Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Hummus - Monica



Hi guys! So... I'm trying to think of recipes that would be easy and convenient for college students to make and thought of this...
One of my favorite foods that pretty much goes with anything is hummus. It can be eaten in sandwiches, as a dip for chips, and in falafel sandwiches and is usually found in Mediterranean, Greek, and Middle Eastern cuisine. I would really encourage and recommend everyone to try to make their own hummus because it is tastier, healthier, and more cost-efficient than generic store brands. It is also VERY CUSTOMIZABLE because you can tweak the amount of each ingredient according to your taste. For example, some people like lemony hummus while some like the nuttier taste of the tahini. The amounts shown below are estimates because I don't usually measure my ingredients when I make it, but instead, I taste the hummus along the way and add anything I feel is missing. Enjoy! Hope you fall in love with hummus after this like I did :)

Hummus
Difficulty: Easy
Number of servings: ~one pint
Cost: ~$2
Time spent: 20 min.

Ingredients: 
  • 1 15.5oz can of garbanzo beans
    • You can also boil beans fresh by soaking them and simmering for about 45 min.
    • Try other kinds of beans too. I've tried white bean, edamame, and a mixture of several beans.
  • Juice of 1 lemon (or about 3 tbl. lemon juice)
  • 2 tbl. sesame tahini
    • This is a ground up paste made from sesame seeds. Berkeley Bowl sells it home-ground!
  • 2 tbl. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 or 2 garlic cloves (or roasted garlic)
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp parsley (optional)
  • Pinch of salt and pepper
  • Additional water if hummus is too thick
  • Additional optional ingredients which you can add for different flavored hummus:
    • Roasted red peppers
    • Chives
    • Sun-dried tomatoes
Directions:
  • Put all ingredients in a food processor (you can use a blender too, but it will be more difficult to mix) and blend until smooth.
  • Add water if the hummus is too thick.
  • Serve with pita chips, pretzels, or bread for a great appetizer/snack.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Baked Pasta -Samuel

So I haven't posted in a really long time. Why? I haven't gone grocery shopping in forever and I've just been surviving on potatoes and onions, along with anything that I managed to freeze. A sad, sad life, you must reckon.

Well NO, jokes on you. Here's a recipe with only the basics on hand, along with ingredients that easily last quite a while. You'll also see how easy this recipe is and learn a few things about sauces.

Baked pasta. It's the ultimate comfort food and an excellent addition to any party. The tomatoes in this dish make it just acidic enough for you to keep eating it without feeling like it's too rich or heavy. And it's one of the cheapest and easiest dishes out there to serve large amounts of people.



Baked Pasta
# of servings: 12
Cost: ~$8
Time spent: 1 hour
Ingredients:

  • 1 onion
  • 6-8 strips of bacon
  • 1 bulb garlic (all the cloves)
  • 2 cans chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup AP flour
  • 3 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 tbsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese
  • 1 lb (1 box) rotini pasta
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup fresh thyme
  • 1/4 cup fresh marjoram
  • 1/2 cup parmesan 
  • 1/4 cup chili flakes (optional)

Directions:
1. (Tomato sauce) Heat the pot on medium-high heat. Mince the onion and slice the bacon about a half inch wide. Add the bacon to the pot without oil and after one minute, add the onion. Grind in pepper and cook until onion is translucent. then add the two cans of tomato and half cup of red wine. Simmer and reduce for 20 minutes.


2. Preheat oven to as high as it goes (or broil, if you can).
(Cheddar roux) Heat another pot with medium-low heat and add the butter. After fully melted, add the flour and quickly whisk all of it until it's a paste. Cook off to neutralize floury flavor but keep whisking or it'll produce lumps. Add 1/4 cup of milk first and whisk to incorporate. Repeat steps until all of milk is used.


3. After all the milk is used, add in the nutmeg and pepper, and then add the cheddar and whisk in. You should have a sauce that just sticks to your whisk. Don't forget that when it cools, it gets even thicker.

At this point, boil a pot of hot water and cook pasta to al dente. Wash it in cold water after because you do not want the pasta to overcook when it goes in the oven.


4. Get Japanese panko bread crumbs and herbs in a food processor and process. I chose thyme and marjoram because I didn't want the food crumbs to turn green, but if you want your bread crust green, opt for parsley and rosemary.


5. Mix together your pasta and tomato sauce and cheddar sauce in a rather large container. Add chili flakes if you want it spicy.



6. Layer pasta with mozzarella, then the bread crumbs, and then another layer of Parmesan on top. It should look something like this:


7. Cook for about 20 minutes or until nice and brown. Let cool slightly and enjoy!




Thursday, September 6, 2012

Cinnamon Nutmeg Quick Bread - Laura

Cinnamon Nutmeg Quick Bread

Lately, there's not really any time to make anything that isn't quick (but still yummy), so that's the spirit of this cinnamon bread:)  both my apartment-mates love cinnamon, so I decided to whip up a quick cinnamon bread since I (sadly) did not have the ingredients for creating the more instinctive banana/carrot/zucchini breads. Anyways, it turned out warm and cinnamon-y and delicious - a perfect sweet bread with milk or coffee or tea or anything!   

Cinnamon Quick Bread
Difficulty: Easy
Yields: 1 loaf
Time: ~ 1 hour

Ingredients: 
2 cups all purpose flour
0.75 or 1 cup dark brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like things)
1 cup buttermilk* 
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
4 T neutral oil (I used sunflower, which is nearly neutral...but canola and grape seed oils work well too)
1 tsp nutmeg 
dash cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar:
0.33 or 0.5 cup white sugar (again, depending on how sweet you want it to be)
3 T cinnamon 

Note:
If you do not have buttermilk (I didn't have buttermilk when I made this last night :( ), here is a good substitution:

1 T white vinegar (or rice vinegar, which is a little sweeter and less acidic, but it also works)
milk

Put the tablespoon of vinegar into a cup, then fill up the rest of the cup to the top with milk. Let sit for 10 minutes and then use in the recipe :) 



Process:
1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and mix the wet ingredients together in a smaller bowl.  Combine the two mixtures until they form a wet dough. 



2.  Mix the cinnamon with the white sugar and set aside. 

3.  Preheat the oven to 350° F (the magic baking temperature! yayy). 

3. Line a loaf pan with foil, grease the bottom, and put in half of the dough mixture. Then, spoon half the cinnamon sugar over the dough.  Repeat with the other half of the dough and top with the rest of the cinnamon sugar. 


4. Take a chopstick or a knife and swirl the mixture, just as you would when marbling.


 5. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes, test for readiness by doing the toothpick-poking thing.  Slice and enjoy! It's the best either right out of the oven or a day or two afterwards :)