Live Hummus with Fermented foods

This is how I make hummus. All the fermented things add natural probiotics to the diet and act as a natural preservative. I recognize you might not have all these things in the house, so feel free to substitute, and tell me what happens!

*Try this with white beans, black beans, fava beans, and other legumes.

Into a food processor, add:

• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic (I use pickeled garlic from making cucumber pickers)

Chop garlic with seasoning.

Add:

• 4 cups cooked or sprouted chickpeas, a.k.a. garbanzo beans, that's two cans -
  SAVE THE WATER/cooking liquid, save a few chickpeas for garnish.
• About 1/16 (1"x1" piece) of a preserved lemon
• 1.5 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about half a small lemon)
• 1 Tablespoon live pickle juice (optional)

Blend until smooth.

Add:

• About 1/4 cup (2-3 oz) water from chickpeas
• 2 Tablespoons Tahini paste
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Garnish with with extra chickpeas, a drizzle of olive oil, and a little fresh, quality cumin or zaatar.

Chickpeas are high in fiber and iron, and have been shown to help regulate blood sugar. Hummus is an excellent way to turn some raw vegetables into a hearty snack.

Beans - Stop the music

I've been thinking about beans. Have you heard of the Paleo Diet or the Caveman Diet?  The idea is that our bodies were better off eating a pre-agricultural diet. I watched a little video intro to the diet and I remember an argument against eating beans something along the lines of, "since you have to soak them and boil them to make them edible, that's a sign our bodies weren't meant to eat them." That just isn't a good enough argument in my book.

I believe there are A LOT of problems with the diet of most people on earth. However, I also believe it is possible for humans to evolve and that different cultures may have evolved to eat and digest different regional menus.

I recently read a post from Whole New Mom about de-gasing your beans using Ajwain and Epazote. It really got me thinking about digestive aids different cultures have developed to accompany their regional cuisine.

I posted on the Israel-Food Yahoo! Group asking if anyone had tried Ajwain and Epazote when cooking beans, if it was available in Israel, and what it is called.  No one had found it in Israel, but I did get some interesting answers I would like to share.

Roasted Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)

This is so tasty and easy! You can snack on them with your hands, put them on salad, or just eat them plain with a spoon.

1. Rinse a can (or two or three) of chickpeas.
2. Put them in a zip-top bag or bowl with olive oil.
3. Season generously. I used curry powder and salt. Mix well.
3. Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast on high until they take on some color, 15-20 minutes.

Alternatively, soak dry chickpeas overnight, dress, and roast at 400 F / 205 for a little over an hour.

For a great Good Eats episode, check out "Pantry Raid XIII: Destination Chickpea."

Red Beans and Rice in the Pressure Cooker

My version was mild enough for every member of my very white family.  Even both my picky kids liked it and asked for seconds and thirds!  Look at the end for tips to spice it up and a low-glycemic version.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 red onions
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• cherry tomatoes (or other ripe or canned, drained tomatoes)
• 1-2 dry bay leaves
• 1-2 large dry hot peppers - seeded, no need to chop or pre-soak
• 
• dry or fresh chopped thyme
• 1 cup long-grain brown rice, rinsed
• 1 cup red/kidney beans (See step 1 for soaking tips.)
• 3.5 cups water or broth, plus water for rinsing and soaking
• smoked paprika
• salt

Odds & Ends Afterlife: Five Bean Soup

Last week I made a hearty. delicious soup while shooting the most boring 15 minutes of video footage known to man.  I kept the soup and scrapped 13.5 minutes of video.  I added salt to the remaining 2.5 minutes, and here it is:


video url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f94nRxNeU_0

Soup is a great way to use up little bits of grains or legumes that aren't enough for a full serving.

Black Bean Dip & Pita Chips

At the end of my Mom's visit a couple weeks ago we were down to some whole wheat pita that was going stale and some of the more shelf stable veggies.  I realized in the afternoon that we didn't have much to eat, so I started soaking some raw beans.  That evening I simmered them and then added onions, carrots, garlic, a couple mushrooms, and a couple sprigs of rosemary that was about to go bad.  About half the mixture I left as soup with mild seasonings and half the mixture with less liquid I blended in the food processor with a mixture of chili powder type spices and middle eastern spices (like cumin), and of course, salt (no pun intended).

For the pita chips, I cut each pita like a clock into 6-10 sections, then split each apart.  I rubbed each side with a little olive oil (spray works great) and toasted it in the oven.  The dish was a big hit.  Even my kids said it was "super yummy."