Category Archives: Starters & Snacks

Edamame White Bean Hummus

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Superbowl Sunday is this weekend. I can’t believe football will be over after this weekend. A lot of you know that both REB and I love football and get so sad when college ball is over. But we always have the NFL to carry us through until February. Then it’s all over until August. Sadness.

But as much as I love football, I can honestly say that I don’t have an ounce of interest in the Harbowl this weekend. I didn’t want either team to end up here, but any given Sunday, right? I at least hope the Harbaugh brothers can entertain me and fight on the field or something.

So in preparation for the big game, I started thinking about snacks I probably want to eat while watching. Yes, I do this a week in advance. Don’t judge me. Usually REB and I make individual pizzas with our kick-ass homemade dough recipe, but since we’re trying to be a little healthier and I’m trying to not eat pizza that’s carbed out (although I COULD jump on the cauliflower crust wagon), I was thinking of other things we could make.

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Then hummus came to mind. It’s relatively easy to make, keeps well in the fridge and when you add Tahini to anything it becomes a pile of win. And instead of the boring run-of-the-mill hummus, I decided to 86 the garbanzo bean all together and use white beans and add other yummy flavors.

However the recipe in this post is version 2.0. I made a similar recipe on Sunday except I made it more as a “white bean dip”. It was really good, but it was missing that nuttiness that Tahini adds. That and you can’t call something “hummus” without Tahini (in my opinion anyway). But you can make hummus without garbanzo beans.

I’ve started a love affair with white beans when it comes to dips because I love how creamy they are. They make for a great substitute to using garbanzos!  Then when you pair the white beans with edamame and the Tahini, the world starts making sense. But when you pair that with cumin…?

Well, let’s just say you haven’t lived until you’ve had more cumin in your life.

 

Edamame White Bean Hummus
 
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Creamier, nuttier and healthier – this is not your run-of-the-mill hummus!
Author:
Recipe type: dips, snacks, healthy, vegetarian
Cuisine: appetizers, snacks
Serves: 8

Ingredients
  • 1 15-oz. can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup shelled edamame (storebought, or you can thaw frozen and shell it yourself)
  • 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons Tahini (sesame paste)
  • ½ medium lemon, juiced
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup cilantro leaves
  • 2 tablespoons parsley leaves

Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to food processor and pulse until desired consistency.
  2. Adjust salt as needed.
  3. Serve immediately or refrigerate for 30 minutes.

 

Spicy, Smokey, Sweet Roasted Chickpeas

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The best thought I had on Thursday, was knowing that Friday was around the corner. I can’t wait for the weekend. I feel like the work weeks are busier than they need to be. So much so, I find myself getting to work before 8, sometimes before 7:30 and working until almost 5 or past that. It’s not like I should complain.

I really do love what I do. But when you’re in meetings almost all day, every day, it’s hard to get the actual work done! I’m lucky to have an amazing team that keeps things going and moving forward when I’m not around. I’m sure I’d be 8479374938 times more stressed if that wasn’t the case.

So when I finally did leave the office, and then took my 25 minute bus ride home, I was beat. I fed the pups, laid down on the couch and this happened.

But shortly after that, the chickpeas happened. I wanted nothing more than to have the worst kind of snack in the world (read: ice cream, chips, chocolate, anything!) but we don’t have those types of things in the house (except Skinny Cows, but wasn’t in the mood for that). So I made the roasted chickpeas and it was the perfect snack.

I’ve made roasted chickpeas a million times before and they’re usually savory with rosemary and sea salt, salt and black pepper, sriracha and franks red hot…and you get the point. I still need to try making sweet ones, but this time, I wanted a blend of it all because I couldn’t decide between spicy and sweet.

So Triple S was born: spicy, smokey and sweet.
•Spicy and smokey was the garam masala. I make my own, but you can also buy it already made. I made a small batch of garam masala but without the cardamom so it was more smokey with the cumin and coriander.
•Sweet came from the cinnamon and brown sugar. A beautiful combination.

And all was right in the world. At least for the day anyway.

Spicy, Smokey and Sweet Roasted Chickpeas
 
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Author:
Recipe type: snack, appetizer

Ingredients
  • 1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed and dried
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons garam masala (homemade or store bought)
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425°F
  2. Drain, rinse, dry the beans and put in a small bowl
  3. Add olive oil, garam masala and brown sugar.
  4. Toss well
  5. Spread onto a baking sheet in single layer.
  6. Bake for 30 minutes, tossing after 20 minutes.
  7. Chickpeas are done when they are toasted and crispy.

Friday with Friends

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Well hello my lovelies!

It’s officially summer and it’s officially warm outside and officially the start of a what I hope to be a very fun few weeks!
We had our first house guests in our house this past weekend! It was so much fun, too. I’m sure some of you may have seen the progression of sloppiness on Instagram, but perhaps there should be a story or background to the fun.

Two of our best friends came over for the night and it was a beautiful night out so we took full advantage of sitting outside and wining and dining.

And do you see that yummy looking dip on the left side of the picture? That’s was my contribution to the spread of the appetizers we had before REB made his brother’s warm pasta salad. Delicious!

Now let’s talk about the dip! It was a black bean, corn and avocado salad that I had in Chicago a few weeks ago. It was so delicious so I searched the Pinterest board and saw a pin for it and decided to make it for the start to the weekend. I changed up a few things to our tastes, but it was absolutely delicious.

I did a lot of prep work the night before to save some time.

Can we take a second to look at the beautiful colors? This is one of the reasons I love summer for this reason! It helps to make this the night before because then you can add the avocado right before serving and they won’t turn brown. I added more lime juice on top just to be sure it wouldn’t turn brown. You can never have enough lime juice in a salad like this.

Bottom line: this dip was delicious and so fresh and light. We served it up with pita chips and tortilla chips and the evening was so much fun. I can’t wait to start having more people over! Entertaining is going to come so much easier with the extra space!

What are your favorite summer time dishes?

Recipe adapted from Once Upon A Chef

5.0 from 1 reviews

Black Bean, Corn and Avocado Salad
 
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Recipe type: Dip, Appetizer, Vegetarian
Serves: 8

Ingredients
  • 2 15-oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  • ¾ cup corn kernels (frozen, then thawed)
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 red bell peppers, diced
  • 2 avocados, scored and scooped
  • 1 large shallot, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon lime zest
  • 4-6 tablespoons fresh lime juice (zest 2 of them first!) — this took about 2-3 limes
  • Drizzle of olive oil to desired consistency

Instructions
  1. Combine the black beans, corn, red bell pepper and cilantro in a bowl and mix.
  2. Add the garlic, lime zest, cayenne pepper, shallot, sugar, salt and lime juice and mix well.
  3. Cover and chill in the fridge for a few hours, or over night.
  4. Right before serving, score and scoop avocado into the salad, give it another squeeze of lime to help keep them green, and sprinkle some cilantro on top and you’re good to go!

Parmesan Baked Pita Chips

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Hello hello! I was reading Sarah’s blog the other day and she had mentioned something about how she starts her posts. She said she usually starts with a greeting as if she’s in a conversation with her readers, instead of just listing a random fact. I realized I do the latter most of the time. I’m going to try doing what she does – greeting all of you! I do love that I’ve gotten more response on my blog this year than I ever have since starting this thing back in 2007. No lie. I am so grateful for all of you and that some of you really do like coming by and reading! I hope you all continue to do that.

OK enough mushy stuff. Onto the chips!

In the last post about the guacamole dip, I mentioned you could serve it up with baked Parmesan pita chips.

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That’s exactly what I did. Why buy them when you can make them and make them without frying? Much healthier, less greasy and ridonk easy. Yes, ridonk.

Here’s what you need!
•Whole wheat pita (I used 4 and made two batches)
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
•Pinch of salt and pepper
•1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (more if you want more, less if you want less)

Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. Next cut each pita in half and then in thirds (to get triangles). Then pull them apart so you end up with 6 pieces per half. Lay the pieces on an ungreased cookie sheet.

In a small bowl combine the oil, garlic and S&P. Brush a little on each pita triangle and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Keep your eye on them because if you’re like me, you’ll burn a batch. I’m not saying I burned a batch, but it’s possible that my second batch was more crispy than the first.

Serve it up with hummus, salsa or make that guacamole dip I was talking about! The great thing about them is that you can season them how ever you want. Other options: curry powder, cumin, garam masala or cajun seasoning (for a spicy twist!). You could even go the sweet route and do cinnamon and sugar and serve with your favorite sweet dip!

Either way, they will go fast so either make enough or eat them all before they disappear. Now, I’m not saying we ate them all in one day, but I’m also not saying that we didn’t ;) Enjoy!

Have you ever made homemade chips before?

 

Holy Moly Healthy Guacamole

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Hello my lovely readers! Is it just me, or do the weekends go by too fast? It seems like just yesterday it was Friday and now the week is starting up again.

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I had quite the weekend, though! I did a full day of cooking today. So much so, that I’ll have three different posts for the three things I made. So bear with me, please :) One of my favorite parts was not only the cooking, but Oscar Sunday! I’m such an awards show junkie. I made a dip to eat for the Oscars that was healthy and flavorful and was so so good!

If you haven’t already guessed, I made a guacamole dip! I saw a few recipes online and decided to give it a try and I’m so glad I did. The star ingredient? White cannellini beans instead of all avocado. I know avocados have healthy fats, but it’s all about moderation, right? Right.

Can I be honest? I’ve never bought, cut open, or used an avocado on my own. I was a big nerd and was pretty excited when I was able to cut it and then get the pit out without ruining any part of it. It’s about the little things :)

So here’s what you need to make this lovely dip:
Adapted from Good Housekeeping
•1 can (15 oz. weight) white cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
•1 tablespoon lime juice (about 1-2 limes)
•1 jalapeño, seeded, and diced
•1 tsp salt
•1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
•1/4 cup onion, chopped
•1 avocado, halved and pitted
•2 tomatoes (I used Campari, but you could use Roma. If you use smaller ones, you’ll need more of course)

In a food processor or blender, add the beans and lime juice and pulse until smooth and mixed. Transfer to a bowl. Next add the avocado to the bean mixture and mash with a fork to combine. Keep some chunks though (at least I like chunks for added texture!). In the food processor again, add the jalapeño, onion, cilantro and salt and pulse until thick and combined. Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze to get rid of the juice and seeds. Coarsely chop and add to the bean-avocado mixture. Add the onion-cilantro to the mix, stir everything well. Squeeze a little more lime juice and serve! You can eat this right away, or you can store it in the fridge for up to an hour. Make sure it has enough lime juice so the avocado stays green!
Possible garnishes: cilantro leaves or finely minced onion.


Serve it up with some fresh cut veggies or with these homemade Parmesan baked pita chips!
The great thing? This makes about 3 cups and one serving (1/4 cup) is only 65 calories! Not so bad when you’re really having half that and sharing that 1/4 cup. Enjoy!

Are you an awards show junkie like me?
What are your favorite snacks while watching them?

Cashew-Mushroom Pâté

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Made this tonight for the big game in addition to some other dips. We saw this recipe on the same site as the Seitan Piccata from the Vegetarian Times. We made a few changes, but it tasted really good! I’ve never had pâté but that’s probably because it’s usually spreadable liver of some animal or something. I never thought it could be made vegetarian! I’m not even sure this is really a pâté, but it tasted good which is what mattered.

One change we did was instead of baking the cashews, we just dry roasted them in a pan on the stove. I MIGHT have kept my eye off them too long – whoops – but it didn’t make the pâté taste bad or anything. The other change was that we didn’t use vegan margarine. We used normal unsalted butter. The recipe also called for curry powder but I don’t have any of that in the house. I just had garam masala so I figured that would be OK and it worked great actually!

Lastly, the original recipe called for 4 cups of sliced mushrooms since it served 12. We didn’t need nearly that much, so we just cut down on certain ingredients so it didn’t make quite as much.

The end result was really good! I’m glad we tried it. We paired ours with cracked pepper crckers, carrots, celery and pretzel thins.

Here’s what you need:
•2 1/2 8-oz. cartons of baby bellas, sliced (2-to-2 1/2 cups)
•1/4 cup whole cashews, toasted
•1/4 cup onion, chopped
•1 teaspoon minced garlic
•1 teaspoon garam masala (or curry powder if you would rather use that)
•1 tablespoon butter
•1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
•1/8 teaspoon cumin powder
•1 teaspoon cooking sherry
•1 1/2 teaspoons chunky peanut butter
Start by toasting your cashews either on the stove or on a baking sheet in the oven.
Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic salt, cumin powder, garam masala and cook through until the mushrooms are golden brown, tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. Then add the sherry and cook another 1 or 2 minutes, or until all the alcohol has evaporated. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor, add the cashews and peanut butter and pulse until smooth and creamy. Pour into a dish and refrigerate for 2 hours or more. Garnish with parsley and red bell pepper and serve with crackers or vegetables. Serves 6.

What snacks did you make for Superbowl Sunday?

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Roasted Chickpeas with Rosemary and Sea Salt

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While REB and I are back on our health track, I have to admit I’ve had some cravings for bad, salty treats that I shouldn’t eat. You know, things like chips, chex mix…those kinds of bad things. So instead, I decided to make a snack that’s so easy to make and not terribly bad for you, and full of protein!

I’ve made roasted chickpeas before and last time I made them, I made them spicy. This time around I wanted to try a more savory combination. So I thought rosemary and sea salt would be a nice!

Rosemary is a great herb, but it’s extremely bold in my opinion. I never use a lot because it’s so strong. But it has a woodsy smell, looks kind of like the woods – a pine tree or something – and is full of this flavor that I can only define as “savory”. When I think savory, I think of this herb paired with cheese, salt, or on potatoes or fish or something.

It did take some time to cook, but it was totally worth it. They were crunchy on the outside and a touch soft on the inside and it was bursting with delicious flavor.

It would be a perfect snack for Superbowl Sunday, or just pack it up, take it to work and munch on during the mid-afternoon cravings. I know that’s what I’ll be doing! I hope you all enjoy!

Here’s what you need:
•2 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•1 teaspoon rosemary leaves, minced
•1 teaspoon salt (plus a pinch sprinkled at the end)

Preheat your oven to 400°F
Start by draining and rinsing the beans under cold water. Place a couple sheets of paper towel on a rimmed baking sheet and pour the beans on it. Then take each end of the paper towel and put them over the beans and roll back and forth to help dry them off. This will also take the skin off some of the beans.
Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the beans. Then I took a teaspoon of the dried rosemary leaves and used my mortal and pestle to help smush it up. Sprinkle that over the beans along with a teaspoon of sea salt.
Use your hands or a spatula and toss the ingredients with the beans so it’s well coated. Arrange them in a single layer on the pan.
Bake for 45 minutes, checking them every 15 minutes to make sure they aren’t burning and to also stir/toss them.
When they come out, sprinkle a pinch of salt on top and enjoy!

Is there a healthy go-to snack you love and can get enough of?

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Pumpkin Seeds [revisited]

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We made them again!! They turned out even better this time around. And in this batch, I cornered off part of the baking sheet and sprinkled garam masala on them, and they are delicious!! The original post with the recipe can be found here. Enjoy them! They are perfect this time of year :)

Baked samosas

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I love samosas. They’re probably my favorite appetizer in all of Indian cuisine. And while they’re so delicious, they’re also oily because they’re usually deep fried. I knew there had to be a way to make them so they weren’t as unhealthy and when I saw my new favorite Food Network star prepare them with puff pastry, I knew I had to try it!

I considered using phyllo dough, but the problem I have with that is that it’s too delicate and I thought it might be too hard to roll up. That and they’d be TOO flaky and I’m not big on the flaky. I’m not the biggest fan of Spanikopita, so puff pastry it is!

It took some time to make, but it was well worth it.

Here’s what you’ll need:
•2 sheets puff pastry – let them thaw completely
•2-3 Russet potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
•1/4 cup frozen peas
•1 teaspoon garam masala
•1 teaspoon cumin seeds
•1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
•1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
•1/2 teaspoon chili powder
•1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
•1/2 tablespoon ginger, grated
•2 tablespoons water
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•Salt to taste

Cut, peel and boil the potatoes until fork tender, then drain them. Return them to the pot and mash them a little. Heat up olive oil in a large, deep skillet and wait for it to heat up. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and red pepper flakes and let them heat up in the oil. Add the potatoes and stir well. Add the turmeric, garam masala, chili powder and salt. Grate the ginger over top, then stir and if it looks too dry, you can add the water. Let it cook about 5-8 minutes and then add the frozen peas.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF and spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.

Once the potato filling has cooled a bit, you’re ready to build the samosas! Roll out one puff pastry sheet and then using a medium-size bowl (about 6 inches in diameter) cut a circle into the pastry sheet. Then cut the circle in half so you have two semi-circles.

Lay one of the semi-circles down so the curved part is nearest you. Water the edges of the puff pastry with your finger (this will help seal it). Take about a tablespoon or so of filling and place in the center of the circle-half. Grab one end and fold it over and then the other end and fold it over that, so it forms a little triangle. Grab the bottom and fold it up so it will help seal it. Seal all the edges and using a fork or your fingers, crimp them so they stay shut.

Continue doing this until you get about 8-10 samosas. You can brush them with an egg wash (1 beaten egg with 1 tablespoon of water), sprinkle with salt on top and then bake for 15 minutes at 425ºF. After 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 375º and bake another 5 minutes.

Serve hot with your favorite chutney (mint and coriander, or tamarind chutneys are my favorite), or eat it plain! Bottom line, is that it’s flaky but not overwhelming, and extremely flavorful and delicious!

Caprese Salad

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The colors of Italy never looked so good! This super simple, and very popular salad is one I love anytime of year. However, having this salad in the summer with fresh ingredients is how I like it best.

What you’ll need:
•1 tomato, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
•Fresh mozzarella, sliced in to 1/4-thick slices
•9 fresh basil leaves
•Balsamic vinegar
•Olive oil
•Sea salt
•Freshly ground black pepper

You’ll need three slices of tomato and three slices of the fresh mozzarella. Layer tomato, mozzarella, two basil leaves until you have a little stack.
Take the remaining basil leaves, roll them up, and slice them (chiffonade) into ribbons. Sprinkle that on top, along with a splash of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. It’s as simple as that!