm in love!

more hummus love. must be going on a hummus shtick or something...can't get enough of the stuff especially since i know how easy it is to make it!! this time around i followed (very loosely) this recipe for sumac and smoked paprika hummus. well, since i like my hummus very bold in flavoring, the sumac and the paprika got upped a bit to get that taste that was floating around in my head. conclusion? this was very, very good. mmmmm.....

Sumac Paprika Hummus
(adapted from Frugal By Choice)

2 cans garbanzo beans/chickpeas
5 cloves of garlic or 2 tbs garlic minced to a paste
juice of 1 lemon or lime
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup tahini (i like mid-east tahini)
2 tbs of smoked paprika, plus more for sprinkling on top
1/2 tsp of sumac, plus more for sprinkling on top
dried parsley

drain garbanzo beans a reserve half a cup of liquid. in a food processor or blender, add all the ingredients exept the olive oil and blend until mixed. after a minute or so, drizzle the olive oil in with the machine is still going. add a bit of the reserved liquid if needed. once the hummus is super smooth, stop the machine and adjust seasoning to taste. when done, put hummus in a tupperware container and drizzle with additional olive oil with a sprinkle of paprika, sumac, and dried parsley on top. place in fridge for about an hour to let the flavors develop and serve with pita chips or veggies!

makes about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of hummus.

hummus be joking!

hummus! so easy to do...took me less than five minutes to make and now i have two weeks worth out of two cans of beans. used this recipe as a base. i didn't really follow it though. considering i just used whatever i had in the pantry, i ended up mixing garbanzo and cannellini so it's a mixed bean hummus. not wanting it plain, i added some tuscany blend spice i bought from san francisco as well as hungarian smoked paprika. the result? deliciousness.

 
Smokey Tuscun Hummus
(adapted from Simply Recipes)

2 garlic cloves, mashed and then minced (used garlic paste, about 1 tsp)
1 (15.oz) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed with half can liquid reserved
1 (15.oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup of tahini (roasted, not raw)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (or use lime juice instead)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp of salt or more to taste
1 1/2 tbsp tuscany blend spice
1 to 2 tsp hungarian smoked paprika
Pine nuts (toasted) and parsley (chopped) for garnish
water, if needed

1. In a food processor, combine the garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add salt, starting at a half a teaspoon, to taste. (skipped this and used the blender method. use water to thin out the hummus if too thick while blending.)

2. Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley (and also additional smoked paprika).

Makes about 3 cups.