Happy Summer

Over the last month or two, we have been...required, really, to alter our meals to the weather. It's been so hot that cooking hot meals in the PAK has been unbearable. On the really hot nights even washing dishes feels like an endurance test. How many dishes can I wash before there's too much sweat running down my face to see what I am doing? Fun times.

We started making more smoothies and more dinners like the one pictured above- tomato with mozzarella and basil, along with some homemade hummus (which was eaten with chips, not pictured).

Yes, that's right- the hummus addict has started making her own hummus and all is good in the world. I have yet to venture into experimenting beyond the basic recipe yet. But I'll get there.

Basically, the following ingredients go into the food processor until they are the right consistency of smooth deliciousness-

1 can (12 oz) of chickpeas
lemon juice (1 lemon should do the trick)
1 tablespoon tahini
Garlic cloves (this may vary but personal preference, I usually put in 1-2 cloves)
Extra light olive oil- amount here is also personal preference

Next I plan to tackle tabbouleh and then all will be even more good in the world.

Black Bean Hummus

This is a quick and dirty kind of recipe that I stumbled across recently. Ariel's always been a huge fan of hummus, and this was a nice curveball that really got her excited.

I used 2 small (14 oz) cans of black beans, the juice from one lime, 1/4 cup of tahini, and a few peeled cloves of garlic.

Throw the whole mess into the food processor, and add olive oil and garlic until the whole mix makes sense. This is pretty much the delicate part of the process. More olive oil helps thin the mixture, which also helps it mix better. So I add it a bit at a time, because it's important to have a good consistency.

The first time that I made it were in the middle of a hummus making binge for a party we were having at our house, and I got the garlic balance right. Ariel took one bite, and got very excited. This past Saturday I got the garlic balance right, and Ariel was very excited.

The last time I made this hummus, I did NOT get the garlic balance right. I peeled a few garlic cloves, threw them in without thinking, and called it done. Way too much garlic. Ariel was not excited.

Add the cloves in one at a time, let them mix in, taste, and add again as necessary. This is very important. Good hummus has a lot of garlic, and it can approach the limits of what most people consider to be in good taste. So it's important to take things to that limit, but not beyond.