Food Friday

Since I have had very little to share from my life lately because of my recent surgery, I have decided to share some on my recipes. It has always been very important to me that my family eats plenty of fresh vegetables and a variety of foods. I am not big believer in "kiddie food" so the kids regularly get exposed to international foods in small portions. Sometimes it is a hit and sometimes not so much but I would rather them try a grilled veggie couscous than be powering down the french fries everyday.

Here are two of my favorite "snacky" foods that are crazy easy to make. My recipes tend to have a cook until done component so I will try to estimate the amounts.

Hummus

1 19 oz can garbanzo beans
reserved bean liquid from can
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons Tahini
2 garlic cloves, minced fine
Olive Oil
Cumin

Blend together the beans, 1/2 the reserved liquid, lemon juice, Tahini, and garlic until smooth. Add more reserved liquid if necessary to get a creamy consistency. Serve each bowl of hummus with a swirl of olive oil and a good couple of sprinkles of cumin. Bean water is pretty salty so you should not need to add salt but if you think it does just add a dash of kosher salt.

*You can also add pureed roasted red pepper to the mix - nice flavor addition.

Chickpea Pancakes

chickpea (garbanzo) bean flour
chicken stock
spices
finely cut herbs or veggies

This one is kind of a throw together but a great side for ratatouille, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, or just by themselves if you pack them with veggies.

I take about a cup of chickpea flour, enough stock to make a pancake consistency, and then I just start throwing shit in. Minced garlic, grated zucchini, cumin, coriander, curry, basil, leftover spinach, garam masala, chili powder. Obviously not all at one time but experiment until you find the combo you like.

Then just cook like you would a regular pancake.