Yet another Hummus recipe

Not sure what possessed me to make hummus again. And then actually blog about it. If you check Instagram, Pinterest, or even Twitter these days, there abounds many recipes for hummus - many of which don't even contain chick peas. There is also many a substitute for the tahini, or just plain strange additions like peppers, peanut butter, beets, ginger, pretty much anything.

I like a more traditional hummus with actual garbanzo beans, tahini, and lemon juice. I do like experimenting though, so I added black beans, jalapenos, and chili flakes. I figure SSO won't eat this anyway so might as well spice it up a bit. So I guess I'm no different than all those others - time to get an Instagram account.  On a side note, I haven't bothered with that since a) it is a lot of work self-promoting yourself, and let's face it that's what you have to do - I mean why bother otherwise; and b) although I'm a decent photographer when it comes to my family or landscapes or whatever, I can't seem to take good food photos. I know the theory, just can't seem to put it into practice. This one is a bit better, but I've had some pretty horrid ones. Thing is, I break a lot of the "rules". I usually whip out my cell phone as it is easier, it is often at night so the lighting sucks, and I'm in a rush making supper so no time for setup let alone a tripod.

More or less traditional hummus, except with
black beans and hot peppers

This turned out a bit "nutty", think I was a bit heavy on the tahini. I would make it creamier next time as well. Not less chunky, but less thick. Maybe try for some bolder flavors. It still rocks on crackers though.

Next time: less tahini or more chick peas, maybe a bit of lemon rind or different spices

Me: 8/10
SO: 7/10
SSO: n/a

Sausage Pasta Casserole

Once in a while we go back to an old recipe from years ago. In this case, it was from a book given to SO by her aunt, called "The Best of Bridge". It says they sold a million copies. Made in Canada, it contains old fashioned meat and potato staples passed down by Moms and Grandmas for years. This recipe is your basic pasta casserole. I "adapted" it slightly, I can't believe they would really suggest adding 3 cups sour cream and a full pound of cheese. Talk about the Paula Deen school of cooking. SO has a good butcher near her work downtown, and brought home some nice sausage on Friday. So we'll use that instead of ground beef. The rest is pretty straight forward. I made extra to ensure lots of leftovers for lunches.

Sausage Pasta Casserole - ready to go in the oven

Was pretty awesome in the end. Glad I cut back on the cheese and sour cream. A good spicy sausage really makes it I think.

The leftovers - 7 lunches ready to go

Next Time: More sausage, and maybe more mushrooms

Me: 8/10
SO: 10/10
SSO: 5/10

Pickled Eggs with home made pickling spice

This is something that I love and SO does not. Not a lot of people seem to like them actually, not sure why. They make a great snack, and is healthy to boot. I usually get these small jars at the store - they are almost $6 for as many eggs, which to me seems kind of steep.  But maybe not, given that I just bought a dozen eggs for the same price; of course, they were from chickens that were free to range, were not fed any antibiotics, that nested with perches, and that listened to Mozart in the evenings. Maybe they'll taste different. Probably not, but I feel a tiny bit superior.

So why not make my own, seems pretty easy. And it was. The best part was mixing up a batch of home made pickling spice, well right after peeling off large intact pieces of shell from of the eggs - that was pretty sweet.

Pickling Spice

Most recipes seem to suggest letting them sit for 3 to 5 days before eating - makes sense. I found that even after 10 days they were not strongly flavoured like the store bought ones, but still tasty.

The final product. Pickled eggs with home made pickling spice,
brown from the cinnamon and unfiltered brine.

Next Time: I'll omit the cinnamon next time, and maybe filter the brine through cheese cloth

Me: 8/10
SO: n/a
SSO: n/a