Archive | June 2015

Library Trip

Jun30

Recently went to my local library to renew my library card. I went to a different branch than where I originally signed up. My daughter and I were walking around afterwards to see what they had on their shelves. Having come back from my Japan trip last October/November, I felt drawn to the travel section.  How could I resist seeing what they had for my next grand adventure. I found this book among the shelves and had to recommend it. While not a true cookbook, it fell into travel section. It has wonderful pages of photos, recipes, places to see and what I should try while there. It gives names of resturaunts, special events, festivals and markets to visit. It covers a plethora of cuisine in exotic places and regional faire. I am already making a list of some of these places to see in the future. It’s almost a bucket list book for every food lover out there. I have to admit I am excited to try out some of the recipes in the book as well.  So check out “Foodlover’s Guide to the World” it’s a Lonely Planet book.

 

Afternoon Lunch & A Long Break

Jun19

Today I made a nice light lunch and realized that I had not blogged in what seems forever. It is crazy because I have all these food things to blog about and have been cooking up a storm as of late. For a while this year I was by myself and had a hard time getting inspired to cook for just me. I read tons of recipes, searched Pinterest like a crazy woman and even took cooking classes. Normally I do not mind cooking for myself because I love food way to much. I guess it was the case of uninspired. Fear not I am no longer uninspired. I went out today and bought myself a new planner to help keep me on track for blog post and am in the middle of working on my blog binder. Very excited when I realized it has officially been a year blogging and looking forward to many more years ahead.

Today’s lunch was homemade hummus with veggies and pita chips. While this is not a new recipe it is one that I get asked for most often. It is one of those throw it all together and does not have precise measurements. It is cooking by feel and taste.

I use the following and mix it all in my food processor.

1 tablespoon of sesame seeds

2 cans Garbanzo beans (I like Bushes brand best)

olive oil

kosher salt

garlic powder

onion powder

paprika(couple of dashes)

Lightly toast sesame seeds in frying pan, remove and put into processor. Add 1/2 can beans and drizzle of olive oil. Turn on high to blend. Once mixed add rest of beans and another drizzle of olive oil. If you like really light hummus then use 1/2 can water to get lighter mixture. spice to taste buds. I like it very salty, so this will be where you will have to play with mixture to your taste. You can add little bit of lemon juice if you want a light zing to it as well. I put a little bit of paprika in the hummus as well as garnish on top. When done I also drizzle little bit of olive oil on top. If out of sesame seeds I have sometimes substituted sesame oil for the flavor. This is a recipe you can really play with on flavorings to your taste buds. Today I had with Stacy’s Pita Chips and nice veggies. It was very light and easy to make.