#291 Lima Bean Hummus with Mint and Cilantro

Hello everyone, I've been away for a long time catching up on chores and out on new ventures.
But, today I've popped my head in  to say Hi!!  In today’s burgeoning world of blogs and online social media, it didn’t take much coercing for me to share a dip that some of you may find interesting. A Mediterranean puree of chickpeas with added flavors has gained so much popularity these days in all healthy cuisine. You probably have an idea what I am talking about- you guessed right it is the delicious and versatile dip aka "hummus"!!

Hummus is quite the favorite dip in my household and it's pretty easy to put together if there is a can of chickpeas available in the pantry. Roasted pepper hummus is the most popular, since it is widely used as a sandwich spread for roasted veggie wraps.  Veggie hummus wraps are easily tucked away in lunch totes or hummus can also be filled into celery sticks for a snack.  While trying out different beans for hummus, I ran into the Lima bean---- a nutritious bean full of folates, Vitamin B and to top it all a high percentage of protein. Although I think this bean does not get the attention it deserves a hummus is an easy way to get a heavy dose of all that nutrition! With an abundance of leftover herbs in the fridge I threw in Mint and cilantro and the resulting hummus was bright green and aromatic. So I had to share it with you. Here's how to make this royal green hummus.................

Ingredients: 1/2 lb cooked Baby lima beans 1 cup Mint leaves 1 Bunch Cilantro 1 Tblspn Tahini paste 1 Tblsn Lemon juice 2-3 cloves garlic 3 Tblspn EV Olive Oil 1 Green chili Salt and pepper to taste Water if needed.

Method: Add all of the ingredients except EVOO to a food processor or blender and slowly process the ingredients using 1 Tblspn of olive oil at a time add a little water if necessary. Do not blend or bring it to a smooth paste. Mix well when coarsely ground. Taste and season if needed with additional salt, pepper and top with extra EV Olive Oil. Enjoy!!

#93 Jewish Style Potato Vegetable Kugel

Kugel is a simple baked egg dish with subtle flavors that I usually made when the girls had friends over in elementary school. On days when Spring break projects or activities had to be a group activity, one of the parents took the responsibility of riding all kids over to their home until the respective parents could pick them up after work. This meant that little school going kids needed something substantial and fairly simple for the little tummies. I always insist on feeding children some form of carbohydrates for energy with a glass of milk, and so it was either pasta or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Often, when they got tired of eating the same thing, that's when I came up with something like a Kugel with applesauce, or pancakes and syrup. Kugels have loads of potato and egg which are perfect as an "after school snack" with applesauce.

I have been reading about Jewish festivals lately. Passover is the eight day festival celebrated by the Jews in early spring beginning on 15th day of the month of Nissan(around the month of April). So lets begin April with the commemoration of the emancipation of Israelites from slavery. It is said that Israel served many years of slavery to the Egyptian Pharoahs during which time they were subjected to backbreaking labor and unbearable horrors, so Moses was sent with a message from God which they ignored. But after a long struggle, the Israelites were chased out of the land and it is said that they fled in such a hurry that the bread they baked did not even have time to rise. Almost 600,000 people left Egypt on that day and began the journey to freedom. 

This day is celebrated in two parts--the first two days and last two days identify with the splitting of the Red sea and holiday candles are lit and sumptous meals are enjoyed on both days. The middle four days are semi-festive holidays--- to commemorate the unleaved bread that Israelites ate when they left Egypt and in respect they do not eat bread or leavened grain- or drink anything that contained a trace of wheat, barley, rye, oats spelt or any derivates.  On the two Seder nights matzah can be eaten.  This recipe is from Giora Shimoni's collection It piqued my interest since it is a much more healthier version than the Potato Latke. You will notice that this recipe calls for a large part vegetables to a very small part matzoh meal.  I also took a shot at cooking up fresh applesauce for the Kugel....

Ingredients:
•Vegetable oil spray
•2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
•1 large onion, chopped
•1 pound yellow squash, coarsely grated
•2 large carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
•2 large baking potatoes
•3 large eggs
•1 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
•1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
•1 teaspoon paprika
•1/4 cup matzoh meal
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously spray an 8-inch square pan or 7-cup baking dish with vegetable oil spray.
Gently saute the onion in the oil over medium-low heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Place grated squash and carrots in a large mixing bowl and add the onions.
Peel the potatoes and coarsely grate. Place in a strainer and squeeze out any excess moisture. Transfer the grated potatoes to the vegetables in the bowl. Mix in eggs, salt, pepper, parsley, paprika, and matzoh meal.
Heat the baking dish for 5 minutes in the preheated oven. Scrape the vegetable mixture into the hot pan. Lightly spray with vegetable oil and sprinkle with additional paprika for color.
Bake potato vegetable kugel about 1 hour until set and browned on top. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting shapes or just into squares to serve hot with applesauce.

Applesauce
Ingredients:
1 Apple
1/2 tspn Cinnamon powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
Method:
1. Cut the apple into small cubes and add to a small pan with water.
2. Cook well with brown sugar and cinnamon until soft and most of the water has evaporated.
3. Mash well with the back of a spoon and serve at room temperature.

#80 Game Day "Mini Me" Curried Lamb Sliders

This Sunday we gathered around the family room TV  to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers tackle the Green Bay Packers for Superbowl XLV.  NFL predictions were made by my colleagues, friends and family but we all saw the Green Bay Packers winning at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington TX. I have hosted many a Superbowl party at home but this time was quiet.

We had a couple friends join us to cheer and enjoy the game. This meant that everybody was looking for fine tasting finger food to accompany the hospitality. To be honest all of us stayed glued to our seats… some of us to watch the commercials----Yay!!, the halftime show and others to watch the actual gameJ. Ladies, I hope you all enjoyed the Doritos commercial as much as I did--- the one where the guy is taunting the pug and the pug takes his revenge? LOL!!!  Anyway, I had a small spread for the event with “small bites” and food you can nibble on while watching the game. Mostly store bought snacks.

While I was planning my "small bites" menu, some interesting questions like "what kinds of “Burgers” are out there in the food world?" and "how big can a colossal burger be?" piqued my curiosity. So I had to dig around and here's what I found-

The Wall Street Burger Shoppe on Wall Street, NY serves a burger with a huge price on it $175. Why you ask? It is made of Kobe beef and covered with foie gras, truffles and to top it all- a gold leaf. The mayonnaise sauce  also has a touch of truffle and gold leaf which explains the price…

Next, an absolutely ridiculous burger--- no I am not kidding .The Mallie’s Sports Bar in Southgate, Michigan serves up a 75 pound burger ---actually called“the Absolutely Ridiculous Burger” with a price tag of $499----- I hate it when they have prices like that. I don’t understand why they don’t just round it up to $500.

Then again, that is the reason it is called “Ridiculous” isn’t it? The size of the burger is enormous and you must order it at least 70 hours ahead. When you come in, you can bring about 30 friends to help you eat this hilariously huge burger.  If anyone has ordered one of these please feel free to share the story with me:)

While we are talking about large giant-size burgers let me say that mine are tiny “bite size” versions that I love to eat.simply because they are much easier to handle without the struggle of the toppings falling out of the buns at every bite.  I also piled up some fairly medium sized burgers for those with bigger appetites.

Ingredients:

Vindaloo Curry Paste- 1 Tblspns(Any curry paste may be used)

Onions Chopped very fine-1 onion

Ground Lamb-1 lb

Ginger paste- 1 tspn

Garlic paste-1 tsp

Green chilli-1 chopped very fine

Almonds- a ½ cup chopped fine

Mint and Cilantro- 2 Tblspns each chopped fine

Egg-1

Lime juice- 1 Tblspn

Yogurt- ¼ cup

Mayyonnaise- ¼ cup

Medium and Mini Buns-8

Salt and pepper to taste

Baby Spinach leaves and small tomato slices.

Method

1. Mix together the ground lamb, almonds, chopped onions and green chillies, garlic, ginger, curry paste and salt to taste.
2. Add most of the chopped mint and cilantro and mix well along with the egg. Save about 2 pinches for the spread.
3. Form into some medium and mini patties. Heat Olive oil in a skillet on medium heat and sear the patties about 45 seconds to 1 min on each side.
4. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.
5. Make the spread by whipping together the saved mint, cilantro, yogurt, mayonnaise, lime juice salt and pepper.
6. Slice the buns and toast lightly. Put a dollop of spread on the bottom half of the bun and then spinach, tomato & the mini pattie on top of it.
7. Place a small dollop of spread and  top half over the patti and pop one into your mouth,
8. If desired you can serve the slider with a cool cucumber salad.