Showing posts with label appetizer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label appetizer. Show all posts

2/16/15

Edamame Hummus Crostini

I know it has been some time since my last post. I recently was hired by a weight management company to work as a weight loss coach. In that I had to travel for training and work with others to get the center up and running as well as assist with business development. 

On top of my personal training work, recruiting, my personal life had come to a standstill.  I have only been cooking on the few days I have had off, IF I had the energy.



Excited to have a 2 day weekend, my first order was to get my home in order and to make some room in my freezer. I also wanted to eat as my diet has been less than interesting lately. Most of the time my lunch has been a small can of tuna and some crackers eaten in my car while making recruiting calls.

I had a bag of edamame in the freezer, so I decided to make some edamame hummus. Having perused the internet for recipes, I managed to combine them into a recipe that turned out pretty darn tasty.  Admittedly, I was surprised. I wasn’t really sure edamame and hummus were a good match. It is!

I had planned on eating the hummus with some vegies and some Naan bread. Once made, I used the slices of ciabatta bread I had in the fridge, instead and some avocado slices to make edamame crostini. I didn’t have it for lunch. I also didn’t have if for a snack or for dinner. I had it for breakfast! What a great, healthy way to start the day.

With St. Patrick ’s Day coming up, you might want to save the recipe and have it with some green tea (or green beer I suppose) to celebrate. Of course, it is really too good to wait that long for.  Maybe that will be your second batch.

I hope you will try this. Enjoy.

Edamame Hummus

Yield: 1 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen shelled edamame
1 garlic clove, peeled
Juice from 1/2 fresh lemon
1/8 cup tahini (stir well before measuring) More if needed.
1 tbsp extra virgin cold pressed Greek olive oil
2-4 tbsp water,as needed
1/4 to 1/2 pink sea salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp each ground cumin and smoked paprika
Dash cayenne pepper
Olive oil for drizzle

For crostini:
Ciabatta bread slices
Avocado slices
Smoked salt, optional

1. Rinse the edamame and place in a microwave safe bowl with about 1/8 cup of water. Cover with a paper towel. Microwave 4-6 minutes, until just cooked.
2. With the motor running on a food processor, drop in 1 garlic clove to mince. Scrape down bowl.
3. Next, add edamame to the processor and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the side of the bowl as necessary.
4. Add in the lemon juice, tahini, olive oil  and process again until smooth. Add water to get it to your preferred consistency (soft but not runny) Add the salt, pepper, cumin and smoked paprika. Pulse to combine.

5. Remove hummus to a lidded bowl. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on top. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

2/8/12

Super Bowl healthy food

I was invited to my friend's house for Super Bowl.  Actually he is also a former training client. The food is pot luck style and everyone is asked to bring a dish. I had a busy week so had not planned what I was going to bring.  I wanted to make something that was"somewhat" healthy and would go well with the traditional Super Bowl food. I also wanted to use ingredients I had on hand.

Well after nixing several ideas, I found this recipe I had cut out from a Sunset Magazine.  I had all but one ingredient (the chips), so I did run to the store for them. I liked this dip and it seemed to go over pretty well.  I even shared the recipe on request.

This is not for the faint of heart as it is made with smoked jalapenos (Chipotle Chiles).  One thing I love about being back in Texas is that I am not the only one who likes spicy food.  So if you are a spicy food lover,  try this. If not,  there are plenty of other things you can eat.

The only changes I made to the recipe is first, I used jarred roasted red peppers. I also added a little cumin and drained the yogurt to make it a little thicker. It would be fine if you don't drain it (cheesecloth or a coffee filter works) just not as thick. So here it is. Would love to hear from you if you try it. Oh...forgot to mention, I used baked tortilla chips. Enjoy.



Red pepper chipotle dip: 
Grill or broil 2 red peppers until blackened. Peel, seed, and stem. In a food processor, whirl peppers with ½ cup plain Greek yogurt and 1 canned chipotle chile until smooth. Add salt to taste. Transfer to a bowl.. Chill to thicken; top with sliced green onions. Serve with tortilla chips.