Category Archives: Recipes

Instant Pot, Recipes, Soups

Split Pea Barley Soup Redux – For The Instant Pot

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I’m going to work my way through some of my old recipes with my Instant Pot — which, by the way, I’m loving! Here’s one I made the other day: Split Pea Soup with Barley. Hearty and delicious.

SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH BARLEY
Ingredients

I am using a 6 quart Instant Pot. This recipe makes about three quarts.

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Garlic, 2 cloves minced (1 TB)
  • Spanish onion, 1/2 large, petite diced
  • Carrots, 2 large, petite diced
  • Celery stalks, 2 large, petite diced
  • Salt, 2 tsp.
  • Cumin, 2 tsp.
  • Turmeric, 2 tsp.
  • Hot paprika, 1/2 tsp.
  • Water, 7 cups (for the lentils) + 2 more cups (for the barley)
  • Vinegar, 3 TB
  • Green split peas, 1 lb.
  • Barley, 1/2 cup
  • Cilantro, 1 bunch, chopped (sometimes I also use, or use instead, chopped kale or spinach or chard)

Instructions

  1. Wash and prepare all the veggies and the garlic.
  2. Set the Instant Pot on Saute, and add the olive oil.
  3. Add the garlic and onion and saute briefly. Add the carrots and celery and continue to saute for a few moments.
  4. “Cancel” the Saute.
  5. Add the split peas to the Instant Pot, 7 cups of water, salt, cumin, turmeric, hot paprika and vinegar. Stir to mix all well.
  6. Close the lid of the Instant Pot and the vent. Set it to Pressure, High, for 20 minutes. I like to still see peas a bit, not have them totally disintegrated.
  7. Measure two cups of water. Rinse the barley, and add it to the 2 cups of water and set aside.
  8. Hit “Cancel” on the Instant Pot when finished. I usually do a QPR (Quick Pressure Release) so I can check on the state of the pot contents, not overcook. I can always Pressure more as needed. In this case, the split peas will not be finished because they’re going to cook more with the barley.
  9. Add the barley and water mixture to the soup, stirring it in. Set the Instant Pot to High Pressure for 10 minutes.
  10. This time when finished, don’t hit “Cancel.” You can do a regular pressure release (until you’re in a hurry to taste), letting the pot contents cook a little more as the pressure subsides. The pot will go to holding Warm.
  11. Stir, and check the liquid content and seasoning. Add more water if you need it and adjust seasonings as needed.
  12. I like my split peas and barley to retain some texture, but if you like everything softer and have a glass lid, you can put on the lid and let the Instant Pot continue to keep the soup warm, or you can Cancel and set the Pot to Saute with the lid on while you watch. With the latter, you need to stir fairly frequently to avoid browning on the bottom.  You can also set the Pot to Pressure on High for another 2-5 minutes (remember, there is cooking time before and after the Pressure time as pressure builds, then subsides).
  13. When the soup is finished, stir in the chopped cilantro.

I gave detailed instructions here, but this is soooooo easy. Basically it’s a matter of five minutes veggie prep time, five minutes Saute time, adding the split peas and their water along with the vinegar and seasonings and Pressuring for 20 minutes, then adding the barley and its water and Pressuring for another 10 minutes, checking it out and adjusting and adding the cilantro.

“Give peas a chance.”

For more, visit my blog, vegetatingwithleslie.org, “Like” me on FaceBook/Vegetating with Leslie or follow me on Twitter, @vegwithleslie.

Entrees, Instant Pot, Recipes

Another Instant Pot Recipe – Aloo Gobi

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For those of you who are looking for recipe inspiration, I have a huge set of files on Pinterest that I used to use when I wanted to try something new in the Cafe and now use for ideas for the CSA or just to try at home. My user name is LeslieCooks. I haven’t filed many of my own things there — I post them all right here, through my blog and just haven’t taken time yet to post them in Pinterest. But you’ll find loads of vegetarian files, then files under vegan-this and vegan-that when I started experimenting with veganism. During the summer for the CSA, I started keeping files by veggie — cauliflower, eggplants, etc. Recently I started a file of Instant Pot recipes.

So after many years on Middle Eastern dishes, I’ve been pretty fixated on Indian food lately, and it really lends itself to the Instant Pot. I often find my recipes on Pinterest. A couple of weeks ago, I came across a page (through Pinterest), cookwithmanali.org. Her recipes are excellent — she has a Facebook page too, just for the Instant Pot.

This week, I tried a recipe from Vegan Richa with a few changes for the taste buds of my family. As much as I love spicy food, Andy is kind of heat sensitive, so I had to tone it substantially. I also reduced the salt a bit. The dish was delicious, and Andy even went back for seconds and thirds.

INSTANT  POT ALOO GOBI

Ingredients

  • Red onion, one half
  • Garlic, 5 cloves
  • Serrano pepper, one half
  • Ginger, one 1/4″piece, peeled
  • Tomatoes, 2-4 plum
  • Potatoes, 2 medium
  • Cauliflower, 1 small head
  • Extra virgin olive oil, 2-4 TB
  • Cumin, 1 tsp.
  • Turmeric, 1 tsp.
  • Paprika, 1 tsp.
  • Salt, 1 tsp.
  • Garam masala, 1 tsp.

Instructions

  1. Add the peeled garlic, peeled ginger, Serrano pepper, tomatoes cut in half, cumin, turmeric, paprika and salt to a blender or Vitamix and blend until smooth.
  2. Cut the potato into 1″ cubes (I never peel potatoes) and the cauliflower into florets. Remember, any parts of the cauliflower you don’t use you can throw into a bag for use with other washed veggie scraps in a soup broth you make in the Instant Pot when enough accumulate).
  3. Set the Instant Pot to saute, add the blended tomato and seasonings and stir.
  4. Add the potato cubes, continuing to stir for a few seconds, then close the lid (if you have a clear lid to watch what’s going on, that’s great — I haven’t gotten mine yet). Cook the potatoes for 2 or 3 minutes until they soften a little.
  5. Add the cauliflower florets and stir. I actually added just a little water at this point and stirred it into the tomato sauce thoroughly to make certain there was enough moisture for pressure cooking.
  6. Hit Cancel. Reset the IP for High Pressure, 2 minutes, and close the lid and vent.
  7. When the IP finishes, do an IPR (Instant Pressure Release). Add the garam masala, stir lightly, and serve with brown Basmati rice (by the way, I cook the rice before the Aloo Gobi – 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, 1/2 tsp. salt, High Pressure for 10 minutes, natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then…rice!)

Enjoy!!

Recipes, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian

Mushroom Barley Soup with Ten Minutes Work – Instant Pot!

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This is a great soup, my comfort food — a meal in itself for a wintry evening. It took me ten minutes of prep time to load it into my Instant Pot, was cooked under pressure for 20 minutes while I put my feet up — and soup.

Ingredients

  • 2 TB extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 Spanish onion, petite diced
  • 2 large carrots, sliced on the bias
  • 2 stalks celery, sliced
  • 4 medium to large plum tomatoes, petite diced (or a 19 oz. can)
  • 1/2 lb. pearl barley
  • 1 lb. baby belle mushrooms, quartered (this time I used one very large Portobello mushroom
  • 2 cups chopped greens (kale/spinach/chard, any or all)
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. hot paprika
These were my raw ingredients for the Mushroom Barley Soup I made in my Instant Pot.

Instructions

  1. Add the extra virgin olive oil to the Instant Pot.
  2. Petite dice or chop the onion and add to the Instant Pot. Turn on IP to Saute for 5-10 minutes while you prep the remaining veggies.
  3. Slice the carrots on the bias and add to the onions in the IP while continuing the Saute.
  4. Slice the celery and add to the IP while continuing the Saute.
  5. If the veggies are soft or you’ve completed 10 minutes of Saute time, Cancel.
  6. Add all remaining ingredients: the petite diced tomatoes (I usually use fresh but was lazy this time), the 6 cups of water, the cut-up mushrooms, chopped greens, barley, water and seasonings. Stir.
  7. Close the lid on the IP and close the vent. Set to Pressure for 20 minutes. Close the vent.
  8. When the 20 minutes is complete, open the steam release until you can open the lid, about 10 minutes, then remove the lid, check seasonings and serve. Mmmm…mmm…good.
Entrees, Instant Pot, Meals, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

I’m big on Dal Makhani lately. Just making another batch in my Instant Pot.

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DAL MAKHANI

Ingredients
(Serves 3-4 unless you have a big appetite like I do!)

  • Urad dal (Whole black lentils), 1/2 cup
  • Dark red kidney beans, dry, 2 TB rounded
  • Spanish onion, 1 large, finely chopped
  • Ginger root, 1 TB, peeled and finely minced
  • Garlic, 1 clove, peeled and finely minced
  • Plum tomatoes, 3
  • Green chilies, 1-2 finely minced (Serrano is a good one) – I just used 1/2 of one chili
  • Turmeric, 1/4 tsp.
  • Cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp.
  • Chili powder, 1 tsp.
  • Coriander, 2 tsp.
  • Garam masala, 1/2 tsp.
  • Extra virgin olive oil, 1 – 2 TB
  • Cream (I used coconut milk for my vegan version), 1/2 cup
  • Salt, 3/4-1 tsp). (to taste)
  • Cilantro, a few leaves chopped for garnish

Directions

  1. Add the olive oil and cumin seeds to the Instant Pot and Saute until the seeds crackle. Cancel the IP while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
  2. Mince the garlic, peeled ginger root and green chili (I just used about 1/2 of one chili. I have a lot of spice sensitive people in the house). Add to the IP.
  3. Finely chop the onion and add to the IP. Turn on Saute again, and cook until soft. Cancel the IP.
  4. Run the cut-up tomatoes through a Vitamix or blender.  Add water to 3 cups. Add to IP along with remaining seasonings except garam masala.
  5. Add the dried black lentils and dried kidney beans.
  6. Close the lid of the IP and close the vent. Turn the IP on at High Pressure for 40 minutes. If you like the black lentils (Urad Dal) to retain their shape better, just add the kidney beans, set the pressure at 20 minutes, do a quick release, add the black lentils, stir, close lid and vent and cook at high pressure for the remaining 20 minutes.
  7. When done, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10-15 minutes. If the pressure isn’t yet fully released, do a quick release and remove the lid.
  8. Add the garam masala and let it blend for a few moments.
  9. Add a vegan milk. I used coconut milk. Pea protein milk would also work.
  10. Remove from the IP, and garnish with cilantro.

I enjoy the Dal these days with a medley of Rice and Ancient Grains from Food with Purpose that I get at Costco. It has a great texture and nice, nutty flavor and takes about 10 minutes to cook in the IP.

Entrees, Recipes

Kidney Bean Jambalaya

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I used to make this recipe in the Cafe, but it has been a while since I last pulled it out. My associate, Jame, created it for a group I was leading on healthy eating. I asked him to use kidney beans and brown Basmati rice in six different dishes so busy people could make all the rice and beans on the weekend and make up a quick dish with them each night of the week. His creations were fantastic!

This is a delicious vegan Jambalaya, and I decided to resurrect it. Unfortunately when I went hunting for a picture, what I had wasn’t the best resolution — and I wasn’t 100% sure what stage the recipe was when I recorded it in my files.  I mean, the ingredients and seasonings are all the correct ones, but I remember bumping up some of the seasonings and am not sure if that made it into the record.

Anyway, here it is for now, and one day soon I’ll make it in a reduced size — and check the seasonings. In fact, now that I have an Instant Pot, I might just make it very soon and work out the times for that. If you try it before I do, let me know how it is and if you needed to make any changes.

KIDNEY BEAN JAMBALAYA

Ingredients

  • Kidney beans, 6 cups cooked
  • Brown Basmati rice, 6 cups cooked (2 c. dry with 1 tsp. salt, 2 TB extra virgin olive oil)
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Green bell peppers, 2 cut in one in. chunks
  • Red bell peppers, 2 cut in one in. chunks
  • 2 onions cut in one in. chunks
  • Garlic, 1 TB
  • Smoked paprika, 1 tsp.
  • Basil, crushed, 1/2 tsp.
  • Rosemary, crushed, 1/2 tsp.
  • Thyme, crushed or ground, 1/2 tsp.
  • Salt, 2 tsp.
  • Hot paprika, 1/4 – 1 tsp. depending on your taste for heat

Instructions

Saute the peppers and onion with the garlic in the extra virgin olive oil until slightly softened. Add the remaining seasonings and sauté for a moment longer. Remove from heat. When the rice and kidney beans are ready, gently fold the beans and rice together with the peppers and onion. Serve and enjoy.

Recipes, Soups

Time for Fall Soups…This One’s Perfect for Fall CSA Veggies!

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Published in Bob’s Fresh and Local Newsletter, 10/25/2017.

I found this recipe last year on The Green Panda’s Kitchen. A group of women made it outdoors in Kenya, and when I read that, I started dreaming of making beautiful meals outdoors with veggies from Farmer Bob’s fields. The squash at this time of year is plentiful, and the fall weather has been amazing…just right for cooking outdoors. A cast iron Dutch oven, some heat, a place to cut up my veggies, and that’s all I needed.

But you don’t have to cook outside! You can use your kitchen cutting board and put a soup pot on your kitchen stove. I halved this recipe for the two of us, and I usually bump up the seasonings a little when I taste it toward the end.

MOROCCAN SOUP WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH & SWISS CHARD

Ingredients

  • Chickpeas, 1/2 lb., rinsed and cooked until just tender
  • Butternut squash, one small, washed, remove seeds and fibers, cut into 1.5 inch cubes (Don’t peel – I tried this! It really works!)
  • Carrots, 1/2 lb., washed and cut into medium dice
  • Onions, 1/2 lb., cut into medium dice
  • Tomatoes, 1/2 lb., cut into medium dice
  • Swiss Chard, 5-6 leaves, remove leaves from stems, finely chopped (can substitute another green)
  • Garlic, 4 good-size cloves, peeled and chopped
  • Extra virgin olive oil, 2 TB
  • Smoked paprika, 1-1/2 tsp.
  • Cinnamon, 1-1/2 tsp.
  • Cilantro, 1/2 bunch, washed and coarsely chopped
  • Lemon, 1/2 juiced
  • Cumin, 1/2 tsp.
  • Coriander, 1/2 tsp.
  • Salt, to taste (I usually use about 1 TB per gallon of soup)
  • Water to cover

Instructions

  1. Prepare the chickpeas by rinsing, covering with plenty of water, and cooking covered on low heat until tender (1-2 hours). Check periodically to make certain there is still sufficient water. Set aside with the remaining water.
  2. Prepare the veggies (squash, carrots, onion, tomatoes chard, cilantro) and set aside. Note: you can replace the fresh tomatoes with one-half of a 19 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes if you’re in a hurry)
    Mince the garlic.
  3. Add 2 TB extra virgin olive oil to a large soup pot. Saute the garlic and onion until softened.
  4. Add the squash, carrots and tomato (or one-half of a 19-oz. can petite diced tomatoes) and the reserved chickpeas with their water.
  5. Add additional water until all is cover — less for a more “packed” soup, more for a brothier soup.
  6. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until the veggies are tender.
  7. Add the seasonings and lemon juice and check the taste. Adjust seasonings if needed.
  8. Stir in the cilantro and chard.

I hope you enjoy this delicious, aromatic soup.

Tonight I’m making pumpkin and black bean patties for dinner. I’d love to share the results with you next week, but we’ve reached the end of the season! I hope the winter isn’t too hard on us this year, and I’ll look forward to connecting with you all again when we start getting Farmer Bob’s veggies again in the spring.

For more, visit my blog, vegetatingwithleslie.org, “Like” me on FaceBook/Vegetating with Leslie or follow me on Twitter, @vegwithleslie.

CSA, Health

The 10 Most Important Things I’ve Learned About Healthy Eating Over 50 Years

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I’m not a scientist, nor am I a medical professional. I just love well-prepared food and a feeling of good health. I like to read and test out on myself theories that make sense and judge them based on experience.

These are the 10 things I’ve learned about healthy, satisfying eating over more than fifty years of experimenting with myself, my family and friends and in my cafe:

  1. Eat real food. By real food, I mean whole foods from the earth as little manipulated as possible other than by your own preparation and cooking processes.
  2. Eat until you’re satisfied, not stuffed. There is a delay before the satisfaction message reaches your brain. Allow for that.
  3. If you’re not satisfied after meals and if you experience cravings, something needs adjusting in your diet.
  4. Be careful about eliminating categories of food from your diet. There’s a lot of “fake news” about the disaster that will overtake you when you eat certain foods. There’s also a lot of imperfect nutritional knowledge.
  5. Be careful about eliminating “food” categories, that is, except for added sweets of all kinds, natural and artificial. Get rid of those as much as you can. That includes most commercially processed foods.
  6. Eat fiber. When appropriate and possible, buy organic and don’t peel things.
  7. Don’t let the excuse that you can’t afford organic fruits and veggies stand in the way of eating them. It’s much more important to consume those whole foods than it is to avoid chemical residues. For the path of moderation, ewg.org provides a Dirty Dozen list of the worst offenders, updated each year.
  8. Aim for at least 80% plant foods in your diet.
  9. Nuts and seeds and avocados are your friends. They are the best source of healthy fats.
  10. Enjoy your meals! Remember, it’s always a work in progress. You learn more, we all learn more, we get lazy and need system rechecks and adjustments, perfection is never a possibility, and if you put healthy whole foods on your table, you can savor the taste and experience instead of counting calories or “carbs.”

I have found the best way for me to experience healthy, satisfied pleasure from what I eat is to work with my CSA. On the days I spend out in the field, I often accumulate 15,000 steps or more. I feel the wind and the sun and the rain. I enjoy the beauty and the colors that surround me. I have my hands in the food chain and can’t imagine much that is more satisfying than knowing I have a direct relationship to the food I eat and feed my family.

Best of all, I am challenged to use 3/4 bushel of seasonal produce and more every week. I try things that are new to me, that I’ve seen in stores but haven’t bought because they were unfamiliar. There just isn’t a way to eat more healthfully than by using up my box of beautiful whole foods that I had a hand in producing.

For more, visit my blog, vegetatingwithleslie.org, “Like” me on FaceBook/Vegetating with Leslie or follow me on Twitter, @vegwithleslie.

CSA, Recipes, Salads

Peppers: sweet or spicy and always beautiful

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Published in Bob’s Fresh and Local Newsletter 10/16/2017

Our dry early spring and late planting brings us a bonus in our fall harvest…lots of beautiful peppers, sweet ones, spicy ones, beautiful colored ones.

This versatile recipe works for any combination of peppers. Just adjust the recipe overall for quantity, and adjust the hot paprika depending on the heat of the peppers you use.

The original recipe used all sweet bell peppers. Today I made them with two of our sweet yellow bell peppers and seven of the spicy Anaheim peppers.

Here’s my original recipe. I halved it for this group of peppers and eliminated the hot paprika since the Anaheims gave the salad plenty of bite. If you are heat-sensitive, use more sweet bell peppers and fewer Anaheims:

SWEET (OR SPICY) PEPPERS

Ingredients

  • 6-8 red, yellow or orange bell peppers
  • 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 2 TB extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp Szeged hot paprika
  • 1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped

Procedure

Rub the peppers with oil, and run them under the broiler, turning them as needed, until browned and wrinkly all over. Don’t over cook — you want plenty of pepper flesh. Thinner peppers finish quickly. Peel the peppers, remove the stems (don’t worry about the seeds – they make a nice garnish and add nutrition and flavor), and cut into lengthwise 1/4″ strips. Cut across the lengths into 1″ pieces. Add seasonings, stir, taste and adjust seasonings. Enjoy!

For more, visit my blog, vegetatingwithleslie.org, “Like” me on FaceBook/Vegetating with Leslie or follow me on Twitter, @vegwithleslie.

Entrees, Meals, Recipes

Peter, Peter, stuffed pumpkin eater

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Published in Bob’s Fresh and Local CSA Newsletter 10/10/2017.

Farmer Bob’s pumpkins and winter squashes are beautiful this year, and they deserve to be the centerpiece of a meal, maybe even Thanksgiving dinner. This pumpkin feast is something you can feel proud to serve as your main dish for a vegan Thanksgiving — or right along with your turkey to satisfy vegetarian and vegan guests or as a festively colorful side dish. Even Peter will eat it and thank you, and he knows pumpkins!

This dish has three parts: the pumpkin, the pumpkin filling and the apples with their beautiful cranberry sauce topping.  You’ll have more filling than you need for the pumpkin, so you can just spread the extra around the pumpkin on the platter and put the apples on top of it. As you can see, the colors are amazing and will make any meal a special meal.

 

STUFFED PUMPKIN
Pumpkin and Stuffing (serves 4+ as a meal, many more as a side)

  • 1 Sugar or Pie Pumpkin
  • 2 Cups (Pre-cooked) Brown Basmati Rice
  • 2 Cups (Cooked) Chickpeas
  • 4 Cups Almonds/Raisins/Craisins/Apples
  • 4 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 TB + 2 tsp. Sugar
  • 2 tsp. Cinnamon
  • Pinch Hot Paprika

Cut off top of pumpkin. Cut stem to 2 inches. Scrape out seeds. Season inside of pumpkin with olive oil and honey (or unfiltered sugar). Rub outside of pumpkin with olive oil. Roast one hour at 350 degrees.

Cook two cups brown rice. Set aside. Sauté almonds, raisins, craisins and apple slices with olive oil, sugar, cinnamon and a pinch hot paprika. Add to rice with chickpeas. Stir together and re-season. Set aside.

Apples and Cranberries

  • 3 Baking Apples
  • 6 Cloves
  • 1 LB Bag Cranberries
  • Pinch Cinnamon
  • Juice of 1 Oranges
  • 2 TB Honey (Unfiltered Sugar for Vegans)
  • 1/4 – 1/2 Cup White Sesame, Toasted

Halve and oil the apples. Bake with cinnamon and cloves.

For sauce, juice orange and add 2+ TB honey (or sugar). Reduce sauce. Add cranberries and cook very briefly. Remove cranberries. Reduce sauce further. Recombine sauce and berries.

Assembling Pumpkin Meal
If you make everything ahead, warm each part separately. When ready to serve, fill the pumpkin loosely, replace pumpkin lid, and plate the pumpkin. Surround the pumpkin with the remaining filling, and place the apples on top of it around the pumpkin. Top the apples with cranberry sauce, and garnish with white sesame.

For more, visit my blog, vegetatingwithleslie.org, “Like” me on FaceBook/Vegetating with Leslie or follow me on Twitter, @vegwithleslie.

Appetizers, Entrees, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Nothing against my favorite, pumpkin pie…but there’s so much more!

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Published 10/3/2017 in Bob’s Fresh and Local CSA Newsletter

I always make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving, and I like to make them “from scratch,” with real pumpkin, not canned. It’s so easy — why not? All it requires is to slice the pumpkin in two, scoop and scrape out seeds and pulp (and set aside for roasted pumpkin seeds), oil, and place face side down on a roasting pan in a 350 degree oven for about an hour. At the end of the cooking time, remove from the oven, cool, and easily scoop out the pumpkin flesh.

And of course there are the seeds, which I’m munching as I write. You don’t get those with canned pumpkin! I put them in a colander with the pulp, run cold water over them, rubbing the seeds and pulp together. The seeds easily pull away, and I discard the pulp. Usually I dry the seeds briefly, then oil and salt them and oven roast in a shallow pan. This time, for some reason, I decided to pan roast them in a cast iron pan. I had just made some sweet pita in that pan using maple syrup, and I was too lazy to wash the pan, so I just threw in the seeds over the bits of darkened maple syrup and stirred constantly until they browned slightly and voila! Done. Delicious.

There are so many ways to use pumpkin that I can’t even count them. I get my inspiration from Morocco most of the time. Those folks love pumpkin and are so creative with it! Pumpkin soups, kibbee, stews, stuffed.

This week I’m going to share two pumpkin hummus recipes, the first with a slightly sweet profile, the second a savory Lebanese version. The Lebanese version didn’t have chickpeas in it, and it was lovely, but I confess to having an aversion to calling things hummus that don’t have chickpeas since in both Hebrew and Arabic, “hummus” means chickpeas as well as the “dip” in which they are used. When I finished the slightly sweet hummus, I had a few extra chickpeas, so I threw them into the Lebanese hummus mix, and it was delicious. I could have used more and will next time.

PUMPKIN HUMMUS

Blend the following until as smooth as you like it:

  • Chickpeas, 2 cups cooked (I always make my own from dried beans, but if you used canned, rinse and drain)
  • Pumpkin, 2 cups prepared as above
  • Cinnamon, 2 tsp.
  • Ginger root, peeled and minced, 2 tsp.
  • Salt, 1/8-1/4 tsp.
  • Nutmeg, 1/8-1/4 tsp.
  • Cloves, 2-4
  • Hot paprika, 1/8-1/4 tsp.
  • Sugar, 1 TB slightly rounded

For the “chips” on this one, I use whole wheat Lebanese pita, available in the Middle Eastern section of many stores. Cut it into chips and oven-crisp at 200 degrees until lightly toasted. Remove, cool and bag up for use later.

For this slightly sweet hummus, I stirred the chips in a hot pan for a few minutes with a bit of olive oil, maple syrup and cinnamon. Yum.

LEBANESE PUMPKIN HUMMUS

Blend the following until as smooth as you like it:

  • Pumpkin, prepared as above, 600-700 grams
  • Chickpeas, 1/2 cup
  • Lemon juice, freshly squeezed, 2 TB
  • Garlic, 1 clove, minced
  • Tahini, 5 TB
  • Salt, 1/2 tsp.
  • Hot paprika, 1/4 tsp.
  • Extra virgin olive oil for garnish
  • Roasted pumpkin seeds for garnish

Serve this one with the regular pita chips from the Lebanese pita, not sweetened. Enjoy these delicious variations on a classic Middle Eastern favorite.

For more, visit my blog, vegetatingwithleslie.org, “Like” me on FaceBook/Vegetating with Leslie or follow me on Twitter, @vegwithleslie.