Of Hummus

Dear Sonia,

Hey, long time no see!  I guess I was just waiting for a special occasion to make an appearance again, so here I am.

Remember the hummus-and-veggie-chip party we had the day I arrived in Oregon just over two months ago?  Deliciousness.  Nothing ever tasted as good to me as that hummus (though I think almost anything – no, not tomatoes – would have tasted fantastic just then, I was so happy to be back).

A couple days after I got home Mom and I went grocery shopping and we came across some half price hummus.  This prompted me to tell Mom about our hummus-and-veggie-chip party and she popped a container of it into our grocery cart, even if I was the only who really liked it.  A cheer-Teresa-up treat, you see.

Well, it turns out that Mom loved it too and in no time flat that little tub of hummus was ancient history.

Today I finally got around to making up a batch of my own and, according to Mom, it’s a lot better than the purchased variety.  I much prefer the texture of the homemade hummus myself.  Besides that, it costs a lot less this way.  AND if you cook your own chick peas instead of using canned ones… voila, no preservatives!

I know you like hummus (and it’s something you CAN eat!) so let me tell you how I made mine.  Remember, this isn’t a recipe, it’s merely a set of guidelines.

Love,

T

Easy Homemade Hummus

1/8 c. sesame seeds

2-4 garlic cloves (I used four… what can I say, I love garlic.  We don’t find it too strong.)

1/8 c. olive oil

2 19 oz cans chick peas

1/2 tsp salt

Toast the sesame seeds lightly in a nonstick frying pan, stirring constantly.  DO NOT let them burn.  Just sayin’.

Cut the garlic cloves in half.  Toss in the blender with the toasted sesame seeds and about half of the olive oil.  Blend until smooth.

Add chick peas, salt, and remaining olive oil.  Keep blending until smooth.  Add additional salt as needed.  YUM!

Quinoa Salad

Dear T,

For sometime I've been eyeing a bag of odd looking grain at Costco. I had had an pleasing encounter with the grain at a summer party and I was wondering if I could figure out how to concoct a similar dish at home. Last week I decided to give it a go. So after some price shopping and a trip to Winco, I had my kinnowah.....kinwah....keennowah.

I brought it home and stared at it for awhile. If I wasn't on a good first name basis with it, how could I cook with it? Kinenowah.....quinnowah.... Not to be deterred by formalities, I proceeded ahead with my experiment. A quick internet search showed me this funky named grain is boiled exactly like rice is. It is also healthier then rice as it is lower in carbs, higher in protein, and high in magnesium and iron. Rice. What a simple, nice name, easy on the tongue.

The salad recipe below is the results of my tinkering. If you serve it chilled it makes a great summer side dish. I'm looking for more ways to incorporate it into our meals and desserts. After all, what other cereal grain comes with it's own dinner conversation starter? "Hey Dad, guess how this is pronounced."

I hope you get a chance to enjoy it too. For the record, I did finally learn how to say it right.

From my kitchen to yours with much love,

~Sonia
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Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water

Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer until tender (~15-20 min). Do not stir.

*****
Cooked Quinoa from above
1 cup red table grapes
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup feta
1/3 cup diced black olives
2 tbsp olive oil

Mix the above ingredients in a bowl. Serve immediately or let chill until cool.

Enjoy!

Honey and Spice and Puddin'

Dear T,

Here is yet another invention of mine. It happened because I've not gotten over my pumpkin fix for this year. Often I turn to pumpkin pudding to satisfy my craving. I have been toying with how to make pudding healthier -namely replacing the refined sugar and maybe starch- without using those awful no-sugar pudding mixes. Anyways, I've discovered how to swap out the sugar for honey. In the process I inadvertently, er, *intentionally*, created this yummy concoction. It's half way through the process of making pumpkin pudding, but it was so good I wanted to stop there. Think of sugar plum fairies, spice cookies, and Christmas puddings :happy sigh:

Must Make and Much Love,

~Sonia

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Honey Spice Pudding

1/2 c honey
2 tbsp starch
1 1/2c milk
2 egg yolks lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tbsp butter

Put honey and starch in a pot. Mix until well blended. Add milk and stir constantly over heat until boiling. Boil 1 min until thickened. In a seperate bowl beat yolks and then *slowly* add half of the milk mixture stirring constantly to prevent egg yolk from curdling. Then add the egg yolk mixture back into the pot with the rest of the milk mixture. Bring to a boil again for 1 min, stirring constantly. Take off heat and add vanilla, butter, and spices to taste.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin, Naturally

Dear T,

Since I've taken on our meal planning I've been trying to find ways to make family favorites healthier. I've played around with less sugar, sugar subs, and lately -honey. Frankly I'm finding more and more ways to use honey and am very pleased with the results. It makes cookies chewier, desserts healthier, and adds an almost nutty flavor. So far my favorite tinkerings with it have been Honey BBQ sauce, chocolate chip cookies, and now this really wonderful sugar free pumpkin cream cheese pie.

I love pumpkin, but it's hard to avoid using sugar with it. Sugar subs simply taste fake, processed sugar sky rockets the empty calories, and less sugar (more custard-like pumpkin pie) is way too "eggy". So one evening I was determined to come up with something acceptable AND healthy. I eyeballed a few recipes and then faced the mixing bowl. With a slightly haphazard approach, I added and stirred and baked. Then the moment of truth -the taste test. It was amazing! I actually like it BETTER then other traditional pumpkin pies in flavor and texture. Creamy, full of deliciousness, not bland like pumpkin pies can be.

Forgive me if I bask in the excellent outcome of this experiment because they do not always turn out very well. ;) I must say this is definitely a win for the honey team. Go bees!

Anyways,
from my kitchen to yours with much love,

~Sonia

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Better Pumpkin Pie

Pie filling:

12oz can of pumpkin puree
8 oz cream cheese
1 egg
2/3 cup honey
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice mix (or just cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger)

Crust:
~1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
(or use gingersnap crumbs and skip the above crust ingredients)
~1/3 cup melted butter (or enough to make crumbs stick together)

Pie filling:

Cream cream cheese until light. Beat in egg until well mixed. Mix in the rest of the pie filling ingredients until smooth.

Crust:
Mix crumbs and spices together. Stir in butter until crumbs want to stick together. Press into the bottom of a greased deep dish pie pan (don't press up the sides). Pour pie filling in. Bake at 400 F for 15 min then reduce to 325 for 45 min more. Pie is done when knife inserted into center comes out clean.

All-Canadian Sweetness

Dear Sonia~

I think it’s about time my Canadian-ness showed its face around here, don’t you?

Mom and I were using up some scraps of pastry today and turned some of it into Butter Tarts.  “Why don’t Americans make butter tarts?” I wondered aloud.  “It’s not like they don’t have access to the necessary ingredients.”

So maybe you as an American can answer that for me.

Yes, these are insanely sweet and sticky and not at all good for you.  But every once in a while we insane Canadians just gotta have ‘em.

~your Canada Goose

*     *     *

1/4 c. butter, melted

1/2 c. brown sugar

pinch salt

1/2 c. corn syrup

1 lightly beaten egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

a few drops lemon extract

1/2 c. raisins

12 tart shells, unbaked

Whisk the first seven ingredients in a small bowl.  Stir in raisins.  Spoon mixture into tart shells, filling each about 2/3 full.  Bake at 350 F for about 20-25 minutes.

*Note: if you bake them in pastry-lined muffin tins the way we do, removing the tarts can be a challenge.  Be sure to do it as soon as they come out of the oven.

Cream Puff Memories

Dear T,

If memories were baked I'm pretty sure they'd turn out like an choux pastry. Light, delicate, and hollow so you could stuff all the good happy feelings inside.

One of my dear "little sisters", you know -I've talked about them before, recently asked for the cream puff recipe that I had made for the blissful New Years we spent together. It was a wonderful time since we hadn't seen them for many months. This recipe is a part of that memory. These little bites of happiness are worthy of their own memory though -talk about yumminess! Just close your eyes to the calories ;) I did :P But it was worth the price for the memories :)

Maybe we can make our own memories with this recipe someday too ;)

Love,

Sonia

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1c water
1/2 butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup flour
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line sheet pans with parchment paper, spray lightly. Set aside.

Boil water, butter and salt together in a large saucepan. Turn heat to medium.

Add flour all at once.

On low-medium heat, beat constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of pan for approximately 3-4 minutes.

Transfer mixture to a high-speed mixer with a stainless steel bowl.

Beat for 2-3 minutes on low speed with paddle attachment. This allows it to cool down while mixing.

Turn mixer to medium and add eggs one at a time, beating after each egg.

The dough is ready when it forms together and comes away from the bowl. This could take up to a total of 10 minutes.

Spoon pastry into large pastry bag or cookie scoop.

Pipe into eclairs or use small, medium or large scoops to make the shape you need, leaving a few inches between.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until the outside is golden brown. Then cut a 1" slit on one side of each pastry. Reduce heat to 375; bake pastries 10 min longer. Turn oven off; cool pastries in oven with door ajar.

Let cool before filling. Store unfilled puffs in a sealed container. These freeze well, making it easy to pop out a few when you need them.

Fill by tubing in pudding or whipped cream.

EAT 8)

A Little More Fall Flavour

Dear Sonia~

Mom and I first made this apple butter waaaay back when I was eight years old.  You know the American Girl dolls?  I’d gotten a box with Felicity paper dolls, craft book and kit, and a cookbook.  So of course I was interested in using my very own cookbook.  Even if I didn’t really like cooking.

Fast forward thirteen years.

I’m scheduled to have a surgery and the doctor says NO dairy and NO fats.

So what’s a girl to have for breakfast?  No yogurt, no milk, no cereal (because I don’t like to eat it dry the way you do, at least not for breakfast), no cheese toast, no bagels with cream cheese… I felt quite lost.

And then I remembered the apple butter we’d made years ago and decided to give it another try.  As I stirred the fragrant mixture on the stove, I knew I’d made the right decision.

I have to admit not all of the apple butter got eaten on toast the way I’d intended.  Many a time did I dip a spoon into the bowlful of apple butter that occupied a space in our fridge for no more than a week or two.  The flavour reminded me of apple pie… only there was no crust in the way.  Perfection.

Love~
T

*     *     *

3 c. sweet apple cider (we just use apple juice)

2 pounds apples (about 6 large apples)

1/4 c. honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp allspice

Measure the cider or juice into a large pot.  Bring it to a boil over medium heat and let it boil for 15 minutes.

While the cider is boiling, peel, core, and quarter the apples.  Add to the boiling cider.  Cover the pot and cook the apples over low heat until they are very tender, about an hour.  Stir them often while they cook.

Use a potato masher to mash the apples.  Stir in the honey and spices.  Turn the heat to low and cook the apple mixture uncovered for about 30 minutes, until it thickens.  Stir often.

Turn off the heat and let the apple butter cool for 15 minutes in the pot.  Spoon into jars (about 2 pints) and store in the refrigerator.