Portland Foodie

Homemade Tahini and Black Garbanzo Hummus

I found myself wanting hummus this weekend, but without the necessary Tahini. I knew that I had about a quarter of a cup of sesame seeds and some sesame oil, so I figured I could make some sort of homemade Tahini that would work for this particular dip. 

Now Tahini is traditionally made through a process that involves a lot of work. Sesame seeds are soaked in water for 25 hours, then crushed to loosen the outer coating. This coating is then removed and the kernels are grilled and then milled. Um, I am fairly certain I don't have a grill small enough for sesame seeds...

However, it is entirely possible to make Tahini dip at home. This is a much shorter process that results in a different texture, but similar flavor. I made a small batch because I didn't have many seeds...and quite frankly, I didn't want to invest a lot of product in my first effort.

And, something to think about ahead of time: you will need a device that is capable of making paste out of tiny seeds. If you were using a large quantity of the little buggers, you can process them in the food processor, but this recipe contains such a small amount that I found the blades couldn't do much. Fortunately, I have an unbelievable Japanese mortar and pestle (called a Suribachi and Surikogi) that has ridges along the sides of the ceramic bowl...perfect for sesame pulverization.

Here's how I made it at home:

1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 Tbs olive oil
dash sesame oil
coarse salt

Add sesame seeds to a skillet on medium heat, toast until they start to turn a golden brown. Add seeds and coarse salt to mortar and pestle and start mashing away. As the seeds start to break up, add olive oil and sesame oil. Continue until it reaches your desired consistency.

As I said in the beginning, the whole purpose of the tahini was to make hummus. I had a small amount of black garbanzo beans left (that I had grown last summer) and I wanted to use them up. I started by soaking the beans overnight. Then, I simmered them on low for a couple of hours. I was surprised at how long it took for the little dudes to reconstitute. Once they were tender, I added them to the food processor. Here's the recipe:

8 oz or so of garbanzo beans
2 cloves of garlic
tahini paste we made earlier
2-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
juice from one half of a lemon 
salt and pepper

Add beans,garlic, tahini paste, and lemon juice to a food processor. Pulse to combine. Stream in a couple of tablespoons of really good extra virgin olive oil to help the hummus come together. Stop and check out the taste. If the taste and texture is where you want it, then you are done. If not, add either lemon juice, olive oil or salt to adjust until you reach a combination that is best for you.

Hope you enjoy this recipe....have you ever tried to make tahini at home?

HipCooks Hits Portland: Holy Mole!

Recently, I was invited to attend a HipCooks class. Hipcooks was started in Los Angeles (but we won't hold that against them) and has recently opened their Portland location on the ever growing cooler section of N. Williams (across from Pix Patisserie). The class that I terrorized...err...attended...was called "Holy Mole!" and as you might suspect, was a Mexican-fusion class, complete with margaritas.

Unfortunately, the fabulously fun owner of HipCooks, Monika Reti, wasn't able to teach my class...but the ever perky Allison did a great job of keeping everyone engaged. This was truly  a hands on, everybody gets to taste everything, kind of experience.

Here we are making flan with a twist...a bit of fresh pepper in the flan base ensures a kick follows the sweetness of the caramel. Did I mention we made caramel? Yeah, see, what's not to like about a class that makes a product that contains 100% sugar?

We made an extensive menu, which of course, involved the creation of a mole. And though I would have liked a deeper level of foodie info, I was by far the minority. Class members asked great  questions, were introduced to new techniques and got to mash things up with a really big mortar and pestle...fun!

Did I mention we made margaritas? Um, yeah...and there was wine involved...And at the end of the evening, we all sat down to eat our meal togther. 

The evening was a lot of fun and way low pressure. I would love to try another cuisine specific class, they have a Thai and a Greek class that would be really great. I also hear that they have a knife skills class...which would be great if it would reduce the number of times I inadvertantly cut myself while trying to chop a few carrots for dinner...sigh...

But there is one secret about HipCooks that I am reticent to tell you. In fact, I am only going to do so because I like Monika and her husband and it is only fair to send them business instead of keep this foodie resource in my grubby little heart. Get closer to the computer now so you can hear...they have the most amazing, I mean amazing, Nielsen-Massey vanilla bean paste for $8 and Maldon sea salt for $7. Yes, they have a small inventory of specialty foods and utentsils for great prices. But listen, don't tell everybody, ok...'cause they won't have any left when I stop by...

Anywhoo, do yourself a favor and give their classes a try. They cost around $55 a pop...not a bad investment for 3 hours and a meal. Plus, they email you all of the recipes afterwards so you don't have to spend the whole time trying to write everything down.

And if you do go, be sure to tell Monika I sent you...and leave some vanilla paste for me...

Growing Food: A Guide for Beginners

Today marks the release of my first book, Growing Food: A Guide for Beginners! YEA!! Below is a preview of the back cover...but I would love for you to take a look at it on Lulu.com. There you can peruse the first few pages and see what the inside of the book looks like.

And other big news...I am currently developing a new podcast with a crazy chick you may know, Amanda Thomsen of Kiss My Aster. It is called Good Enough Gardening and we will be debuting our first episode in the next week.

But wait...that's not all! Today on Cooking Up A Story, you will find me kneeling in the garden, attempting to teach you how to plant beets. Only Rebecca Gerendasy could convince me to do such a thing. It is a cute video, though...did I mention how amazing she is? And speaking of amazing women...two upcoming interviews are in the works. Tonight I am being interviewed by everybody's favorite life coach (@coachvanessa) at Integrative WellnessWorks in the Let Your Life Bloom Series. Next week, I will be chatting it up with @FarmerPhoebe...more details on that in a couple of days. And in case you missed it, The Nutrition Data Blog did a nice little write up with some quotes from me! 

WHEW! OK, finally, here is the back cover of the book...I am so excited you guys! YEA!

Can You Survive Without a Grocery Store?

It has been a long time since American’s were worried that they might have to answer that question. Recent economic and food safety concerns have contributed to a new local food movement in which communities are talking about increasing independence from the supply chain and supporting local growers. Many people have decided to start a vegetable garden…and you can’t get any more local than that!

If you want to join them but are afraid that you won’t know how to get started … relax, we’ve got you covered!  “Growing Food” will teach you everything you need to know about how to plant, harvest, prepare and store the top ten (okay, eleven) vegetables in simple terms and step by step instructions.

And, this book is full of opportunities for you to connect with all kinds of resources. For the first time in gardening history, there is finally a resource that combines written information with live online interaction. Just think, you can ask a real person your gardening questions!  In this book you will find information about:

•             Organic gardening blogs

•             Facebook, MySpace and Gather Grow Your Own Food groups

•             Gardening forums, videos and podcasts

•             Tons of topic specific web pages for more in depth reading

 

This book is not the end of your learning experience. It is the doorway to a whole network of people who can support you in growing your own food.

Turkey Noodle Soup

Turkey Noodle Soup is an old favorite of mine, particularly around Thanksgiving. In fact, this is made from leftover turkey I vacuum sealed and stored in the deep freeze last turkey day. I was inspired to get it out at the beginning of March as temperatures in Portland dropped and sleet started falling.

It is an easy soup to make, but oh so delicious. Here's how it goes:

2 lbs turkey left overs (I had a carcass and miscellaneous cuts)
2 large yellow onions
3 leeks
1 head of garlic
8 carrots
6 celery stalks
6 bay leaves
1 each thyme, rosemary, oregano
1/2 tsp dried chipotle peppers
4 oz bow tie pasta
olive oil and butter
salt and pepper

Place turkey in a large stock pot and cover with water. Clean and roughly chop one onion, half of garlic, and half of carrots, and half of celery to the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a low boil. Leave in place for an hour or so, making sure it doesn't boil over or reduce more than a third.

Strain contents, return stock to stove. Sift through turkey bones and remove meat and save to add back to the pot later. Bring stock back to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil and reduce stock until it is half of its original volume. Slice remaining onion and leeks, add to a pan with olive oil and a bit of butter. Caramelize over low heat. Once stock is reduced, add remaining carrots, celery, garlic. Then add bay, thyme, rosemary, oregano, chipotle peppers and let simmer until carrots are mostly tender. Add pasta and cook according to directions. Add turkey during the last few minutes to reheat. Serve with curls of Parmiggiano Reggiano top. YUM!