From Scratch - - Hummus!

With just a few short weeks of summer left (*sob!*), I've been trying to find as many ways as possible to really take advantage of the season.  Like most of my ideas, this one involves food!  I thought it would be fun to try and find as many tasty ways as possible to use up the veggies from my garden and branch out into making things I've never made from scratch.  So I opened my refrigerator in search of some inspiration, and lo and behold I saw one of my "go to" condiments and favorite dips, and I just knew it would be the perfect challenge - - Hummus!  

I love the stuff.  I usually buy different varieties depending on my particular craving, but I've never tried to make it myself.   I've heard everyone say it is easy to make, and that the store bought stuff doesn't hold a candle to the versions made from scratch...but still I reverted to the grab and go containers full of preservatives and artificial, well, everything.

Just a few ingredients is all you need!  I kept double
checking when I  took the photo because it seemed so empty! 

So back to my challenge!

I decided to try my hand at making hummus from scratch to give me something to dip my fresh veggies in.  I'm happy to report that it really is super easy, and now I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a new food addiction on my hands as I try out every possible recipe and variation I can think of.  But considering how my garden keeps on gifting me with cucumbers and peppers, I will have no shortage of tasty vessels with which to eat it up!

Just pile it all into your food
processor and give it a whirl!

For this first attempt though, I stuck to the basics and made a plain variety.  I wanted to test run the original before I went and got all fancy.  I know, I even surprised myself with that decision!  So first things first, I had to find myself some Tahini.  The local grocer didn't have it, (or at least didn't have it in the 3 or 4 different spots I tried to find it) so I ended up at a higher-end grocery store before I located a jar. Tahini is a paste made from ground, hulled sesame seeds.   

In my hunt to research various recipes for this challenge, I found a few that claim you can make hummus without tahini.  The flavor profile is so delicious though that it might just be worth the hunt.  And while I don't usually like to buy speciality items or things that are only used in one type of preparation I learned that you don't have to refrigerate the open container and it seems to have a pretty decent shelf life so I will be able to use it up before it goes bad on me.   [Note to self: Find other tasty uses for tahini!]  If you can't find tahini and you still want to give making the recipe a try, you can substitute peanut butter to get some similar nutty flavor.  The consistency isn't quite the same so you will need more liquid from the beans but it will certainly still be tasty!

When I say the recipe is super simple, I'm not exaggerating.  When I lined up the ingredient picture above, I kept having to double check my ingredients because it seemed like I had to be missing something.  The first step is draining the can of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) and putting them into your food processor or blender.  You want to save the liquid from the can, so set that aside for now.  Then, throw all the rest of the ingredients into the blender with the beans and puree it together.  Once blended, check the consistency and then add in just enough of the liquid from the can to make it a thick and smooth consistency that suits your taste.  The end.

No, seriously.

Other than spooning it into a serving bowl and drizzling it with a little bit of olive oil and a few sprinkles of paprika to make it look extra "gourmet", you are staring at the finished product ready to eat.

Mini wheat pita bread and fresh cucumbers made great dippers
for this quick and tasty hummus!

You can serve it with your favorite pita, chips or veggies.  As I mentioned when I started this whole entry, I had a serious overflow of cucumbers to devour so I sliced them up and got to snacking.  Another really great way to use hummus is as a spread on sandwiches.

Since it is a dish you are eating raw the real flavors of the ingredients will come through so be sure and use a good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  Oh, and you absolutely, positively have to promise me that you will use a real lemon.  Not the one that comes in a bottle!!  I know you might be thinking you can get away with it and it will taste the same, but you would be SO wrong!

Overall, I think my food challenge was a grand success.  For the next phase I'm going to start experimenting with different varieties of flavors and toppings, so let me know what your favorite hummus combination is and I will give it a try!  I just finished harvesting and making the most delicious oven-dried tomatoes last night.  The entire time I was making them I just kept thinking about how delicious they would be mixed into this hummus.  I will definitely be mixing up a batch of Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus this weekend. And, of course there are all my other favorite versions - - Roasted Garlic, Roasted Red Pepper, ....oh, I could mix in some homemade pesto and use it as a spread on a sandwich ....  the possibilities are endless!

Happy Snacking!

Close up shot of the finished creamy hummus drizzled with Olive Oil and just
a sprinkle of Paprika!  So tasty! 

Homemade Hummus
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas
1/4 cup (or more to taste) liquid reserved from chickpeas
Juice and zest of one lemon
2 Tablespoons tahini
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste)
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
Paprika (optional) 

Lemon Glazed Zucchini Bread

Everyone keeps saying that this summer is going by too quickly; the weather hasn't been the greatest in terms of temperature.  Despite that fact, I have been trying to make the most out of every opportunity.  The cooler weather and strange slow start to summer meant great things for my garden.  The first harvest of radishes was awesome, and the two varieties of lettuce I planted (mixed greens and a mesclum mix) have provided an abundance of yummy salads.  My Kirby cucumbers grow faster than I can pickle them and now the tomatoes and squash are competing with each other for who can produce the most!  Seeing my grocery bill shrink because I have all the fresh produce in my own backyard is such a nice rewarding feeling.

Check out those cute 8 Ball Squash!

I tried planting a new variety of squash this year, called "8 Ball" which is a little small round squash that looks just like a little pumpkin.  I have been really happy with how they have grown.  Both of my plants are just humongous! So, because they are coming in so quickly, I keep giving them away to friends and neighbors.  My next door neighbor is an elderly woman who just loves to get the fresh veggies we bring her.  This time, my good karma paid off because she turned my extra zucchini into some yummy bread and brought us over a small loaf as a thank you!  :)  So tasty!

Well that got me to thinking that I hadn't ever tried to make zucchini bread.  We've grilled it, roasted it, put it into salads and even sliced it paper thin and served it as a crudo with a fresh lemon vinaigrette.  So, why not bake it into a tasty bread that we can freeze and eat throughout the fall and winter months?Inspired by my neighbors tasty traditional version, I went in search of some unique and fun variations and found two excellent recipes - - one for a Lemon Zucchini bread with a glaze and one for a version with Nutella and honey.   My husband is a huge fan of lemon poppyseed cakes and muffins and he's never met a chocolate dessert he didn't like, so I figured it was worth a shot!

Shredded Zucchini sits in a
colander to drain the water

I will have to blog about the Nutella version sometime soon, but here is how the Lemon Zucchini bread turned out.  I started by grating the zucchini on a box grater using the largest option and placing it into a colander to let the water drain off.  Then I sprayed a non-stick loaf pan with cooking spray and lined it with parchment paper.  Some recipes will tell you to flour it to keep it from sticking but that method never seems to work for me and then half of whatever I'm baking ends up staying in the pan.  So now I always take the extra minute to cut the parchment to size and tuck it neatly into the pan, leaving just an inch or so of overhang on long sides.  The spray helps hold it in place and keeps the two ends from sticking as well.

Use one bowl for your dry ingredients,
and another for the wet.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Then, in another bowl beat 2 eggs with the oil and sugar.  Mix well.  Add in the buttermilk, lemon juice and zest and combine.  I think the addition of the buttermilk is what gives this bread a great tangy and rich flavor so you could substitute if you didn't want to use it or if you didn't have it on hand you can always make your own quick version.

Once you have all your wet ingredients mixed, you can stir in the zucchini.  Be sure and squeeze out the excess water before you add it.  I just used my fingers to pick up small handfuls and squeezed the moisture out; no need to dirty a dish towel.  Its amazing how much water you can remove that way.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.  Don't do it the other way around or you will end up with lots of clumps of flour and a lumpy finished batter.  You might not think it would make that big of a difference but after you've made the mistake once and tried dumping your dry into your wet only to be met with an awful bowl of lumps, you will believe me!

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let it cool for a few minutes and then grab each side of the parchment paper and gently lift it out of the pan.  Set it on a wire rack to cool completely.  I tasted the bread just like this, without the glaze and it was pretty good all on its own.  So, if you want a finished product less on the sweet side you can stop there and enjoy.  But if you like your bread a bit more on the sweet side, you can take the extra step and make the glaze to pour over the top.

Finished loaf right out of the
oven.  Note the parchment paper
"handles"! 

The glaze could not be simpler to make.  You just take 1 cup of powdered sugar (be sure and break up any lumps) and add the juice of one lemon and a little splash of lemon extract (optional).  Then add in the milk and stir until you get the desired consistency.  It doesn't take much milk so I usually add in a tablespoon at a time, stir and then see how it looks. Carefully spoon the glaze over the cake letting it run down the sides and cover the top.  I did this on a plate and just kept spooning the excess back over the top of the bread until it was nicely coated.  Once it sits for a bit, it will harden up nicely.  The recipe I adapted this from also suggested adding 1/2 teaspoon of meringue powder to get the glaze to harden up even better.  I will have to give that a try next time!

It's a nice light color with small
specks of the lemon and zucchini

I'm pretty happy with the end result so I will definitely be making more loaves to tuck into the freezer as my garden keeps providing me with the beautiful squash.  That way I will have them at the ready and can mix up quick batch of the glaze and have homemade Lemon Zucchini bread for visiting houseguests or even just a treat on a weekend!

We can add this homemade bread to the list of reasons I love having a garden.  It might not be the ideal summer temperature, but at least I can complain about it while eating a piece of Lemony Zucchini bread and licking the glaze off my fingers!

The glaze coats the bread and glistens
nicely, beckoning you to cut a slice and enjoy! 

Lemon Zucchini Bread 
2 cups flour (All Purpose)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 Tbl fresh lemon juice and zest (1 lemon)
1 cup grated zucchini

Lemon Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp lemon extract (optional)

milk, as needed to reach desired consistency