A few things I've made this past week that we've really enjoyed:

1) Greek hummus "dip." Basically, hummus (made, in my case, from
scratch, with chipotles and roasted red bell pepper), with chopped
cucumbers, kalamata olives, halved grape tomatoes, and crumbled feta
on top, served with pitas brushed with oil, salted, and toasted then
cut into triangles. An appetizer, I suppose, but a great main vegetarian
dish when rounded out with whatever ya got leftover in the fridge.
Along the lines of:

<http://allrecipes.com/recipe/greek-layer-dip/>

The hummus along the lines of:

<http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Smoky-Chipotle-Hummus/Detail.aspx?evt19=1&referringHubId=1281>

less the cilantro and maybe half the cumin.


2) Quinoa salad. Tried an awesome version at "Taste of Downtown Nashua"
last week, but couldn't remember which of the 27 venues I had it at,
so experimentation was necessary. This seems about right:

1/2 c. quinoa, rinsed
3/4 c. water

Bring to boil, cover, simmer 15 minutes, let rest 5 minutes, fluff up.

1/2 c. dried sweetened cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/4 c. chopped scallions
1/4 c. chopped celery
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1/4 c. chopped toasted walnuts
2 T crumbled feta

Dressing:

2 Tbsp. raspberry vinegar
1 tsp. honey
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon juice

Mix cooked cooled quinoa with rest of salad ingredients. Whisk
dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Toss gently to mix.
Makes enough for 2-3 generous servings. Even better next day.


3) Potatoes au gratin with smoked gouda and apples

1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
1 large Granny Smith apple, sliced into thin wedges.
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. snipped fresh thyme
1/2 c. shredded smoked Gouda cheese (plus extra for topping)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (Toaster oven works fine).
Grease a 1 1/2 quart au gratin or other baking dish.
Bring a pot of water to the boil, cook potato slices 5 minutes. Drain.
Make the sauce: In a sauce pan, cook the onions and garlic in the
oil until soft. Add the flour, cook for a minute, then add the milk
all at once. Add the thyme too. Whisk and heat until boiling, thickened
and smooth.
Layer 1/2 the potatoes, 1/2 the apple slices, and 1/2 the cheese.
Pour half the sauce over that, then layer the rest of the potatoes,
apples slices and cheese over that, then add the rest of the sauce.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake ~30 minutes.
Uncover, sprinkle the "extra" cheese on top. Bake another ~30 minutes,
until top is "golden brown and delicious." Let stand 10 minutes before
serving. Serves 4.

We just had this with cooled steamed green beans dressed with
minced fresh onion and Italian dressing. Basically anything that cuts
the starchiness/creaminess of the potatoes will complement it nicely.

If you're a meat eater, you can chuck a couple of slices of bacon or
pancetta, fried and crumbled, in there.


4) Ham salad. Got the urge, found some scraps of Easter ham in the
freezer, got out the celery and onions and went looking for the
pickle relish in the fridge, came across a half-full jar of green
olives and went, "Ah ha!" So into the food processor went the ham,
celery, onions, and green olives. When coarsely chopped, added some
mayo and a splash of yellow mustard. Mundane, I know, but great
stuff in a pita with lettuce or just gobbled down on saltines. Salty
ham *and* salty olives - what's not to like?


--
Silvar Beitel

On Sun, 14 Jun 2015 08:54:45 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

>A few things I've made this past week that we've really enjoyed:
>
>1) Greek hummus "dip." Basically, hummus (made, in my case, from
>scratch, with chipotles and roasted red bell pepper), with chopped
>cucumbers, kalamata olives, halved grape tomatoes, and crumbled feta
>on top, served with pitas brushed with oil, salted, and toasted then
>cut into triangles. An appetizer, I suppose, but a great main vegetarian
>dish when rounded out with whatever ya got leftover in the fridge.
>Along the lines of:
>
><http://allrecipes.com/recipe/greek-layer-dip/>
>
>The hummus along the lines of:
>
><http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Smoky-Chipotle-Hummus/Detail.aspx?evt19=1&referringHubId=1281>
>
>less the cilantro and maybe half the cumin.
>
>
>2) Quinoa salad. Tried an awesome version at "Taste of Downtown Nashua"
>last week, but couldn't remember which of the 27 venues I had it at,
>so experimentation was necessary. This seems about right:
>
>1/2 c. quinoa, rinsed
>3/4 c. water
>
>Bring to boil, cover, simmer 15 minutes, let rest 5 minutes, fluff up.
>
>1/2 c. dried sweetened cranberries, coarsely chopped
>1/4 c. chopped scallions
>1/4 c. chopped celery
>1/4 c. chopped parsley
>1/4 c. chopped toasted walnuts
>2 T crumbled feta
>
>Dressing:
>
>2 Tbsp. raspberry vinegar
>1 tsp. honey
>1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
>1/4 tsp. salt
>1 tsp. lemon juice
>
>Mix cooked cooled quinoa with rest of salad ingredients. Whisk
>dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Toss gently to mix.
>Makes enough for 2-3 generous servings. Even better next day.
>
>
>3) Potatoes au gratin with smoked gouda and apples
>
>1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
>1 large Granny Smith apple, sliced into thin wedges.
>1/4 c. chopped onion
>1 large clove garlic, minced
>1 Tbsp. olive oil
>2 Tbsp. flour
>1/2 tsp. salt
>1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
>1 1/2 c. milk
>2 tsp. snipped fresh thyme
>1/2 c. shredded smoked Gouda cheese (plus extra for topping)
>
>Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (Toaster oven works fine).
>Grease a 1 1/2 quart au gratin or other baking dish.
>Bring a pot of water to the boil, cook potato slices 5 minutes. Drain.
>Make the sauce: In a sauce pan, cook the onions and garlic in the
>oil until soft. Add the flour, cook for a minute, then add the milk
>all at once. Add the thyme too. Whisk and heat until boiling, thickened
>and smooth.
>Layer 1/2 the potatoes, 1/2 the apple slices, and 1/2 the cheese.
>Pour half the sauce over that, then layer the rest of the potatoes,
>apples slices and cheese over that, then add the rest of the sauce.
>Cover with aluminum foil and bake ~30 minutes.
>Uncover, sprinkle the "extra" cheese on top. Bake another ~30 minutes,
>until top is "golden brown and delicious." Let stand 10 minutes before
>serving. Serves 4.
>
>We just had this with cooled steamed green beans dressed with
>minced fresh onion and Italian dressing. Basically anything that cuts
>the starchiness/creaminess of the potatoes will complement it nicely.
>
>If you're a meat eater, you can chuck a couple of slices of bacon or
>pancetta, fried and crumbled, in there.
>
>
>4) Ham salad. Got the urge, found some scraps of Easter ham in the
>freezer, got out the celery and onions and went looking for the
>pickle relish in the fridge, came across a half-full jar of green
>olives and went, "Ah ha!" So into the food processor went the ham,
>celery, onions, and green olives. When coarsely chopped, added some
>mayo and a splash of yellow mustard. Mundane, I know, but great
>stuff in a pita with lettuce or just gobbled down on saltines. Salty
>ham *and* salty olives - what's not to like?

Looks like you've been eating pretty darned good. Thanks for the
recipes, copied and saved.

koko

--

Food is our common ground, a universal experience
James Beard

On Sun, 14 Jun 2015 08:54:45 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

>A few things I've made this past week that we've really enjoyed:
>
>1) Greek hummus "dip." Basically, hummus (made, in my case, from
>scratch, with chipotles and roasted red bell pepper), with chopped
>cucumbers, kalamata olives, halved grape tomatoes, and crumbled feta
>on top, served with pitas brushed with oil, salted, and toasted then
>cut into triangles. An appetizer, I suppose, but a great main vegetarian
>dish when rounded out with whatever ya got leftover in the fridge.
>Along the lines of:
>
><http://allrecipes.com/recipe/greek-layer-dip/>
>
>The hummus along the lines of:
>
><http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Smoky-Chipotle-Hummus/Detail.aspx?evt19=1&referringHubId=1281>
>
>less the cilantro and maybe half the cumin.

I could live on that kind of dish, though my gout recommends I be a
little more sparing of the hummus so I usually switch it to
babaganoush, 50% eggplant!

So you mashed the garbanzos but still used premade tahini? Actually
more than half my love for hummus I think is actually the tahini, I'm
mostly bonkers for anything sesame.

I can't recall seeing any premade spicy hummus, just some red pepper
varieties, Mediterranean tends to avoid spicier stuff, though chipotle
isn't that hot without a ton of cumin and black pepper.

J.

On Sunday, June 14, 2015 at 7:02:23 PM UTC-4, JRStern wrote:
> On Sun, 14 Jun 2015 08:54:45 -0700 (PDT),
> wrote:
>
> >A few things I've made this past week that we've really enjoyed:
> >
> >1) Greek hummus "dip." Basically, hummus (made, in my case, from
> >scratch, with chipotles and roasted red bell pepper), with chopped
> >cucumbers, kalamata olives, halved grape tomatoes, and crumbled feta
> >on top, served with pitas brushed with oil, salted, and toasted then
> >cut into triangles. An appetizer, I suppose, but a great main vegetarian
> >dish when rounded out with whatever ya got leftover in the fridge.
> >Along the lines of:
> >
> ><http://allrecipes.com/recipe/greek-layer-dip/>
> >
> >The hummus along the lines of:
> >
> ><http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Smoky-Chipotle-Hummus/Detail.aspx?evt19=1&referringHubId=1281>
> >
> >less the cilantro and maybe half the cumin.
>
> I could live on that kind of dish, though my gout recommends I be a
> little more sparing of the hummus so I usually switch it to
> babaganoush, 50% eggplant!
>
> So you mashed the garbanzos but still used premade tahini?

Yes to both. I routinely pressure-cook a batch of garbonzos for
salads, soups, snacks, etc. Next time I may try to make my own
tahini - I have a good supply of sesame seeds to use.

> Actually
> more than half my love for hummus I think is actually the tahini, I'm
> mostly bonkers for anything sesame.

I hear ya. (I love toasted sesame oil in just about anything.)

> I can't recall seeing any premade spicy hummus, just some red pepper
> varieties, Mediterranean tends to avoid spicier stuff, though chipotle
> isn't that hot without a ton of cumin and black pepper.

And, yes to baba ganoush! Whenever I grill vegetables, I use the
leftover eggplant for this.

<http://www.food.com/recipe/baba-ganoush-the-best-in-the-world-67570>

--
Silvar Beitel

On Mon, 15 Jun 2015 10:30:22 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

>On Sunday, June 14, 2015 at 7:02:23 PM UTC-4, JRStern wrote:
>> On Sun, 14 Jun 2015 08:54:45 -0700 (PDT),
>> wrote:
>>
>> >A few things I've made this past week that we've really enjoyed:
>> >
>> >1) Greek hummus "dip." Basically, hummus (made, in my case, from
>> >scratch, with chipotles and roasted red bell pepper), with chopped
>> >cucumbers, kalamata olives, halved grape tomatoes, and crumbled feta
>> >on top, served with pitas brushed with oil, salted, and toasted then
>> >cut into triangles. An appetizer, I suppose, but a great main vegetarian
>> >dish when rounded out with whatever ya got leftover in the fridge.
>> >Along the lines of:
>> >
>> ><http://allrecipes.com/recipe/greek-layer-dip/>
>> >
>> >The hummus along the lines of:
>> >
>> ><http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Smoky-Chipotle-Hummus/Detail.aspx?evt19=1&referringHubId=1281>
>> >
>> >less the cilantro and maybe half the cumin.
>>
>> I could live on that kind of dish, though my gout recommends I be a
>> little more sparing of the hummus so I usually switch it to
>> babaganoush, 50% eggplant!
>>
>> So you mashed the garbanzos but still used premade tahini?
>
>Yes to both. I routinely pressure-cook a batch of garbonzos for
>salads, soups, snacks, etc. Next time I may try to make my own
>tahini - I have a good supply of sesame seeds to use.
>
>> Actually
>> more than half my love for hummus I think is actually the tahini, I'm
>> mostly bonkers for anything sesame.
>
>I hear ya. (I love toasted sesame oil in just about anything.)
>
>> I can't recall seeing any premade spicy hummus, just some red pepper
>> varieties, Mediterranean tends to avoid spicier stuff, though chipotle
>> isn't that hot without a ton of cumin and black pepper.

Well that's wrong, they have at least one spicey variety at TJ's.

J.


>
>And, yes to baba ganoush! Whenever I grill vegetables, I use the
>leftover eggplant for this.
>
><http://www.food.com/recipe/baba-ganoush-the-best-in-the-world-67570>

On Tue, 16 Jun 2015 20:58:23 -0700, JRStern >
wrote:

> On Mon, 15 Jun 2015 10:30:22 -0700 (PDT),
> wrote:
>
> >
> >> I can't recall seeing any premade spicy hummus, just some red pepper
> >> varieties, Mediterranean tends to avoid spicier stuff, though chipotle
> >> isn't that hot without a ton of cumin and black pepper.
>
> Well that's wrong, they have at least one spicey variety at TJ's.
>
> J.
>
I buy plain hummus and add harissa to taste.

--

sf