Perfectly Pink Roasted Beet Hummus

Brilliantly pink. Ultra creamy. With that deliciously earthy flavor that only comes from beets and a slight smokiness from the addition of cumin. How in the world did I not think of this sooner?!?!?

This recipe will make a party-sized batch. Feel free to reduce it...or just plan to consume large quantities of hummus over the next couple of weeks! It's a real hardship, I know...

3 medium-sized beets
3 C cooked garbanzo beans (I start with dried...you could also use canned)
1/3 C tahini
1 or 2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely grated
zest and juice from 1 lemon
1/2 - 1 tsp cumin
sea salt, to taste
1/4 C plus 1 TBSP olive oil

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Place your beets on a large piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with about 1 TBSP of olive oil, and fold up the foil to make a nice secure packet around your beets. Roast the beets in their foil packet for about 45 minutes, or until they are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork. When they have cooled, gently use your fingers to slide off the skins. Quarter the beets and toss them into your food processor with the cooked garbanzos, the tahini, the grated garlic, the lemon juice and zest, the cumin, and several nice pinches of sea salt. Turn your food processor on and let it do it's thing while you slowly drizzle in 1/4 C of olive oil. Stop the food processor, scrape down the sides, and taste for seasoning. Adjust your salt, cumin, garlic, and tahini levels to suit your taste and process a little longer. Use your best judgement with the oil and if it seems like you need more to get a nice creamy consistency, add more.

Dip into it with chips and veggie sticks, scoop it onto a big green salad, spoon it on pita, spread it on crackers topped with thinly sliced veggies...ohhhh the possibilities are endless!

(See the pretty pink hummus in the back there? Topped with cucumber? SO GOOD! Also, those crackers in front with goat cheese, sliced peach, and balsamic? Not so bad either!)

NOTE: If you are waiting around while your beets are roasting, consider using that time to pop each and every one of your garbanzos out of their skins. I read somewhere a couple of years ago that this made the smoothest and creamiest hummus...but figured that only a crazy person would intentionally put herself through that variety of torture. Well, I had time to kill while my beets were roasting and figured I would give it a shot. The verdict: I felt ridiculous while I was doing it and it was definitely time consuming AND Chris made fun of me a whole lot BUT holy crap this is the creamiest hummus I have ever made!!!

Steamed dumplings (with edamame or shrimp)

Thank you, Mark Bittman! These dumplings are easy and amazing. The original recipe calls for shrimp (which is delicious), but I also made some with edamame, which were equally amazing. I chopped ingredients by hand, but a food processor would make things a long easier (and get you a smoother texture, especially for edamame).

1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, or about 1 1/2 cups of shelled edamame
1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup roughly chopped scallions
a package of dumpling skins
Juice of 1 lime


1. Combine the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and ginger in a bowl. Put half the shrimp (or edamame), half the cilantro and all the scallions in a food processor and pulse; add just enough of the soy mixture to create a smooth paste, about 1 to 2 tablespoons. Transfer to a bowl. Roughly chop the remaining shrimp/edamame and cilantro, add them to the bowl and stir to combine.

2. Place a dumpling skin on a work surface, moisten the edges with water, and put 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center. Gather the edges of the wrapper up around the filling, squeezing gently, to pleat the sides; some of the filling should remain exposed. Repeat with the remaining dumpling skins and filling, keeping the dumpling wrappers and dumplings covered with damp towels while you work.

3. Rig a steamer in a large pot over an inch of water; bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Meanwhile, add the lime juice to the remaining soy mixture to make a dipping sauce.

4. Put as many dumplings in the steamer as you can fit in a single layer and cover the pot. Cook until the wrappers are tender, 4 to 6 minutes, then transfer the dumplings to a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining dumplings. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Vegetarian Hoppin' John

Hoppin' John, a Southern tradition introduced to me last week by my friend Ryan, is a savory black eyed pea stew that is supposed to bring the eater health and wealth in the new year. This version, made without the traditional ham and with a few additions of my own, was full of spice and super tasty when served with a warm slice of homemade cornbread (recipe to follow)! This recipe makes a huge pot so either serve your whole neighborhood or plan to eat this for a solid week.



1 pound black eyed peas, soaked overnight
8 C water
1 medium onion, halved
2 carrots, quartered
2 stalks celery, quartered
3 cloves garlic, halved
2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves

Place all ingredients in a large soup pot, bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for about 1 hour, stirring once after half an hour. (Careful not to over mix or your beans will disintegrate!) Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the chunks of vegetable and the bay leaves and discard.

1/2 C brown rice
1 1/4 C water
1/2 tsp salt

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add rice and salt, cover, reduce heat to low and cook covered for 45 minutes.

2 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced

Heat olive oil in a small skillet and add all vegetables. Saute until tender and fragrant. Add vegetables and cooked rice to the pot of beans and mix gently.

1 can whole peeled tomatoes in sauce
1/2 pound turnip greens (or collards), chopped
4 scallions, whites and greens chopped
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
salt to taste

Roughly chop tomatoes and add (with juice!) to the beans. Add greens, scallions, and all spices. Stir gently and let simmer for five minutes. Taste, adjust seasonings as needed.

Enjoy with a big buttery slice of cornbread!

Haitian-style rice and beans

Stolen from allrecipes.com . . . the cloves make this smell AMAZING as it's cooking!

1 (8 ounce) package dry kidney beans
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 bulb shallot, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice (though I'm sure it would also be yummy with brown)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon adobo seasoning (optional - you can also use a combination of oregano, paprika, and black pepper)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 sprigs fresh parsley
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 chile pepper


Place beans in a large pot, and cover with 3 inches of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours, or until tender. Drain, reserving liquid.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute shallot and garlic until softened. Stir in cooked beans, and cook for 2 minutes. Measure reserved liquid, and add water to equal 5 cups; stir into skillet. Stir in the uncooked rice. Season with bay leaves, adobo seasoning, salt, pepper, and cloves. Place parsley, thyme, and chili pepper on top, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 18 to 20minutes. Remove thyme, parsley, and chile pepper before serving.

Serve with avocado. Yummy :)

Spicy Moroccan Kale and Chickpea Stew

A lovely, spicy autumnal stew! We served it at our debate watching party this past week and it was certainly a hit. This makes one ENORMOUS pot of chickpeas. Seriously, you'll be eating it all week. Or you can just do what we did: gather all your friends and force them to eat seconds, thirds, etc... Enjoy!

1 lb dry chickpeas
10 C water and/or vegetable broth
2 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 potatoes, chopped
2-3 carrots, diced
28 oz can whole tomatoes in sauce, chopped
1 large bunch kale, stems removed and chopped
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
2-3 bay leaves
5 or more shakes hot sauce
salt and pepper

Overnight, soak dry chickpeas in enough water to cover by several inches. Drain and rinse well. In a large pot, combine soaked beans with 10 cups water and or vegetable broth (I used half water, half broth left over from boiling veggies the previous day!). Salt well and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and allow to simmer partially covered for 45 minutes to an hour.

Meanwhile, in a skillet saute heat the olive oil and saute the onions until translucent and fragrant. Add garlic and saute one minute more. Add potatoes and carrots and continue cooking another five minutes. When beans are ready, stir vegetables into the beans along with chopped tomatoes and sauce, kale, all spices, bay leaves, as many shakes of hot sauce as you can like, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir well. Taste and adjust spices as needed. Allow all to simmer at least 30 minutes so flavors can meld.

Serve over brown rice or couscous. Perhaps with a side of roasted root veggies. Mmmmmm!

Black Bean Sauce (for Stir-Fry)

This sauce adds a twist to the standard stir-fry, and it's good excuse for an excursion to Chinatown!

For stir-fry:
Whatever veggies you like - I used broccoli, eggplant, and zucchini
1 carton of extra-firm tofu

Drain tofu well (pat it dry!) and cut into bite-sized pieces. Fry in a little bit of canola oil till it's browned and crispy on all sides. Cut up veggies and cook however you like; you could stir-fry them as well, or steam them for a few minutes.

For the sauce:

1 1/2 cups water
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sherry
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch chunk of fresh ginger, minced
2 tablespoons Chinese fermented black beans (I could only find black bean paste, so I used that instead)
1 tbs vegetable oil

Stir together the water, soy sauce, Sherry, maple syrup, vinegar, and the cornstarch until the cornstarch is evenly suspended.

Heat a tablespoon of veggie oil in a medium-sized pan or pot and stir-fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant, less than a minute. Stir the cornstarch mixture and add it to the pan. Whisk the sauce occasionally while bringing it to a boil and simmer 1 minute, until it thickens. Dump in the veggies and tofu and heat for another minute or so.

Serve over brown rice.

Black Bean, Avocado, Corn Salad

Spinach or mixed greens, washed thoroughly
1 medium sweet potato, thinly sliced
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 can black beans
2 ears corn, boiled and cut off the cob
1 avocado, peeled and chopped
2 scallions, white and green parts sliced thinly
1/2 mango, peeled and chopped
1/2 C cheddar cheese, grated (optional)
handful of fresh parsley and/or cilantro, chopped

Dressing:
juice from 1 lime
1/4 C olive oil
2 TBSP cidar vinegar
1 TBSP honey
salt and pepper to taste

Arrange sweet potatoes in a small baking dish and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until tender.

Meanwhile, layer all remaining salad ingredients on top of mixed greens in a large bowl. In a small jar with a lid, add all dressing ingredients, cap, and shake thoroughly. Dress the salad, toss, and serve with tortilla chips or crusty bread.

Lemony-Buttermilk-ey Linguine

Look, Rachel, I posted it!

This one is adapted from a recipe from epicurious.com . . . it tastes really bad for you, but it's not! How exciting!

3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

a handful of broccoli florets
a handful of green beans, trimmed, cut into 2-inch-long pieces
8 ounces linguine

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving

Place yolks in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in lemon juice, then buttermilk.

Cook broccoli and green beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using sieve, transfer vegetables from pot to large skillet. Return water to boil. Add pasta; boil until tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid.

Add pasta to skillet with vegetables. Whisk 3/4 cup cooking liquid into yolk mixture. Add yolk mixture, 3/4 cup cheese, and parsley to skillet. Toss over medium heat just until sauce thickens and coats pasta, about 4 minutes, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if dry. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing additional cheese alongside.

Masala Salsa

This recipe was invented by me and my roommates (one is South Indian and the other is half Cuban). I was very uncertain about how the flavors would mix, but it ended up being seriously tasty. We didn't measure anything, so everything is approximate.

1 onion, diced
2 or 3 tomatoes, diced
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn kernels (preferably fresh, but frozen is fine)
cumin to taste
2 chili peppers, sliced in half and seeded
coriander to taste
garam masala to taste
fresh cilantro, chopped

Saute onions in butter or vegetable oil until translucent. Add tomatoes, black beans, and corn, and simmer for several minutes. Add spices to taste. Remove from heat, let cool for a little while, and stir in cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips or bread.