Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Things I Am Loving This Week

It's been a few weeks since my last Things I Am Loving This Week post, (those mostly food-related things I am enjoying and want to share), so I thought I better get busy and find some.

First up...I love hummus and after making my own homemade tahini the other day, I decided to use some in some hummus. Now I'll admit that I make a good hummus, but it usually involves opening a few cans of garbanzo beans and a jar of tahini. For this one I cooked dried chickpeas and along with the homemade tahini and some yummy roasted garlic, made a big old batch of delicious hummus. I have been enjoying it all week with warm flat bread, cut veggies and tortilla chips. It is amazing that with a little extra effort, how much better it tastes than my normal hummus and especially better than store-bought.


Hummus with Homemade Tahini
by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes about 2 cups) (I doubled the recipe)

2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid)
1/4 cup tahini (recipe here)
2 cloves roasted garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
olive oil as needed
salt and black pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients except the olive oil and reserved cooking liquid from beans in food processor. Add a combination of bean cooking liquid and olive oil until the desired consistency is achieved. Serve chilled or at room temperature.


I am linking this hummus to Two For Tuesdays hosted by girlichef and some other wonderful bloggers and featuring real, wholesome and homemade food.



I also love cookbooks, libraries, and library sales that sell used cookbooks. Although I vowed not to attend the giant Friends of the Library book sale because I really do not need more cookbooks for obvious reasons, I found myself nearby with 30 minutes to kill so of course I went. I set myself a budget of no more than $20.00 and ended up with a small stack of books for $11.52--not too shabby! ;-)


What did I buy? A book on Indonesian Cookery published in 1963 ($3), a book on dessert sweetened with fruit juice purees ($1), a pressure cooking book ($2), the cookbook from a favorite Bainbridge Island WA diner ($2), Better Homes and Gardens "Best Buffets Cookbook" from 1974 ($1)--had to buy that one because of the cover picture--loving the guy in the turtleneck and leisure suit. ;-) Last but not least, two books from famous British cook, Delia Smith: Summer and Winter ($1 each). Not bad huh? I already have multiple recipes tagged, and it is for the local libraries--always a good cause.


Finally who doesn't love house guests that come bearing chocolate?! My friends Jonathan and Dale came for a too-brief visit recently and brought me a stack of Theo chocolate bars. Love that! The Madagascar 74% dark chocolate ended up in my Frozen Hot Chocolate (delicious!) but I have been enjoying the other ones bit by bit. The Spicy Chili is especially good--just the right amount of heat. Ahh chocolate... the quickest way to my heart.


So those are the Things I Am Loving This Week.

How about you? What things are you enjoying?

15 comments:

  1. I just made hummus last night! No homemade tahini though...I need to finish the jar I have first before I can allow myself to start making my own. Yours looks fantastic though! Good texture.

    That cookbook collection looks awesome! you really cleaned up.

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  2. Whoa, back up. You made tahini? I've got to catch up on my blog reading. That is awesome! And here I thought I was doing good making my own hummus from dried chickpeas. Ha, ha!

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  3. LOVE hummus! I love making it and adding my own flavors. Ok, I am drooling now.

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  4. Your hummus sounds delicious and it looks like it has wonderful texture. All those books caught my eye as well. I love library book sales. Better than half my cookbooks have made it to the house that way. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

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  5. How fabulous!! First off, I adore hummus and thanks for bringing it to T4T this week. Second...awesome cookbook bounty! That totally rocks. And chocolate, of course...always love chocolate, YUM ;)

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  6. Your hummus rocks! This recipe sounds nice because you can use the bean cooking liquid to thin the mixture instead of adding in loads of olive oil. Seems like it would lighten it up quite a bit, which is always a plus because when it comes to hummus I like to eat it by the trough-full - LOL!

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  7. Now, library book sales, that's a great idea.
    I just checked and the library in my town held one in May. Just 11 months to wait. ;)

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  8. And I thought that we couldn't really improve on our hummus! It hadn't occurred to me for us to make our own tahini. Great idea!

    -Elizabeth

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  9. I went to a library book sale a few weeks ago too - came home with more than I intended! I bet your hummus was extra delicious with the homemade tahini and dried beans. I made tahini once before too - couldn't resist eating it with a spoon!

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  10. Deb! you are a girl after my own heart when it comes to hummus and tahini! what joy they bring due to their filling, healthy and creamy nature! Perfect for dips and good on hot pasta as well! Thanks for sharing the real food love at the two for tuesday recipe blog hop! :) Alex

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  11. I love the things you're lovin'! Hummus, books, and chocolate are definitely on my own list of most loved things! Your hummus sounds absolutely yummy! And I'm so glad that you added it to our Two for Tuesday blog hop! :)

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  12. I am loving my choc madeleines I made he he wow your hummus looks great and would love to see some Indonesian recipes on here hint hint!

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  13. Very impressed that you made your own tahini! Homemade hummus is so good, I love dipping carrots and celery in it.

    I'd love to hear about any of the recipes you try from the cookbook you bought "Sweet without sugar". The more I read, the more I'm convinced that sugar is responsible for deteriorating health in our culture.

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