La vie est belle

Harlow everyone!

Since this is our special weekend, I took the day off  today so that I could relax, bake and cook!  I whipped quite a bit of things this AM!

First I made homemade Jalapeno Hummus. I  like hummus (great for dips). However I don’t like to spend $6 for a small tub of it. Solution? Make your own!

Making your own hummus dip is incredibly easy! The basic is chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), garlic, lemon juice, salt and olive oil. Jalapeno is the add-on.

Garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas) have a delicious nut like taste and buttery texture. They provide a good source of protein that can be enjoyed year-round and are available either dried or canned.

I re-filled my hummus tub. I got two tubs! Definitely so much cheaper :)

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 (410g) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil — I probably added less than that as I didn’t measure
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro — I skipped this
• 3 jalapeno peppers

Method

Place garlic in a food processor and process until minced, about 10 seconds. Add beans, lime juice and salt. Process into a puree. With the processor running, slowly add olive oil in a steady stream through the feed tube. Process until mixture thickens, about 1-2 minutes. Add cilantro and jalapeno and pulse throughout, about 10 seconds. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

***

Next thing I made was big bowl of Beet Corn Salad.

I have  not eaten beets for probably over 3 years (or more)!!  I like beets (though not a big fan) but I don’t know the reason why it took me so long to buy some!  O_o

Filling: 1 beet (boiled), 1 cup of corn, 4 small diced tomatoes, 2 hard boiled eggs, roasted nuts of your choice

The husband doesn’t like beets :D  After 9 years together, TODAY (only after having made the salad) I learned he has never eaten beets in his life — I am pretty sure he had but maybe can’t remember! I believe he won’t be able to tell if I secretly add some beets to his raspberry strawberry smoothies next time!

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And finally, I made double chocolate pudding which I’m keeping for tonight! Will post recipe another day.

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Some eats over the last few days.

Microwaved corn egg

Words of Caution when microwaving eggs: Eggs micro-cooked in their shells with EXPLODE!  Even out of the shell, eggs may explode in the microwave because rapid heating causes a buildup of steam. Always use a wooden pick or tip of a knife to break the yolk membrane of an unbeaten egg before micro-cooking to allow the steam to escape.

Lemon-Baked Salmon

Baby Spinach in mild creamy cheezy sauce

Baked Sweet Potato Fries – still a hit

Have a nice weekend everyone!!

Tags: baking, beets, chocolate, Food, healthy, hummus, salad

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 13th, 2010 at 1:37 pm and is filed under Food, Me 2 U. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.