The Hummus Among Us

During the summer months, there seems to be a low on the amount of culinary exploration that happens at my house. Now that the air has turned colder and the leaves are changing, I'm certain that will be changing soon.

A co-worker of mine recently had a old copy of Cooks Illustrated and she showed me a recipe for hummus. Being a big fan of Middle Eastern food, I had to try it. I have made it twice so far and each time the hummus came out rich and creamy. The keys: use the correct ingredients and build an emulsion with the beans and the tahini/olive oil.



3 tablespoons lemon juice (juice from 1 or 2 lemons)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons tahini
1 14 oz. can of garbanzos or chick peas, drained and rinsed
(I used Bushes Beans, C.I. recommended Goya, but they did not have that brand in my supermarket)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch of cayenne pepper

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine lemon juice and water. In another bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil and tahini. Set aside.

In a food processor, add the beans, garlic, salt, cumin and cayenne pepper. Process beans for around 15 seconds or until they are a course grind. Scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl. With the food processor running, drizzle in the water/lemon juice mixture through the shoot of the food processor. Let the mixture combine for around 1 minute. Stop the food processor and scrape down the sides. start the food processor again and drizzle in the olive oil/tahini mixture. Run the food processor until the mixture is smooth, around 15 seconds.

Transfer mixture to a serving bowl and cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer. Serve drizzled with olive oil and warm pita bread.

Ceviche de Camarones

Last summer my wife and I went to Ecuador to meet up with some old friends of hers and have some down time. She was an exchange student there over 15 years ago and she had wanted to return for a long time.

Although we did not get to any cevicherías while we were there - we spent all of our time in the highlands of Quito and Riobamba - I've always wanted to try a fresh fish ceviche. When I suggested to her that we make a ceviche de pescado, she asked that we make a shrimp ceviche. If you don't know anything about ceviche, the fish is "cooked" in the acid of lime juice. With shrimp ceviche, the shrimp is cooked with heat and marinated in the lime juices. Being that Chicago is not really known for its fresh seafood, I agreed and we went the latter route.



Ceviche de Camarones

1 lb of shrimp
10 limes, juiced
2 roma tomatoes, seeded
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
red onion, sliced thin
finely chopped cilantro

If using raw shrimp, peel and de-vein. in a pot of boiling water, cook shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly pink. remove from water and move to ice bath to stop cooking. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, cover and stick in a fridge for at least a 1/2 hour. The more you allow the flavors to interact, the better it will taste!

On the tomatoes, peppers, onion and cilantro - use however much or little you like. I used 2 tomatoes, a half of each pepper, two or three slices of onion and just small bit of cilantro. The cilantro tends to overpower the other flavors, so I didn't want too much.

Asian Food Night

Last weekend Ali and I decided to stay in and cook. My brother and sister in-law gave me some spices and dutch cocoa from Penzey's - one of the spices they gave me was some saté seasoning so we made some chicken saté with rice and Chinese vegetables.

The chicken was easy - coat the pieces with the seasoning and put them on skewers. Because it's winter in Chicago, I decided to pull out the Foreman grill and cooked the chicken on it.

Skewering the seasoned chicken

The Foreman makes an appearance

We bought the veggies at Trader Joe's - precut and premixed We added some chinese eggplant and baby bok choy bought from Caputo's Market to add to the mix. I cooked those in a wok for a few minutes.

Cooking the veggies

The rice was cooked in a rice cooker (perfect every time!).

I also made some peanut sauce. Here's the recipe from the Food Network:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 scallions, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, chopped fine
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh gingerroot
1 cup water
1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes

In a saucepan heat oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook scallions, garlic and ginger, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer, stirring. Simmer sauce, stirring, until smooth and cool to room temperature. Sauce may be made up to 3 days ahead and chilled, covered. If sauce is too thick after chilling, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons hot water until sauce reaches desired consistency.


Yummy Peanut Sauce

The finished product?


The next post I'll put up the recipe for chocolate orange brownies!