Hummus! Mmmmm... Yummus!

In response to R1's falafel post here is a shot of my "hummus patties."

Here's what you need to do to make your own-

1)Make a giant batch of stiff hummus (puree chick peas, dash of peanut butter, chick pea "juice", garlic, lemon juice, cumin, salt, & pepper).

2) When you are short on dinner ideas take some of your hummus, conveniently sitting in your fridge, and throw in some rice (brown or white, whatever you have leftover), and make some nice little patties.

3)Bake on a lightly greased or "pammed " cookie sheet for maybe 25 minutes - I flipped after 15 minutes.

4) Serve with pita and whatever tickles your fancy: tomato, bean sprouts, grated carrot, peppers.. Sauteed onions, mushrooms, and peppers are lovely if you have the time.


Other options-

I also like to throw together a little tzatziki - I take a bit of yogurt, a bit of light sour cream (I skip this if I have a thicker, fattier yogurt OR you could take the extra time and drain your yogourt over a coffee filter to make a thicker yogurt cheese), grate a bit of a cuke and squeeze the juice out (if I have one, otherwise I bag this- is better with it though), some garlic, salt, pepper, and dill (also optional).

Making your own pita also kicks this up a notch if you have the time.

• First you need to make the dough. I am writing this off the top of my head, play with the amount of flour and water until you have a nice pliable dough: 2 teaspoons yeast dissolved in 1 and 1/2 cups water, 3 cups flour (half white, half whole wheat), and 1 teaspoon salt. Give a good stir and a couple kneads.
• Let sit for a few minutes (or an hour if you have it) and then on a well- floured surface using a well-floured rolling pin, take a nice little ball and roll it as thin as you can. Make a stack of these little pancakes with flour in between.
• Now -here you have some options. I have made them in a really hot oven before but this last time I made them like a flatbread on a frying pan and I preferred this method (less chance of Finn getting blasted as I keep opening and closing an-ultra hot oven). If you do it on the frying pan I would recommend using two smaller pans. Get them nice and hot, spray on a bit of pan and put a disk in each pan. Keep an eye on these, they cook quickly. When they start to puff up flip 'er over. I am usually rolling the other disks while I do this. When they are done keep in a stack wrapped in a tea towel to stray warm and tasty.
• If you have leftover dough you can cover the it and and put it in your fridge for a few days until the next time the urge to have some lovely flatbread strikes.

Bean there done that...

o.k. rach, i had to report that i finally made your notorious bean cookies yesterday. there was a slight alteration made, unintentionally really. i went to purchase some white kidney beans (gasp, yes i was opting for the can) and my local trusted Country Grocer did not carry any. I settled instead for the Romano beans the only beans that appeared white. i was slightly taken aback when i opened the can to a more beige/brown bean. i was a little concerned for the taste/color alteration to the cookie, but forged ahead! my perseverance paid off...i found the cookies to be hearty little nuggets (expect nothing less from a true Reems cookie) that were surprisingly tasty. another alteration to note is i added 2 Tbsp. of ground Flax Seed as the 'Breakfast Bean Cookie' recipe from One Smart Cookie suggested. i had a friend over who had to try these so called cookies and gave a thumbs up as well. they are b-man approved and i'm feeling pretty smug that i've managed to up the content of beans in this here household by mere cookies!!! revolutionary really...thanks r1 for pointing us in the right direction.

Lemon Ditty Affirmed

I had a hankering to do a little baking this evening and instead of pulling out my trusted cookbooks what should i do but turn to the Reems blog for guidance!
Since the B-man can never resist anything lemony, i opted for Haley's famed 'Lemon Poppyseed Cake'. This is our personal feedback and firsthand experience.
One word: "Delicious!" You cannot stop at one piece. It is infused with lemon flavours from all sides (only enhanced by the glaze).
Minor personal alteration included adding 2 tsp. poppyseeds instead of 1 (really, why limit yourself?) , and as per Haley's suggestion omitted the sugar in the glaze.
Overall Rating: 4 stars, a sure hit, one this Reems fam will definitely repeat. Thanks Haley!

Simple Pleasures...

so, i figured it was about time i posted something on this here blog as r1 and Haley have thus far been faithful in providing a great start of interesting and delectable items. as i have not recently been feeling the food thing, and have therefore seriously been avoiding the kitchen and all culinary endeavours, i feel justified in my absence. so good news to start off. i am back in the game folks. i'm ready and in fact itching to get cooking! this post is not in fact going to describe some ingenious recipe concoction i have made but to reflect on a most delightful culinary pleasure i partook for lunch today. seeing as it is one of the first sunny, spring days of victoria, and my mom had the day off, she and i and the babe headed on a walk along the songhees into town. we had lunch at Murchies ( i have to report it was just bumping for the lunch hour rush). we both selected the focaccia sandwich special which was just loaded with fresh veggies accompanied by a fruit salad. i'm thinking of the C-dog here as i know he loves his sandwiches. anyways, we topped it off with a decaf "dutch coffee", for those of you who are not true to your heritage, this is a chocolate coffee with steamed almond milk, a.k.a 'pure bliss'...why should lawyers be the only ones to lunch heh? i promise, next post, a recipe. for now my stomach is happy and i have a sprinkling of freckles on my nose..life is good.

Golden Nuggets

The other night I served up a batch of falafel to my curious in laws. We were shocked to see Dave quickly consume a wrap packed with the mysterious chickpea balls followed by a second serving. He is usual adverse to new and slightly exotic foods. I think Shielah was proud. Anyhow, my recipe, and those I consulted on the internet, directed me to deep fry my falafel, which I did not do. Two centimeters of oil in a pan, perish the thought. Instead I fried the works in batches of ten. I don't recommend this technique. If you make falafel, toss them in some oil and bake them on a cookie sheet. The stove top method is unnecessarily arduous.

I served the falafel in warm Greek pitas with red onion, red pepper, and red tomato (prepped by esteemed assistant). They were a hit.


I haven't included the recipe as I found the balls to be rather chalky once cooled. I want to try the recipe for falafel burgers in the Rebar Cookbook. If these work, I'll pass on the recipe. Otherwise, there are plenty of similar recipes online. The basic gist is mashed up chickpeas with seasoning.

Wonton Soup and Other Delights..

Aaah, Spring.... Aaah, Calgary. Spring has not yet sprung in snowy Alberta. This calls for soup, and lots of it. Yesterday being Tuesday, and our pool day, I decided to go with chicken wonton soup. I made the wontons and chopped the veggies in the morning and all I had to do apres-swim was put the broth on to simmer and combine everything in the pot.

I love wonton soup and discovered how easy it is to make in Feb. when I got it into my head that we needed to make wontons to celebrate Chinese New Year. This time, in an effort to increase the health benefits of the meal, I opted for ground chicken instead of the traditional ground pork. Wonton wrappers tend to be in the grocery store next to the tofu- usually near the produce aisle. They are inexpensive and last for a long time in your fridge. I have tried putting the leftover wrappers in the freezer but will get back to you on how that works out.

1) Make wonton filling - You don't need tons of meat, as each wonton only has a heaping teaspon of filling. For three people I used about a pound of ground chicken; however, I only used about half of the filling and froze the rest for future use. Take the ground chicken and add whatever seasonings you want. I added aprox. 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, pepper, ground ginger, garlic, and the whites of the green onion chopped very fine. You could experiment with the seasonings.

2) Make the wontons - Take a wrapper and put a heaping teaspoon of filling in the centre. Next moisten the area around the edges of the wrapper and fold the wrapper on the diagonal. You can then bring the two bottom corners together with a dab of water, or you can just bunch all the loose ends together and dab with water. You can't go wrong as long as the filling is locked in. Cover and save until you need these. For three people I counted on Monica and I having about 6 wontons each and Mike at least 9- I made around 23 or so.

3) Chop veggies for soup. I have used various combos. The only veggie that I think is really key is lots of green onions. Yesterday I used very thinly sliced carrot, bean sprouts, and the green onion. Other things you could add include, bok choy, peas, mushrooms...

4) Get broth going - I would avoid powdered chicken broth for this soup. Go with the stuff in the carton or better yet make your own (I have only done this one time and it was a lengthy process). I heated until boiling: one carton of low sodium chicken stock and a few cups of water. I added a bit of soy sauce, freshly ground pepper, grated fresh ginger, and garlic. Oh, and a dash of sesame oil. I love sesame oil.

5)When broth is boiling add veggies and wontons. Let simmer for at least 5 minutes - the recipes say 5 minutes but due to my raw meat paranoia I let it go for 10. I also like to add some cubed tofu to the broth. When Mike is away I go really crazy and add some prawns as well.

Enjoy!

Also.. I just wanted to show off the rockin' meal that Mike made on Mon- snapper and sesame seed-coated asparagus. Mikey C takes a creative approach to cooking and will not divulge his secrets recipes, but isn't it pretty?

The Morning Shakes

I'm on a smoothie kick. For the past week, every morning I pull out the fresh fruit and jam it into my food processor along with a scoop of yogurt and a shot of milk. A ten second whiz turns the mess to sweet, sweet nectar. I think I was initially inspired by the yummy fruit shakes at the Rebar. I looked in my handy Rebar cookbook to see what ingredients they use at the restaurant. I found that their shakes seldom include ice (which I think would degrade the blade of my beloved fruit processor) and never a sweetener. I began experimenting with different combinations. I've found that strawberries, one frozen banana, a chilled orange, a small scoop of yogurt, and a shot of milk creates an a-one smoothie. While local strawberries are not yet in season, I've been scooting to China town with my bike and basket to scoop up some low-priced Californians. They're also selling mangoes down there. I love loading up my crate with fresh veg and fruit and then bouncing back home along Vancouver Street.

Sadly, I'm starting at P.C.S. bright and early tomorrow so this will likely be my last fruit creation. At least until the weekend.

DUTCH BAKERY...WORTH THE PRICE?

Sometimes i smell like the food i eat...there's nothing better then smelling like a dutchman!

Lemon Poppyseed and Snowstorms

A food blog, good call R1. This combines my two top passions: reading and eating, how lovely. In an effort to add some colour to the blog I am including a picture of the lemon loaf I made yesterday. I made this loaf to accompany the nachos and meatballs served during the Flames game yesterday evening. I needed to find a sweet treat to make without chocolate.. this is rare for me but one of the fans in attendance at the Campbell-dome last night does not like chocolate (I know strange and suspect..however, we will leave my thoughts about non-chocolate-likers for another time.). I adapted this from a recipe I found after a google search and then fiddled with for my own liking. At this point I realize that fellow Reems' are aghast, wondering why I didn't first consult our dessert recipe guru Rose Reisman? Well be reassured that I have in fact made Rose's lemon poppyseed loaf in the past, and while tasty, it requires cream cheese, something I did not have on-hand.

While non-food related, you will see from the picture of the littlest grublet, taken an hour ago, (on APRIL 18th !!!) why I am suddenly becoming more at peace with the idea of moving back to BC...OK, enough rambling, here she is:

Lemon Tea Cake with Honey Glaze

First combine:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup veg oil OR melted butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup milk plus a dollop of yogurt - with all the lemon juice in the recipe you could skip the yogurt. I added slightly more than 1 cup of milk because I decreased the fat content slightly from the original recipe)

Next add:
21/2 cup flour (I used white although the original recipe calls for whole wheat)
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp poppy seeds (optional, not in original recipe but I like the look)

Mix and then bake at 350 degrees for aprox 50 min in a reg size loaf pan. While still warm pierce with a wooden skewer or toothpick and top with glaze.

Glaze
Combine and microwave for aprox one minute:
1/4 cup lemon juice (I used up my one lemon for the loaf portion of the recipe, I substituted lemon from a bottle and it still tasted good).
2 T honey
1 T sugar (I will probably skip the sugar next time and just use honey).

Before signing off I must pay homage to an amazing "koek" baker who is turning 86 years old today. Happy Birthday Grandma!

Enjoy!

A Vision of Beans

Let us begin with a toast. Raise your cup of tea or diluted cranberry juice (Reems drinks of choice) and join me in toasting the success of this blog, our recipes, our future meals, our extraordinary capacity for savouring the pleasures of food. "To Reems Eats!"

Recently, R2 confessed that she was struggling to increase the bean intake on Lampson Street. Brent wanted more legumes and less cans. What followed was a very unbeanerific experience, involving dried beans and an inadaquate soak. I'm fuzzy on the story but R2 can supply the details. Anyhow, it is with the Lampson Crew in mind that I provide this recipe for Bean Cookies, modified from Julie Von Rosendaal's Grazing Cookbook.

Bean Cookies
2 cup oats
-- Mulch in a food processor

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 salt
--Add to oats and whiz in processor. Transfer to a large bowl.

1 14oz can white kidney, navy, or cannellini beans rinsed and drained
--Pulse in food processor.

1/4 cup butter or margarine softened
--Add to beans. Pulse.

3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
--Add to bean mixture and pulse on. Pour bean mixture and stir by hand until just combined. Do not over mix!

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4-1/2 cup walnuts or pecans
Add some variation of the above goodies to the batter and stir until JUST blended.

When you drop the cookies, be sure to flatten them a bit with your hand as they are a hearty cookie and won't spread on their own.

Bake at 325 for 14-16 minute. They should be set around the edges but still soft in the middle when you take them out.

I'm thinking of trying to cut the sugar to 1/2 a cup and then adding 2 TBsp corn syrup to the wet once it comes out of the food processor. A lot of Rosendaal's other recipes use corn syrup and it seems to moisten up the cookies and make them chewier.