Edamame Hummus

Hello there,

I made this recipe yesterday as an appetizer for family to eat while watching the Kentucky Derby. Trying to incorporate mint to go with the mint julep’s the race is known for, I did a quick Google search for “mint appetizer” and this recipe from Bon Appetite came up. It immediately caught my eye because I have never seen anything that didn’t incorporate chick peas call itself hummus. Could it be as good? Was this a hummus impostor? As it turns out, it is not hummus at all!

As many vegetarians and vegans can probably agree, hummus is a lifesaver when we are feeling protein deficient or craving something hearty. But, while it is a great source of protein, sometimes it can be a little heavy and bland. This recipe uses edamame and peas as the base instead of chick peas, so you still have protein but with a lot less fat.  This recipe is a neat spin on an classic, but I must admit it does not come close to the real thing. I love my hummus.

These bites were a hit although I did notice a lot of dipping chips in the hummus and forgoing the endive all together.  While endives are fancy and nice to look at, they a get a little bit bitter after too many. If you aren’t into endives or cant find them at your store, you can serve this on pita chips as well – keeping with the whole hummus idea.

Most ingredients below are from the original recipe with a few adjustments. Bon Appetite tends to over complicate recipes, this is a more simplifie and easy-to-make version. The whole thing (minus shelling the edamame) took about 25 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 2 packages frozen edamame (shelled).
• 2  packages frozen peas
• 2 whole endives
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon ground corriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
• 1/4 cup  cilantro plus more for garnish
• mint for garnish
• salt and black pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil with a few pinches of salt, and throw frozen shelled edamame and peas in for 2 minutes, or until tender. Immediately remove from heat and throw into a colander.

Once they are strained, throw them in ice cold water.

I love the colors in this recipe! Once cooled, throw back into the colander. Once strained, throw them in the blender. Blend until smooth, and then add all the other ingredients.

Arrange endives in whatever fashion you like. Add a dollop of the edamame hummus to each leaf. Garnish with mint and cilantro.

Eat and enjoy!

{Recipe via}

Red Curry Soup + Rice + Purple Kale

Hello reader, you are currently laying your eyes on my first post! A little background on me: I have been a pescetarian for about a year and a half now but I have been I’ve recently begun a new lifestyle undertaking – I will no longer be eating gluten. It started as an experiment just to see if I could do it. After two weeks of no gluten and seeing how easy it is and how much better I feel, I will now be gluten-free indefinitely. I’ve discovered when I give up one kind of food, a whole new colorful variety of foods pops into my diet.  I hope to cook at least one meal a week, sometimes vegan, sometimes not.

I found this recipe on theppk.com which is an awesome place for vegan recipes. Made a few slight alterations because I like extra spicy, hence the dripping sriracha on the side of the bowl! Kale is definitely trending in the health food world these days, and I absolutely love anything involving curry, so I thought I would give it a try. This recipe rears 8 bowls, my family of 5 devoured it in one sitting, and everyone loved it!

Red Curry Soup + Rice + Purple Kale

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 25 min

I was able to find all of the ingredients at Publix for under $20, and it fed five! Who said eating healthy is expensive?

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced medium
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
3/4 cups brown rice
6 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons red curry paste
1 bunch purple kale, pulled from stems and torn into bite size pieces
1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 can lite coconut milk
1 tablespoon agave syrup
Juice of one lime

Optional: fresh chopped cilantro to garnish and sriracha!

Preheat a 4 quart soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion in oil with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes or so, until translucent. Add garlic and ginger and saute a minute more.

Add rice, vegetable broth and salt, cover pot and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, lower heat to simmer. Mix in 2 tablespoons curry paste. Add kale and sweet potatoes. Cover pot and let simmer for about 20 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender. Brown rice also takes a bit longer to cook than white so factor that in if necessary.

Add coconut milk, agave and lime. Taste for salt and flavor. Add more curry paste if you like. (I did).

Remove from heat and serve immediately, or even better let it sit for 10 minutes to give the flavors a chance to meld. Top with fresh chopped cilantro (and sriracha) if you like.

Side note: I am the only one in my household who doesn’t eat meat or gluten. This is a great meal for everyone, regardless of dietary restrictions.

 

{recipe via}