Hummus

Maybe it’s the heat, but lately I’ve been feeling like minimal cooking, so I’ve been making lots of spreads. The latest was hummus. Ingredients: 1 tin chickpeas (about 400 g) 2 cloves of garlic (or more, if you prefer) 3-4 tbsp tahini juice from 1 lemon (or 2-3 tbsp lemon juice) 5-6 tbsp olive oil (use more for a looser, smoother spread, or less for a stickier spread) 1-2 tbsp fresh parsley spices (I use cinnamon and smoked sweet paprika, but cumin is also common) salt and pepper to taste Instructions: 1. Drain the chickpeas and rinse well. 2. Blend all the ingredients except the salt and pepper in a food processor. Then season to taste. 3. Serve with vegetables or pita bread.

Olive Tapenade

We were at a reception where olive tapenade was served on little pieces of baguette and a couple of weeks later, I found myself craving it. So this is what we made. It was delicious on crisp rolls or on focaccia. Ingredients: 2 cloves of garlic (more if you like it stronger) 1 tin of black olives (about 1¼ cups) (you can also mix in green olives) 1-2 tbsp lemon juice 2-3 tbsp olive oil sea salt and black pepper to taste Instructions: 1. Mix all the ingredients together in a food processor until the tapenade is your desired consistency (I like it pretty smooth, with some chunks). 2. Season, then serve.

Vegan Snack Recipes

A relative sent me this link, which features vegan snack recipes. Yum!

Garlic Dough Balls

This is just like you might get at a restaurant, except our version is vegan, plus it’s cheaper to make it at home.

Ingredients:

1 cup strong bread flour (about 95 g)

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp yeast

1 tbsp olive oil

80 ml warm water (about 1/3 cup)

3 cloves of garlic

fresh parsley (about 2-3 tbsp)

more olive oil

Instructions:

1. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, oil, and water together. Leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour

2. Dice the garlic, wash and chop the parsley, and warm them together in the oil.

3. Separate the dough into 8-12 small balls and let rise for another 20-30 minutes.

4. Brush with the garlic oil and bake for 15 minutes at 200 C.

Seasoned Chickpeas

This is easy to vary, as you can add any spices you like. You can have this as a snack (instead of crisps, for example) or with rice. I served it with red rice and radish sprouts recently and it worked out very well. A dollop of sour cream or yogurt would go well with it too.

Ingredients:

1 tin or container of chickpeas

olive oil

spices (I used 1 tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp crushed chilli flakes, 2 tsp mint, 1 tsp ginger)

Instructions:

1. Rinse and drain the chickpeas.

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the spices, cook for a minute or two, then add the chickpeas.

3. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring once in a while. Then increase the heat and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the chickpeas are popping a bit.

4. Serve as is or with rice.

Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

This is a really moist, flavourful recipe. Lemon and ricotta go so well together and I decided to combine them into a light cake. You can also make the recipe into muffins or a bread shape. I got lots of compliments on it!

Ingredients:
170 g butter, plus extra for the tin
1 cup ricotta
½ cup yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups flour
1½ cups sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 lemon
3 eggs

Instructions:
1. Cream the butter, ricotta, yogurt, and vanilla together.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together.
3. Mix the moist and dry ingredients together well.
4. Grate the zest of the lemon into the mixture and add the juice of half the lemon.
5. Beat the eggs and add them to the mixture. Grease the tin.
6. Bake for 25 minutes at 180 C (or for 15 minutes if you make them as muffins).

Starring...Celery

Poor celery, that much ignored vegetable. People rarely seem to give celery a starring role in any dish. Instead, it’s relegated to an extra bit of crunchiness in a salad, or else used as a snack by those on a diet. But actually, celery has quite a lovely little bite, and I like to keep it around to munch on or throw into a variety of dishes.

When I was a child, I remember being given “ants on a log” as a snack at school. This involves spreading celery with peanut butter and topping it with a few raisins. In my opinion, this is a still a tasty combination. I think celery and peanut butter work together well and it’s easy to imagine a peanut butter sandwich with a few pieces of celery on it.

My lovely M recently introduced me to celery and cream cheese as well. I was sceptical at first, but she converted me. Celery, of course, works well with dips, but then it’s usually served along with carrots, peppers, and other veg, just one out of many. So why not focus on celery and let it be the main player in a dish or snack?

Rhubarb Muffins

For the last week of the semester, I wanted to bake something for my students. Rhubarb is in season, so I decided to make simple rhubarb muffins. They went over well in class.

Ingredients:
75 g butter
½ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch salt
2½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp yogurt
2 eggs
rhubarb compote (about ¾ of it)

Instructions:
1. Cream the butter and sugar together. Mix in the cinnamon, salt, flour, and baking soda.
2. Add the yogurt. Beat the eggs and add them too.
3. Finally, add in the rhubarb compote. Put the batter into muffin tins or cups (filling each tin about halfway up).
4. Bake 180 C for 15 minutes.

Scones

Scones seem so quintessentially English; served warm with jam and clotted cream, alongside a steaming cup of tea, they’re wonderful. I used to think they must be complicated to make and that they were best left to charming cafés in English seaside villages. Actually, they aren’t that hard at all. Adding some cream to the recipe (it’s up to you whether you want to use double or single; both work, but obviously the double cream is richer and therefore more fattening) makes it taste better in my opinion; some people use an egg instead so the scones last longer. Personally, I think that if the scones taste the way they should, they will be eaten quickly and thus don’t need to last longer.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
½ tbsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
3 tbsp butter
½ cup cream
¼ cup raisins or currants
jam
clotted cream or butter

Instructions:
1. Sift the dry ingredients together. Mix in the butter and blend.
2. Add the cream and mix until it is a fairly smooth but sticky batter.
3. Add in the raisins or currants. Knead and shape into a flat loaf.
4. Cut into 6 pieces, but do not separate.
5. Bake for about 13 minutes at 200 C.
6. Serve with jam and clotted cream or butter.

Cheese Balls/Buns

These cheesey treats can be shaped into balls or buns, depending on what you want. They can be served with drinks or with soup, or simply on their own as a snack. You can vary them by adding different herbs or spices or by using different types of cheese. I like using a strong cheddar.

Ingredients:
50 g cheddar
30 g butter
pinch black pepper
1 tsp parsley
½ cup flour
2 eggs

Instructions:
1. Grate or chop the cheese. Melt it together with the butter over low heat. Then add the pepper and parsley.
2. Remove the mixture from the stove and add the flour. Mix well, until it turns into a dough ball.
3. Whip the eggs and add them. The dough should be thick and shiny.
4. Place spoonfuls of the cheese dough on a tray and bake for about 20 minutes at 170 C.