Black Bean Hummus

Hello and Happy New Year to you! I didn't really make a list of resolutions this year, but my wish for 2015 is to get more sleep at night! Things have a been a little crazy here. I had a rocking birthday celebration a week ago...just kidding. We actually had a dishwasher fire on my birthday. A fire seriously started in a running dishwasher and luckily my husband was home to get the fire out in a matter of seconds. If we weren't home when it happened, we wouldn't have a home anymore. Very scary. I will never run appliances again when out of the house. The only damage we had was a burnt counter top, a ruined Bosch dishwasher, and smoke residue that needed to be cleaned throughout the house. It's really hard not to have a dishwasher. I'm trying to resist the urge to cook and it's getting tougher. I did make a batch of this tasty hummus yesterday and it's the perfect thing to eat for lunch or to snack on. I like it better than the traditional hummus that is made with chickpeas. It's a little spicy and a great consistency. We ate it today with toasty chips and melted cheese...yum! This black bean hummus is easy to whip up and it tastes delicious. Enjoy!

Recipe for Black Bean Hummus

INGREDIENTS:

2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 Tbsp. of Tahini (sesame seed paste)
Juice of 1 lime
2 cloves of garlic
5 Tbsp. of medium salsa (I like the Kirkland-brand organic salsa from Costco)
2 Tbsp. of canola oil or olive oil
1/2 tsp. of kosher salt
1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper
2 tsp. of cumin powder
A couple pinches of smoked paprika
A few grinds of fresh black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Put all ingredients into the bowl of  food processor and pulse until smooth. Put in an airtight container and refrigerate for a couple hours before serving. Serve with warm tortillas, quesadillas, tortilla chips, or veggies. 

Quinoa, Corn & Black Bean Wraps (or dip)

The other week I went over to a friend's house for a quick visit. She had made a yummy quinoa dip that we ate with chips, and she told me she would email me the recipe. I made the dip at the beach for lunch two times, and then this week I made it for dinner - but I served it in tortillas to make wraps. After making it for dinner, I planned on taking a picture the following day for the blog. Well, Greg had eaten the rest of it for lunch - so I had no picture, unless I wanted to take a picture of the empty bowl he left out...!

I decided to make it again this weekend. Luckily it's really easy to make and doesn't take much time to prepare. I love this meal because it's super healthy and filling. You can serve it for dinner or you can serve it as an appetizer with chips. Greg and I ate it with chips yesterday for lunch. It makes a lot, so if you make it as a dip, consider serving it at a party! Enjoy.

Recipe for Quinoa, Corn & Black Bean Wraps (or dip)

INGREDIENTS:

We ate the meal as a dip for lunch the next day! 

1 cup of quinoa, cooked and cooled
2 cans of black beans, drained of juices
Corn kernels from 3 medium ears of corn
3 limes, juiced
1 tsp. of olive oil
1/4 tsp. of kosher salt
1/8 tsp. of cumin powder
a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup of fresh cilantro leaves, torn in smallish pieces
1 cup of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 - 2 avocados, chopped in 1-inch chunks
6-inch soft flour tortillas (if doing wraps)
Your favorite tortilla chips (if making as a dip)

DIRECTIONS:
Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Once quinoa is fully cooked and drained of excess water, pour it in a separate bowl and set aside to cool.

While quinoa is cooling, use a shearing knife to carefully cut the corn kernels off the cob. Combine the black beans and corn kernels in a large bowl. Once the quinoa has cooled, add it to the bowl with the beans and corn. Add the juice of the 3 limes to the bowl. Add in the tsp. of olive oil. Sprinkle the mixture with the kosher salt and cumin powder. Add in a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Add in the 3/4 cup of cilantro leaves. Stir the mixture to combine all of the ingredients. Cover the bowl, and set in the fridge for about 45 minutes (to allow flavors to meld together). Right before serving, chop up the tomatoes and avocado and add to the bowl. Mix.

If serving wraps, spoon 2 - 3 tablespoons of the mixture down the middle of a tortilla. Sprinkle with extra salt, if desired. Fold the tortillas and serve.

If serving dip, sprinkle the mixture with extra salt, if desired. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

Recipe Adapted from: Foodie Gone Healthy

NOTE:
If you plan on eating more for leftovers the next day, it is a good idea to actually not add the tomatoes and avocados to the entire mixture. Just top the wraps or dip with the tomato and avocado before serving. Tomatoes and avocados don't hold up too well in the fridge overnight! Add extra tomato and avocado the next day before serving again.

*Love quinoa? You might like this CPK-inspired quinoa salad with arugula.*

Tomatillo & Corn Salsa

Ever since I was introduced to homemade tomatillo salsa, I have been craving more tomatillo recipes! I recently learned how wonderful tomatillo salsa is, thanks to the sweet potato taco recipe that Paladar restaurant shared with me. 

Let me tell you a bit about the tomatillo. The tomatillo belongs to the tomato family. It looks like a small green tomato, but it has a paper husk around it. It has an amazing flavor, with subtle hints of lemon, apple, and herbs. Yummy! 

Corn pairs very nicely with the flavors of the tomatillo. If you get fresh corn, it is in season right now, so it is full of sweetness. I enjoyed this salsa with some grilled quesadillas, and I bet it would also taste great with your favorite tortilla chips. Enjoy! 

Recipe for Tomatillo & Corn Salsa
INGREDIENTS:
4 medium tomatillos, husks removed
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, stems and all

2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and deveined
Corn kernels, from 6 cooked ears of corn (or from one 10-oz package of frozen sweet corn, cooked)
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and Pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Put the tomatillos, cilantro, and jalapeños in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until it reaches a salsa-like consistency. Pour into a serving bowl.

If using the frozen corn, cook according to package directions. Drain completely and cool.
If using fresh corn, follow this tutorial on how to get corn off the cob; if needed.

Add the corn into the tomatillo mixture, and squeeze in the lime juice. Mix, and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Serve with quesadillas, tortilla chips, or anything else that you can think of! 

Homemade Hummus Dip for a Sailing Trip

Mmm, hummus! I love hummus because it taste good AND it is healthy, which is a total bonus in my book. I had never attempted to make homemade hummus before, but with the help of Pinterest, I decided to give it a try. I'm so glad that I did! Hummus can be pretty pricey at the grocery store and the small containers often get eaten quickly, so making it at home will save you some money. It is also simple to make- much simpler than I thought it would be.
Some of you may know that my husband, Greg, would rather be sailing than doing anything else in the world. Although this sometimes bothers me, at the same time it is pretty cool to have a husband that knows so much about the wind, waves, and open sea. Recently we went on a sailing cruise to the quaint Eastern Shore town of Saint Michaels, Maryland.  It takes a good 5 hours to get out there by sailboat because it is 20 miles across the Chesapeake Bay, and we wanted to have lots of food for the trip. Hummus dip was something that I thought would be great during the sail, so I whipped some up before we left and it was thoroughly enjoyed by both of us.
We had a great time in Saint Michaels. We went on walks, ate some amazing sushi, stopped by an ice cream shop, and fell asleep to the waves and wind rocking our sailboat, Liahona.
And, we ate hummus - what a perfect weekend!

Homemade Hummus Dip Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 ounces of freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided (about 2 - 3 lemons)
1/3 cup of tahini paste (can usually be found in the ethnic aisles of grocery stores)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. of Extra-Virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp. of cumin powder
1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper
1 tsp. of kosher salt
1/3 cup of water

DIRECTIONS:
Put 1 1/2 ounces of the lemon juice and all of the other ingredients EXCEPT for the chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor. Blend for 5 seconds. Add in the chickpeas to the mixture and pulse for about 15 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add in the remaining lemon juice to the mixture and pulse for a few more seconds.
Transfer hummus in to a bowl and cover. Put in fridge for at least 2 hours (to allow the flavors to meld together).
If desired, drizzle hummus with a little olive oil before serving. Eat with your favorite veggies, crackers,  breads, or anything else you can think of. Enjoy!

*Recipe adapted from various sources.

Attempting to sail the boat. It was rather windy!

Super Salsa!

Tomato season is here, and to me that means it is time to make LOTS and LOTS of homemade salsa. I absolutely love homemade salsa. When I was young, I would always look forward to the summer time because my mother would make many batches of salsa - and the hotter it was, the happier I was. The only thing that was missing from my mom's salsa was the onions, since my dad is pepper and onion intolerant. 
A few years ago, I started to experiment with different salsa recipes. My salsa would almost always turn out to be too sweet, too salty, or too watery. It was rare if it turned out to be just right,  but I finally found a really great salsa recipe. It is chunky, spicy, and full of flavor.
I think you will really like it too - enjoy!

Super Salsa Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
2 jalapenos - roughly chopped, deveined, and seeded (I usually do not take all the seeds out, because I love heat. This is based upon your own heat threshold preference)
3 cloves of garlic, cut in half
1 14-oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 of a small yellow onion
2 Tbsp. of red wine vinegar
3 large tomatoes
1 Tbsp. cumin powder

1/4 tsp. of cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. of kosher salt
1 Tbsp. of cilantro leaves

juice of 1 lime

DIRECTIONS: Add the jalapeno and garlic to a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped, then scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl. Add all of the other ingredients to the food processor. Pulse in short pulses until the salsa is at your desired chunkiness. Put in a bowl, cover with a lid, and put in the refrigerator for a few hours before using (to allow the flavors to meld together).  Enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips.

Recipe Adapted from Annie's Eats

*This salsa works great as the filling in the vegetarian taquitos.*