Hummus is a delicious, hearty, and incredibly easy dip/spread that you can prepare to eat in a variety of ways— with fresh veggies, pita chips, on a bagel or a sandwich, etc. If you are living on the east coast, this would be something good to prepare now (in case your power goes out later!), and you may even have lots of the ingredients in your cabinet already. 

The method to making hummus is easy— simply toss everything in a food processor and blend until smooth, regularly checking on the flavors making sure it is seasoned to your liking. I personally add in a can of (mostly drained) garbanzos to start, and then slowly work in the other ingredients. 

Here is a basic idea of what you’ll need to add in:

Homemade Hummus with Za’atar

• 1 Can (~2 Cups) Garbanzo Beans
• 1/3 Cup Tahini
• 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
• 1 Tsp. Salt
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• Pinch Paprika
• 1 Tsp. Fresh Parsley
• Za’atar (Optional, as garnish)

This ingredient list is all an estimate— I personally like less lemon juice and more garlic and parsley.  Once you’re all done blending, spoon it into a serving dish and drizzle with olive oil…

And sprinkle with paprika and za’atar on top. 

Colorful, beautiful, and tasty, too! Enjoy!

Have you ever had fried okra before? Ok, here’s a better question— have you ever had okra before? If not— I’m going to highly recommend it. This odd little veggie can be cooked a variety of different ways, but the most common ways I’ve seen have been in curries, pickled, or fried up into a nice tasty little appetizer, like I did a couple weeks ago. If this is your first foray into the land of okra this is an easy way to take a first bite!

Cajun Fried Okra

Recipe Adapted from Paula Deen

• Oil for Frying
• 1/2 Cup Cornmeal
• 1 Cup All-Pupose Flour
• 1/2 Tsp. Cajun Seasoning
• 2 Lbs. Fresh Okra, Sliced 1/2” Thick
• 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
• Salt and Pepper

1. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan or skillet (do not fill up sides of pan more than half way with oil). Oil is hot enough when cornmeal mixture sizzles.

2. In a medium bowl combine flour, cornmeal, cajun spice, and salt and pepper (and whatever other spices you like!) Meanwhile, dip okra in buttermilk, then dredge in cornmeal mixture, coating well.

3. Carefully add okra to the hot oil (you may need to cook in batches) and fry until golden brown; remove to plate covered with paper towels to drain, and serve immediately.

We also made Paula’s Creamy Chili Sauce for dipping:

• 1 Cup Mayonnaise
• 3 Tbsp. Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
• 1 Tbsp. Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce
• 1/8 Tsp. Ground Red Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring well. I like things spicy so I added a little tabasco in here, too. 

Coating in buttermilk…

Dredging in cornmeal…

Ready to enjoy!

Kale Chips!! Light, crispy, crunchy and delish. I don’t think a picture can do them justice— but I highly recommend at least trying them.
I made these last week for a quick snack and was pleasantly surprised. Preheat oven to 375. Completely dry and tear up a head of kale, removing hard ribs. Spread kale pieces on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Drizzle 2-4 tbsp. olive oil over kale and toss. Bake for 12-15 minutes until kale is crispy and bright green. Salt (kosher or sea) and pepper to your liking. And enjoy! 

I finally made these pizza puffs this weekend for Carys’ spectacular game night get together. The puffs were really wildly incredible. Not only did my kitchen smell intoxicating, the first bite really lived up to the heavenly smell. And, to top it off, they were ridiculously easy. One could make a lot of variations to the recipe, making them with different cheeses or with veggies instead of pepperoni, but they’ll still be good. Highly recommended to bring to a party, or just to enjoy at home.

Here are the very few quick steps to getting these into your tummy:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan.

2. In a large bowl whisk together 3/4 cup flour and 3/4 tsp. baking powder. Whisk in 3/4 cup whole milk and one egg, lightly beaten.

3. Stir in 4 ounces of shredded mozarella (about 1 cup) and 4 ounces of pepperoni, cubed. Let dough stand for 10 minutes.

4. Stir batter and spoon it into mini muffin tin. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with finely chopped fresh basil and serve with pizza sauce.

These were especially yummy because Slip got abbruzze pepperoni from DiBruno brothers that was incredibly flavorful

Stir up six ingredients and wa-la— sounds good to me!

Mmmm all puffed up and golden brown.

I don’t know if you can visually tell how good they are.. but looking at these pictures is making my mouth water. Making these again soon!

Here is a neat little appetizer to bring to the next dinner party you attend. Adapted from Bon Appetit. Serves 6-10 people.

Start with a 7-8 oz. block of nice feta cheese and cube it up.

Toss the cheese in a mixing bowl with 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tbsp. minced shallot, 1-2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano and salt and pepper. Let cheese marinate while you prepare the tomatoes. Meanwhile, toast 1/4 cup walnuts in the oven. Wash 1 pound of grape tomatoes— I bought red and yellow (because it was prettier).

Cut off the top 1/4 of each tomato (or cut in half if that’s easier for you). Use a melon baller or a small spoon to scoop out the tomato pulp and place cut side up on the serving dish you want to use.

Stuff each tomato with a piece of feta cheese and a piece of toasted walnut (I only put walnuts in half, just in case anyone had a nut allergy). You can also do some kind of Mediterranean variation and stuff an olive in. These can be prepared a few hours ahead of time, covered, and kept refrigerated.

Aren’t they pretty?

From my new Whole Foods cookbook! I made these last night when we had some people over to watch the Eagles game and they were a big hit. They had many layers of flavor, and I’ve resolved to use fresh ginger more often. Also, we now have sesame seeds in our cabinet, which is a plus.

Fragrant Ginger-Lime Chicken Fingers

Serves 4

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup lime juice (I used juice of 1 lime)
• 6 tbsp. plus 2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tbsp. tamari (which is soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/8 cup water
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch wide strips
• 2 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs
• 1/8 cup black sesame seeds (we used normal sesame seeds)
• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs whisked with 1/2 cup water
• Canola or vegetable oil for spraying cookie sheet

1. In a large bowl combine garlic, lime juice, 2 tbsp. ginger, tamari, sesame oil, cornstarch, and water to make marinade. Marinade up to 4 hours in refrigerator. I coated the strips, then put them in a large ziploc bag with the marinade into the fridge.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
3. In another large bowl combine bread crumbs, remaining 6 tbsp. ginger, and sesame seeds.
4. Set up breading area for chicken: flour in one bowl, beaten eggs in bowl two, and bread crumb mixture in bowl three. Coat the chicken in flour and tap off excess. Then coat chicken in egg mixture, and finally bread crumb mixture.
5. Place the chicken strips on a lightly oiled sheet pan. Spray the chicken lightly with canola oil.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until chicken is golden brown. We served with ranch dressing, but be creative! And let me know what tasted good for you.

Before going into the oven.

Not the best photo, but they tasted great!

Along with our other green-themed food, my friend SBF brought these over last night and they were a hit. Apparently they are super easy to make. You can use the amount of ingredients appropriate to how many poppers you want to make. Here’s how it goes:

1. Cut stems off jalapeños and cut the peppers in half, lengthwise. Remove seeds.
2. Coat peppers liberally in a 1:1 mixture of olive oil and white distilled vinegar.
3. Bake peppers in oven, open side face-up, on cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.
4. Make filling for peppers, a 5:1 mixture of feta cheese (5 parts) and cream cheese (1 part.)
5. Remove peppers from the oven and stuff with cheese mixture. Cook for 5-7 more minutes. Enjoy!

This is a great way to make poppers that are easy, as well as healthier because they are not fried. They seem simple, but the pepper has an after bite that is awesome!