Hummus

Ingredients

2cups (1 ¼ pound) of dried chick peas ( garbanzo beans)

1 tablespoon of baking soda
¼ cup of tahini (sesame paste)
2 to 3 lemon juiced

¼ cup very cold icy water if needed
Salt

Olive oil for garnish

Sort through the chickpeas before you boil them to remove any disfigured or bad chickpeas.

Soak the dried chickpeas overnight with a lot of water (cover them completely, use twice the amount of water vs. the volume of chickpeas).

The next day, rinse the chickpeas well with cold water.


Fill a big (8 quart) pot with plenty of water, using the same amount as when you soaked them. Add the baking soda, and bring to the boil.

When the water is boiling turn the heat down and simmer until the chickpeas are cooked, 60 to 90 minutes. Remove froth with a skimmer as needed.

To test for doneness remove one chick pea with a spoon and smash  between thumb and index finger if its tender its done!

Take the pot off the heat and put it under the cold water tap. The cold water will shock the skins into cracking so that they will easily come off and float to the surface. In order to allow them to float up you need to gently stir the chickpeas and as the skins surface remove them with a slotted spoon. Keep stirring a little and removing the skins that surface until you’ve removed most skins.

Now strain the chickpeas and leave them in a colander to drain.

Place the tahini and lemon juice in the food processor add the chickpeas mix until you have a smooth paste, but still a little firm. If it’s too thick add little by little the icy cold water. Finally add salt to taste.

Serve with olive oil and pita bread.

Serves 4 to 6 people

Grilled Eggplant with Tomato-Basil Relish

2 large eggplants trimmed from stem and cut ½ inch thick

4 ripe tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

5 tablespoons olive oil or more

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 scallions thinly sliced

1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 bunch finely chopped fresh basil plus fresh leaves, for garnish



Heat your grill to high or oven to 450.

Place the tomatoes in a bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Do the same with the eggplants. Place tomatoes and eggplant slices on the grill and grill until charred on all sides, and just cooked through, about 10 minutes. If using oven put on a sheet and spray with cooking oil and bake 10 minutes on each side. Remove from the grill place the eggplant on a platter and remove skin from the tomatoes and coarsely chop.


Put the chopped tomatoes in a bowl, add 3 tablespoons of oil, onion, vinegar and basil and gently mix until combined. Let sit at room temperature for flavors to blend. Serve eggplant and drizzle tomato relish on top.

Italian Green Beans, Loubie Bzet

For meatless Monday green Italian beans with tomato sauce is a great option. If you cannot find flat green beans in season, you can find them in the freezer section.



2 pounds of green beans trimmed and cut in bite size

3 – 4 big tomatoes peeled and chopped or canned crushed tomato

1 large onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic whole

½ cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon allspice



In a pot sauté onion till translucent add green beans and sauté till they change their color add garlic, salt and allspice and the tomatoes. Add water to cover beans, cover and cook over medium heat for 35 to 40 minutes or until beans are cooked and sauce has reduced and thickened. Serve cold with pita bread. Sahten!

Tuna Tartar

Here’s an appetizer to please a crowd. I buy grade A tuna frozen  for sushi. My family and guests always request it. It will sure impress even the non raw fish eaters!!!! Enjoy.




1 bag of good quality chips

1-pound fresh tuna cut into small cubes ¼ in

1 teaspoon of wasabi

3 Tablespoons oriental sesame oil

2 Tablespoons chives minced

5 Tablespoons of soy sauce or more

3 to 4 dashes Tabasco

Coarse salt and fresh black pepper



Mix tuna with sesame oil, chives, wasabi and Tabasco. Season with salt and pepper serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours.

Spinach and Rice with Yogurt (Spinach Fatte)

This is a meatless dinner that everyone I know enjoys. You can also make it with lamb or beef stew added to the spinach. The Fatte is assembled last minute and serve immediately otherwise the bread becomes soggy. Thanks for Tommy for taking a great picture!



Ingredients:

2 pounds fresh baby spinach rinsed

1 onion chopped

¼ cup oil

1 bunch of cilantro rinsed

1 tsp salt

Freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp red chili pepper (optional)

½ tsp cinnamon

1 juice of lemon

2 cups of long grain rice

Pita bread

½ cup Pine nuts fried with oil

1 pound yogurt



In a large pot sauté onion in oil till translucent. Add spinach and sauté add salt pepper and nutmeg until leaves are wilted. Chop cilantro and add to the spinach. Add ½ cup water and the lemon juice over cover and cook for 10 – 15 minutes.

Meanwhile make the rice with three cups of water.

Cut pita into ½ inch squares toast in oven till gold in color. Put in a bowl and sprinkle olive oil and set aside. In a small pan sauté pine nuts in a bit of oil or butter, set aside.

Mix the yogurt together with ½ tsp salt and ½ cup water.

In a large serving bowl layer the rice then the spinach and the yogurt over. Add the toasted bread and pine nuts over, and sprinkle with red chili pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Creamy Asparagus Soup

This recipe is adapted from a recipe in Gourmet magazine. I changed it a bit added some spice to it to give it a kick. It’s great for this time of year all you need is a pot and hand held blender and you will have a fancy restaurant style soup.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs fresh asparagus

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped

• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter or 3 swirls of olive oil

• 5 cups chicken broth preferably home made

• Leaves of 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

• 1/3 cup heavy cream

• Tabasco to taste

• A squeeze of fresh lemon juice

• Salt and pepper

Method

Cut asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces. Reserve some of the tops for garnish.

Cook onion in butter in a 4 quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add asparagus pieces and salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring 5 minutes. Add 5 cups broth, thyme, and simmer covered until asparagus is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove aspargus tips and set aside.

Purée soup with the hand held blender away from the heat, until smooth. Return to heat and stir in cream, Tabasco and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and fresh pepper.

Garnish with asparagus tips.

Serves 4-6.

Pickled Turnips

Very easy to make these turnips (kabiss lift) they are good with lentil dish Moujadara and with falafel, they are also good as appetizer. I like to eat them right out of the jar. The reason I make my own is because they are much better than store bought and they have a great crunch to them!

Ingredients:

2 pounds Turnips peeled and sliced thinly

½ beets for coloring

1 part (cup) boiling water

1part (cup) vinegar

1 Tablespoon kosher salt



Fill the turnips in jars add water and empty in a measuring cup. With a half the amount fill a pot with the kosher salt and let boil to dissolve, let cool. Add the rest of amount with vinegar. When cool add it to the jar seal and keep refrigerated for at least one week.

Baked Chicken and Potatoes

Easy chicken in the oven prep time 10 -15 minutes, bake and ready in no time. You can change seasonings omit or add vegetables to make it your own. Enjoy!



Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup canola oil

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh garlic and salt made a paste.

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme or oregano leaves.

• 1 tablespoons grated lemon zest.

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon.

• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes.

• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.

• 1 (3-pound) whole chicken, cut up into 4 pieces.

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

• Juice of 1 or 2 lemons freshly squeezed.

• 3 baking potatoes peeled and sliced into ½ inch slices

Whisk together the oil, 2 tablespoons of the garlic, 2 tablespoons of the thyme, 1 tablespoon of the lemon zest and salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and lemon juice in a large baking dish. Add the chicken and turn to coat in the oil. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Pre-heat medium size pan and with 1 Tablespoon of oil and brown potatoes and layer in a baking dish, add pepper and salt. Brown chicken on both sides and place over potatoes along with the marinade. Bake for 35-40 minutes until chicken is done. Serve.

Serves 4