Blog Archives
Super Smooth Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Sometimes I feel silly buying things in the grocery store that can easily be made at home. Other times I’m lazy and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Hummus is one of those things (like pomegranate seeds) that have huge markup at the store for the sake of convenience.
Since I’ve found a hummus recipe I like, I’ve vowed to (almost) never buy hummus at the store again. This hummus comes together in a food processor and it makes more than twice the amount that a standard container holds. It’s very creamy and smooth and it is easy to add flavors to. I had a jar of roasted red peppers and mixed some in while this was processing.
Dig in with chips, crackers, or pita bread. This is also a great, flavorful spread on a sandwich or wrap.
The “Hapa” Age of Reason
My fiance (how weird to say that?!) and I recently returned from a vacation to Brooklyn & Philadelphia. One of the many souvenirs we brought back were these ‘Elemakule Tiki Bitters from a shop called Whisk. They are quickly becoming our new favorite add-in to new and tried-n-true cocktails. Last weekend Dan whipped up this refreshing drink using some shiso I snagged from our pitstop in New Jersey’s Mitsuwa Market on the way from New York to Philly. Shiso is nearly impossible to find in the DC area, so I always bring some back whenever I can go to a Japanese-centric mart. Unfortunately, since it’s so precious I want to keep it for something special and often times it ends up going bad!
Make this “hapa” version of a drink called the “Age of Reason“–hopefully it will help you survive the current heat wave and kick-off the weekend right.
Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes with Trefoils™ Cookie Crust
The baking with Girl Scout Cookies® saga continues! Trefoils™ are sometimes seen as the plain, boring cookies that you always have extra boxes of after a booth sale. My sister had an extra box of Trefoils™ from last year and gave them to me on the condition that I bake something with them. Also, did you know that February 8th is National Girl Scout Cookie Day?
I was a little burned out on chocolate, as crazy as that may sound, so I wanted to make something for my office for Valentine’s Day that was decadent, but lighter. I made my Mini Blackberry Cheesecakes recipe and replaced the blackberries with blueberries. I also replaced the vanilla wafer cookies with the buttery, fragrant Trefoils™ and added some almonds in too (omitting the almond extract in the original).
It was easy to convince my office-mates to try these treats. The fruit on top makes it “healthy”; they’re bite-sized; they have Girl Scout Cookies® in them, which makes them “limited edition”. The crust on these are delicious and it goes well with the tanginess of the cheesecake and the tart berries.
Feel free to sub your favorite fruit on top or replace the cookies with what you have on hand. I had some extra filling and crust and swirled in some chocolate chips and crunchy cookie butter for a rich Valentine’s treat.
Pork Souvlaki with Tzatziki
Tzatziki
I got the idea for this recipe from Serious Eats. This recipe “passes”, and gets to be written in the real Recipe book!
The main part that I kept over-looking was the “marinate over-night” part, so just to let you know, you need to marinate this over night!!! Okay, now that that’s over. This was served with red lentils cooked in chicken broth with some sprouts and roasted red pepper and toasted naan. Sounds good, right? The lentils were bad, but everything else was delicious!