No oil Hummus!
Hummus without Tahini?
No way! I know my hummus! I have been taught by the best hummus maker in Ann Arbor . . . and she uses tahini!
When did I become so rigid in my thoughts and cooking that I absolutely need one ingredient to create a dip made out of chickpeas? Had I lost my mind? Sadly, I did. I never really thought about hummus very much except for a dip for pita bread, naan or pita chips. Maybe a veggie, but probably not. When I eat hummus I’m going for the creamy, salty, with the crunch of the chip/bread.
So much more!
Each day I become more and more enlightened in one way or another and a week or so ago–hummus was my light.
I was in the car line (on the bored side) and started looking at Instagram photos and happened upon the @CZECH_HIPPIE. Her photos are great and one caught my eye. Can you guess? Yup! Her hummus. We exchanged comments about her recipe and I decided to give it a try. Of course in true Renee fashion–I did NOT follow her exact instructions but instead switched out what I had.
Homemade vs. Store bought
Why make your own when the store bought hummus is so readily available?
Well, for me, I like the convince and the variety. I have 3 big hummus eaters and we all like a different variety, so buying three different kinds made sense–until I really thought about it! Why not make up a big batch of plain hummus and we can add our own favorite things? Bing, Bing! So glad when that bell goes off in my head telling me that Captain Obvious just stopped by and left me a message!
These are the flavors we have made so far:
- plain
- lemon
- roasted pepper
- roasted pine nut
- caramelized onion and garlic (because by now you know how I LOVE my onions.)
The Recipe
In the photo below I have the ingredients that I used.
- 1/2 onion
- cucumber
- 2 slices of lemon
- juice from one lemon
- 1 can of garbanzo beans/chickpeas
- garlic salt (because I ran out of garlic)
I zoomed that up using my immersion blender but you could use a food processor.
#veganRenee cooking tip
Don’t over Zoom!
I call the immersion blender my “zoomer”. The key to getting the best consistency is to pay attention and not allow the hummus to get to the paste stage–once the chickpeas go to that stage . . . it is hard to get them back to being friendly. Yes! beans can be friendly or mean! If your hummus doesn’t taste very good–you have made your beans mean.
Hummus! #yumilicious #healthykids #veganRenee
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Be Blessed as you cook with compassion and L.O.V.E.!
oxox
Top 10 After School Snacks (#4 is my favorite)
When I have kids in “school” I pick them up and bring them home–no bus service–so I like to have snack on the table when they come home. If it is a year that I am homeschooling than we usually end our day with a snack and tea or juice from our juicer!
These are my top ten after school snacks:
- Leftovers from their lunch box!
- Veggies and Dip
- Apples and yogurt or another dip they like
- Pretzels with either mustard or chocolate dipped
- Cheese and crackers–I use cookie cutters to make flowers with the cheese–too cute–sometimes I even put a raisin in the middle of the flower!
- Celery and cream cheese
- Build your own nachos
- Mini cheese tortillas
- Muffins (just out of the oven before I go and pick them up)
- Cookies and milk!
I find that the kids like to do a little “food network” and build their own things as much as when I have it ready, so I like to mix it up a little bit.
If I have a later dinner because of practice or other commitments I start the crock pot at 3 for dinners to be ready at 7.
TIP: I also set the table before I leave. When I come home I just need to plop the crock pot on the table, and by the time everyone is finished washing their hands dinner is ready!
Aunt Traute’s Rum Balls
the first batch of 2012! I’ll make 2 or 3 more!
Aunt Traute (Edeltraud Hildegard Baude Cameron). She is not really my aunt but I have claimed as my own! A treasure. My husband is the lucky one–who grew up eating her curry chicken and lasagna with birch beer. Aunt Traute left her mark on his palette during those formative years, and I thank her each day for training his taste buds to demand culinary excitement.
I think of Aunt Traute as a pioneer for women. She graduated from University of Wisconsin in 1951 with a B.S. in Chemistry. When most women did not even attend, she did AND in Chemistry! My father-in-law made the comment that “Traute has never wasted a thing in her life” and those words were so inspiring. I still remember that day–it changed how I looked at things. Aunt Traute is also an amazing artist–her colors are bold and true to the subject. I’m lucky to know her!
I have a few recipes from Aunt Traute and I make them often. This recipe is special–it takes a few Christmas seasons to get it right and in the last few years I have finally been able to make them almost as good as Aunt Traute.
The rumball recipe!
1 6 oz (1 cup) chocolate chips
3 tablespoon corn syrup
1/2 cup of dark rum (but I’ve used any kind)
2 1/2 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
1/2 cup powdered sugar –sifted (but I have never ever sifted mine)
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (you can use pecan but those are not my favorite)
granulated sugar to roll the balls in
1) In a large bowl add wafer crumbs and powdered sugar with the nuts and stir
2) in a double boiler (I use a bowl over a pan of water) melt chocolate, add rum and corn syrup
3) add the melted chocolate mixture with the dry ingredients and mix well
4) let sit 30 minutes
5) I use a little scoop to make the balls a uniform size, then I roll them with my hands
6) roll in sugar
7) store in a dry place (I put them in a tin on the top of the fridge) wait a couple of weeks and they will be perfect!
I have played with this recipe A LOT! Some combinations I have tried are:
- different kinds of rum–dark, light, spiced, lime bite, and 151 proof
- different kinds of liquors: orange-Grand Marnier, raspberry-Chambord, hazelnut-Frangelico
- different chocolates–I just prefer regular old Hershey’s
- different binders–oreo’s (a fail), graham crackers were ok but not great
- the original recipe calls for bourbon
- I’ve tried lots of different sugars, vanilla infused sugar, orange peel infused sugar . . . and I like organic sugar–not because it is organic but because it is an off white and looks awesome with the brown of the rum balls.
I am blessed that I have such an inspiring Aunt Traute in my life.
