Roasted Eggplant Hummus

Tara who owns the blog The Foodie and The Family has recently changed her ways of eating by going grain-free and sugar-free AKA a primal diet. I’m really proud of her and her efforts to trying something new. If you check out her blog she has come up with some amazing recipes following her new primal diet. I don’t follow a primal diet but I’m all about changing it up once in a while. I know I need to incorporate more protein into my diet and her recipes have been very helpful.

She calls it eggplant hummus but it could also be called babaganoush. My father makes the best babaganoush (or eggplant salad as we like to call it). It has been a while since I had my father’s delicious eggplant salad and Tara came up with eggplant hummus. My father uses olive oil and real mayonnaise (this is probably the ONLY exception where I have mayo, I can’t stand mayo). A real babaganoush uses tahini which is ground up sesame seeds. Hummus also uses tahini to give it that nutty and creamy texture.

Since I didn’t have turmeric, I opted to use curry powder instead. I also thought 2 teaspoons of garlic wasn’t enough, so I used 2 huge cloves instead and made it extra garlicky. Our digestive system will thank us later. ;)

Roasted Eggplant Hummus
Adapted from The Food and The Family

Ingredients
3 small eggplants or 1 large
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (coconut oil would be good too)
Optional: whole sesame seeds and smoked paprika for garnish

Direction
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prick the eggplant(s) a few times with a fork and coat them in a bit of olive oil. Every 10 minutes turn the eggplant for 30 minutes and/or until fork tender. Cool in a plastic shopping bag or in a bowl covered in plastic wrap. This will create condensation and will help the skin peel away from the meat of the eggplant.

Peel the eggplant(s) once cooled and remove the stem/seeds. In a food processor, puree the eggplant(s) until smooth. Add in the garlic, tahini, curry powder, salt and pepper. Puree until combined. While the food processor is running, drizzle in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until combined.

We’ve been enjoying this dip on sandwiches as a spread or with fresh vegetables! I love adding it on top of salads and using it as a dressing. I topped it with raw sesame seeds and smoked paprika to bring it up another level! Plus it looks pretty. ;)

Enjoy,

Fallon

 

Drunk Watermelon + Hummus

I could not believe how fast 4th of July weekend went. I don’t even think I had a second to breathe? It was also the weekend I got my Vitamix from my parents! It is definitely an early birthday gift (my birthday isn’t until July 30th) but a well deserved gift in-deed. I’ve been using it at least twice a day. I’ve made juices, smoothies and hummus so far. I’m still trying to get the right consistency with liquid to ice. I seem to like to add A LOT of ice. hehe!

My boyfriend and I had a great 4th of July. We’ve been meeting a lot of new people and I’ve finally found a female who has the same interests as me. She is also an army girlfriend and we’ve just clicked really well. Her and her boyfriend put together a small cook-out at their home and had an awesome food spread, cute decorations and big fireworks to end the night! Oh and a little Rock Band to even it all out. That game is a load of fun when you play with a bunch of people!

If you know me.. I don’t like coming empty handed! I feel if you are invited somewhere you have to bring something, anything! Carrie (my Augusta girl) and I discussed what food she should serve and what I should bring. I mentioned a watermelon filled with vodka probably be a hit with everyone. I remember having this a few years ago and loved it. Boy have my taste buds changed because I couldn’t eat it. It was a VERY drunk watermelon ;). I think at the end of the night only 4 pieces remained and it was a huge melon. Everyone was feeling good afterwards.

I also made Cilantro Lime White Bean Hummus from How Sweet It Is. I actually planned to make another dip but changed last minute when I was going through my recipe archives. I went with a healthier option knowing I could eat something healthy at the cook-out. I brought carrots, cucumber slices and pita chips to eat with the hummus. It was so creamy from the Vitamix and had a nice zest from the lime. I’m glad I went with the healthier alternative at the end of the day! To see the recipe for Cilantro Lime White Bean Hummus go visit How Sweet It Is. Her blog is amazing!

Drunk Watermelon
By Fallon

Ingredients
1 huge seedless watermelon, washed exterior
1-2 cups of vodka

Direction
Rinse the watermelon off in the sink and dry off with a towel. Take the cap from the vodka bottle and place it on a good, smooth surface of the watermelon. Mark the area with a knife and cut around the circle. Save the watermelon hole as a plug.

Take a small spoon and start cleaning out the inside. You want to make a small hole so the vodka has somewhere to go. Cleaning out the middle a little bit will help. Now pour vodka into the hole until it reaches the top. Top with the watermelon plug and let it sit. After an hour or 2 the liquid should of gone down. Once again add more vodka. Keep doing this once the liquid stops getting absorbed. We only used half a bottle of vodka, when many recipes say it will take a whole bottle. If you use a whole bottle let me know what you did differently!

This process should be done in advance at least 1-2 days. The longer it sits the better. Right before leaving I sliced it into triangles and placed into a bowl. Viola!

Enjoy,

Fallon

White Bean Hummus with Fresh Thyme & Basil

Here is another wonderful recipe from my new favorite cookbook Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. I love hummus. It is so easy to just buy store bought hummus but nothing can compare to hummus made at home. Once you are able to buy typical hummus ingredients like tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garbanzo beans, and garlic you can whip up your own dip in no time. It actually becomes cheaper to make it at home, then buy in the store. Plus you avoid all those "extra" preservatives found in the store-bought hummus.

My mom needed a dish for her monthly bunko group and she mentioned just buying hummus and pita chips. I told her that I have this delicious white bean hummus that I'd love to make. The ending result? Well she came home with a near empty bowl of hummus! The girls loved it. The fresh herbs and the slight red wine tang made this dip very hard to portion control. Good thing it is healthy and has good fats and proteins! I also loved how smooth this dip was. Normally I have to keep adding oil or water for a smoother consistency. Not with this recipe! Luckily I was able to find the recipe online at Dreena's blog and now if you haven't tried it now is your chance! This is a great dish to bring over to a friend's house or serve at your very own party!

White Bean Hummus with Fresh Thyme & Basil By Dreena Burton
Makes 6-7 servings (about 2 1/2 cups) | Wheat-Free

Ingredients
2 cups cooked cannellini (white kidney) beans
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini
1 medium clove garlic (I used 2-3 tsp of minced garlic)
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I used 1 1/2 tbsp)
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp water (to thin dip as desired)- I did not use any water
2 1/2- 3 tsp fresh thyme, chopped (not dried)
1/4 cup fresh basil, torn or chopped (not dried)

In a food processor, combine all ingredients expect water, thyme, and basil. Puree until smooth, gradually adding water as desired to thin dip and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add thyme and basil and puree briefly to incorporate ingredients.

 

I like to garnish my dip with a sprig of thyme and sprinkle of basil. I served it with pita chips. Don't forget to add raw vegetables for dipping!

I ran a 5k over the weekend! Stay tune with how it all went and what I have decided about my running future. I think I "found" a new love!

Talk to you soon,
Fallon

Curry Honey Hummus

Have you ever been in that kitchen rut of what to eat and being sick of the foods you usually eat? I get like that a lot! Recently I got tired of eating hummus. I was tired of the original or the spinach artichoke flavor. I never thought it would happen but it did! Thank goodness I bookmarked several homemade recipes for hummus. I went straight to the one that was different from anything I've ever tried. Curry. I've never had any Indian type food or have even tried curry. Let me just say I've been VERY curious. Finally my curiosity got the best of me. I went to the store, bought everything I needed for this hummus and got to work. Thanks to Ashley from The Edible Perspective for whipping up this fabulous recipe for Curry Honey Hummus. I now know I like curry and can't wait to try experimenting in the kitchen with these new spices! You can click HERE for the recipe. I've had this hummus many ways so far like:

• In a blue corn tortilla and a hard boiled egg, sliced
• Spoonful on my Italian salad
• Crackers
• Red bell peppers
• Spoonful from the jar (sorry peanut butter!)
• Quesadilla with goat cheese

I'm actually almost done with this jar and I only made it a few days ago! I will be making it again. Always, Fallon PS: I used a jar from almond butter I just finished. I'm becoming quite the jar lady saving all the glass ones to reuse. They really come in handy. I use them for everything!