Cilantro Hummus!

Traditional hummus is one of my favorite things all year round. Whether I make or purchase it, there is almost always a container of it in the fridge. Hummus makes a great vegetarian protein snack with crackers (I especially love it with my flax crackers) or veggie sticks, and is an awesome spread on sandwiches. A favorite breakfast is simply a half a toasted gluten free bagel spread with hummus.

We love it plain or drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sumac or paprika. Chopped olives are my personal favorite, or addiction if I'm honest, these days.

My cilantro hummus is a spring and summer favorite.  It's creamy and cool and has a fresh pop of flavor. It takes just minutes to make and can be adjusted to your tastes easily.

Made as shown below it's very mild, at least with the jalapeños I use. If you like more heat, just add another jalapeño or switch to a pepper with more kick. Habanero is my favorite. The more cilantro, the better, as far as I'm concerned. I use a large bunch - about a cup and a half of washed leaves and stems. Cilantro has many health benefits so I'm always adding it to something I'm making.

This hummus is a great way to get your raw veggies in. Above I used daikon radish. I love the look of the perfect circles and crispy bite of the radish with the creamy hummus. Our veggie selection to the right wasn't the most exotic or beautifully sliced today but they were still delicious.

Cilantro Hummus is great as a spread on a veggie burger like my Chipotle Lime and Black Bean Burgers. My favorite crackers for this hummus are my Spicy Pepita and Almond Crackers which I like for a quick lunch. This combination also makes a nice appetizer with a lighter meal.

To really amp up the color and kick, spoon a little of Gabby's Green Sauce on top.

Cilantro Hummus

3 cups Garbanzo Beans
1 large bunch Cilantro, or enough to equal about a cup and a half leaves and stems
1 large Jalapeño, seeded
1 medium clove Garlic
1/4 cup Lime Juice
1/4 cup Olive Oil
Salt, to taste

While all ingredients can be put into a food processor at one time and blended, I like to use my Vitamix for an even creamier hummus.  If you use a Vitamix you will need to use the tamp to keep things mixing and moving to blend quickly. Just add all ingredients to the Vitamix at once and blend until smooth and creamy for about two minutes.

The flavor will improve as it chills so plan on letting it sit in the fridge an hour or two prior to serving.

Enjoy!

Happily shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays thanks to Linda the Gluten Free Homemaker!

Feta & Kalmata Cheese Spread

This Feta Kalmata Cheese Spread is so simple and delicious.

It's great on crackers, melts into warm crispy bread, tops a salad, makes an instant creamy sauce on hot veggies, can be mixed into mashed red potatoes and more.

The briny soft cheese, salty olives and seasoning adds layers of flavors and makes just about anything taste amazing.

Because it's so simple your ingredients matter. Use your favorite Feta, most flavorful olives and best olive oil.

Feta Kalmata Cheese Spread

14 ounces Feta in Brine
6 to 8 Kalmata Olives, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Oil Oil
1 teaspoon Organic Oregano, dried
Dash Organic Garlic Powder
Dash Black Pepper

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and mashed. Use right away, but the flavor improves as it mellows.

Tonight I'll be spreading it over some delicious focaccia.

Next time I make it I will likely add sun-dried tomatoes and some chopped artichoke hearts. I think that spreading that combination over a partially baked pizza crust would be awesome.

Don't forget to enter to win a pair of tickets to the Gluten and Allergen Free Wellness Event in Raleigh on August 9th! Comment on this post to enter.

Enjoy!

Happily shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays at Gluten Free Easily!

Olive, Garlic and Herb Dipping Oil!

If you have tried Laura's Garlic Herb Dip once, I bet you've made it several times. I still don't have the courage to add as many cloves of garlic as Laura does but we are hooked on that stuff.

It is absolutely amazing spooned over freshly baked crusty bread, but I love to drizzle it over grilled veggies, too.

The beauty of the recipe is that it really isn't a recipe. You just take a handful of fresh herbs of your choice and chop them up with some garlic, drizzle olive oil over the top and season.

Easy peasy.

Last week I had made a beautiful, crusty double loaf of Luce's New Italian Bread.

Charles Luce makes gluten free artisan bread so easy. I tweak the recipe ever so slightly and double it, baking it in a covered casserole instead of his baking bags. It comes out just right. The double sized loaf works better for my family.

We were getting ready to grill some veggies when I remembered Laura's dip.

I went outside to pick herbs and there just wasn't enough to make a nice amount so I grabbed a can of Santa Barbara Olive Company Olives. These are my favorite olives so only about 2/3 of the can made it into the dip. The texture and size of these olives are so perfect and they have several olives that are gluten free. A bonus is Santa Barbara is where my mom's family lived when I was young. The old mission on the label just makes me happy.

The result was really phenomenal. The olive texture and salty flavor worked so well with the garlic. The herbs I had on hand were fresh basil, mint, oregano and a tiny bit of chives. Any fresh herb you love works and the more flavors, the better. Because Laura loves olives I felt she'd approve of this addition. =D

We rounded out dinner with a roasted beet salad and it felt like the perfect summer meal.

Again, this really isn't a real recipe, but here's what I did.

Olive, Garlic & Herb Dipping Oil:

I chopped a handful fresh mixed herbs finely with 3 cloves of garlic.

When they were chopped I added about a cup of drained jumbo black olives and roughly chopped them.

I put the mixture in a bowl and covered with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I used freshly ground Himalayan Salt, Black Pepper and Hot Hungarian Paprika to season the dipping oil. We have kept extra dipping oil two or three days in the fridge.

Happily shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays over at Gluten Free Easily!

Enjoy!

Laura's Garlic Herb Dip!

Laura is a sweet sister in Christ I have known for quite a while but never had the chance to really get to know until recently. For this I must thank Marie. =D Laura is pretty amazing and talented and I've been blessed to get to know her more through our emails, produce section conversation and her blog.

Her most recent blog post is her Garlic Herb Dip and I made it the same day I read the post. I used chives I'd purchased but everything else was from our garden.  I totally chickened out on the amount of garlic and used only one clove for the smallish portion I made. Since only Marc and I were home that night it didn't seem like we'd need too much.  Two other changes - I was out of paprika so I sprinkled in a little sumac which was yummy.  A little dash of balsamic vinegar was a spontaneous decision and turned out to be really good.

The gluten free flat bread I made was probably my worst attempt ever (just look at it!) but it didn't really matter too much when each bite was dripping in olive oil and herbs. =D

The herbs I had on hand were a little different than what Laura used but it was absolutely amazing.  We spooned it on our veggies and even our salad and devoured the bowl in record time. I could have doubled or tripled it and I think we would have still finished it off.

Tonight I'll be making it again and plan to double the amount and add much more garlic. It will make the leftover mediocre flat bread delicious.

And how about the Cha Cha kitchen towel? Is that the coolest ever?  My equally sweet sister in Christ, Ruth, made a set for my birthday in happy colors for my kitchen. I am so blessed.

Killer Crab Dip!

Last night we had some good friends in for some long overdue catching up. We had decided on appetizers for dinner so we could just graze and talk. One of our appetizers was this crab dip.

Over thirty years ago I met two people who would become lifelong friends – Steve & Corrie. We met when he worked with my dad and we all had such a good time together - their parents made any gathering into a party – especially Corrie’s dad! My sons are still reduced to giggles when we talk about our last dinner with him! And I clearly remember Steve’s mom giving me a little bit of mothering advice during a Juvenille Diabetes walk when Marc was about four and acting crazy silly. Sadly, Corrie’s parents are no longer with us and Steve’s mom has passed, too. I am thankful for the memories of them and my life is fuller for having known them.

This recipe was Steve’s mom’s and I hadn't made it in twenty years. The smell, the taste – it instantly took me back in time. It is amazing that food is so powerful in emotional and physical ways. That a smell or taste can bring back such strong and wonderful memories is wild to me.  It’s important for me to be reminded of this so I have empathy for new Feingold families making big changes in their family’s diets.

Anyway, back to crab dip. Nothing could be easier to prepare. I made a few minor changes to cut the fat – while that wasn’t a problem in my twenties things are a lot different in my fifties!  I subbed half the cream cheese for fat free Greek yogurt and omitted the mayo originally called for. Tweaked the mustard and lowered the sugar. Tasted just as yummy to me as the original. Not the least bit "healthy" tasting and, in fact, quite decadent! 

Killer Crab Dip

12 ounces Cream Cheese (1 & ½ 8 ounce blocks)

12 ounces Greek Yogurt – fat free

¼ - ½ cup White Wine

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt & Pepper to taste

Melt all of the above over low heat, stirring occasionally. 

Add:

3 6 ounce cans Crab Meat

Mix and warm through.  Can be served warm or cool with your favorite gluten free crackers and/or mixed raw veggies.  

Enjoy! 

Luck for 2012

When we first moved to the south east we learned about eating black eyed peas and collards on January 1st for good luck.  I've tried to incorporate the tradition for years but never really succeeded in following through.  My family would much rather eat Mexican or Asian or Indian food than traditional southern food so I decided I'd have to skip Hoppin' John and collards and spice things up if this was going to work.

Pioneer Woman's site had a recipe that looked much more appealing than most. I wanted to streamline it a bit but definitely used the recipe for inspiration. A bean dip is always a hit here and this was no exception which made me feel pretty lucky.  From start to finish this recipe took ten minutes - most of which was heating the ingredients.  Even with the greens in the dip everyone liked it. In fact, someone here ate it with a spoon rather than chips.

Spicy Black Eyed Peas & Greens Dip

In a medium saucepan put:

2 cans Black Eyed Peas, drained

4 ounces Pepper Jack Cheese, cubed or shredded

1/2 cup frozen chopped Kale or Collards

1 teaspoon Hot Sauce of your choice - make sure it's gluten free

While heating over medium heat mash some of the black eyed peas while mixing all ingredients. Heat through until cheese is melted and everything is steaming hot.

Serve with chips or crackers.

Enjoy!