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 Hummus Recipe adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden
Prep Time: Hummus can be made in about 15 minutes once the beans are cooked. If you’re using dried beans you need to soak them overnight and then cook them the next day which takes about 90 minutes.
1.5 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight (or substitute well drained canned chickpeas and omit the cooking) (10 ounces/301 grams)
2-2.5 lemons, juiced (3 ounces/89ml/6 Tbsp)
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed (2 tsp)
a big pinch of salt
4 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) OR use peanut butter or any other nut butter—feel free to experiment) (1.5 ounces/45 grams)
2 tsp ground sumac
Directions:
1. Drain and boil the soaked chickpeas in fresh water for about 1 ½ hours, or until tender. Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.
2. Puree the beans in a food processor (or you can use a potato masher) adding the cooking water as needed until you have a smooth paste.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Adjust the seasonings to taste.
I normally like to edit the Daring Cooks recipes to make them more understandable outside the DK, but in this instance, I thought I’d keep all of the extra notations in the ingredients. Really, if you’re using dried garbanzo beans, your directions are different than if you’re using canned beans. And sometimes your canned beans are too firm and need to be boiled anyway. It’s something you’ll just have to decide each time you try to make hummus. If you’re lucky like me, you have a pressure cooker that does all the work for you, in 30 minutes or less.
 Cucumber Raita Total time: 15 minutes.
Recipe adapted from The Indian Grocery Store Demystified by Linda Bladholm
1 medium cucumber, peeled and most of the seeds removed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (.1 ounce/3 grams) OR use a small pinch of dried cumin—to taste
2 cups plain whole milk or Greek yogurt (17 ounces/473ml)
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
fresh cilantro, chopped, a couple pinches or more to taste
cayenne pepper, just a pinch to use as a garnish (optional)
Directions:
1. Peel cucumber, de-seed, and dice. Blot off moisture with paper towels.
2. Toast cumin seeds for a few seconds in a small, heavy frying pan over high heat.
3. In a bowl, stir yogurt until it is smooth.
4. Mix in the cumin, garlic and coriander leaves.
5. Stir in the cucumber and sprinkle with cayenne. Chill before serving.
 Braised Bolognese Sauce Total time: 1.5 hours.
After doing the pork satay for the January DC Challenge, I thought I’d give this book another go. Adapted from Five-spice Lamb in 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup beef stock
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp ginger root, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp five-spice powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of chopped vegetables (optional)
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
1 dollop of tahini paste (optional)
Preheat oven to 325.
Brown beef in a large skillet. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Maintain the grease in the pan to saute onions, garlic and ginger root. Cook on medium-high heat until onions turn translucent or even golden.
Add the meat back to the pan, as well as tomatoes, stock, hoisin, soy sauce, and five-spice. Mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer to a casserole dish and bake, covered, for 60 minutes. If you’re using the optional vegetables, bake for 45 minutes, stir in vegetables, then bake for another 15 minutes.
Stir in cilantro and tahini just before serving.
The original recipe calls for minced lamb and lamb stock, as well as toasted sesame seeds instead of tahini.
I skipped the vegetables and served this (with a full 1/2 cup of cilantro) as a bolognese sauce on top of Elise’s Spanish rice. I think it would have tasted great on top of soba noodles… maybe next time.
 Curried Pot Stickers with Double Soy Sweet & Sour Sauce Total time: Less than 5 minutes.
1 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp tamarind paste
2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
2-3 tsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp crushed red chili peppers
Mix well, warm or room temperature.
I didn’t really measure any of this, I just kind of dumped in and flavored it to taste to match the curried pot stickers.
 Universal Thai Dip - fish sauce and peppers Total time: Less than 5 minutes.
4 Tbsp soy sauce (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)
1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)
1 finely chopped green onion (scallion)
Mix well. Serve chilled or room temperature.
Substitute fish sauce for soy sauce and Thai dragon (bird’s eye) chili for the dried red chili.
 Tamarind Dip Total time: 5 minutes.
4 Tbsp tamarind paste (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 finely chopped green onion (scallion)
1 Tbsp brown or white sugar, or to taste (about 5 mls)
2 Tbsp minced cilantro
1/4 tsp ground coriander
Mix well. Serve chilled or room temperature.
 Chipotle-Jalapeno Cream Cheese Sauce Total time: Approximately 20 minutes, plus optional chill time.
1/2 cup onion
1 jalapeno
2 cloves garlic
3/4 c heavy cream
2 T cream cheese, softened
1-2 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 T ground chipotle powder
1 T tomato paste
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
Mince onion, jalapeno, and garlic separately or together.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and saute onions until they start to turn clear. Add the jalapeno and garlic and saute until soft. Add all of the other remaining ingredients except cream and cream cheese. Mix until smooth.
Reduce heat to low. Slowly add cream cheese, mix until smooth. Slowly add the cream. Simmer on low for 5 minutes.
Serve warm or chilled. If you plan to use this as a marinade, chill completely before use.
Make it a dip: Add 1/2 cup shredded cheese at the end and mix well.
 Barbecue Sauce on Pulled Pork Total time: 8 minutes.
1/2 onion, quartered
1 tomato, quartered
2 serrano peppers
1 clove garlic
1/3 c molasses
1/4 c ketchup
1/4 c red wine vinegar
2 T horseradish mustard
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T ground chipotle pepper
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
Blend the first four ingredients into a fine puree or until smooth. Stir in the other ingredients and mix well. Ready for dipping or cooking.
Shown here after sitting in the crockpot all day for pulled pork sandwiches.
The sweetness and flavor was exactly what I was looking for, but it needed a little more heat. I originally did this with one serrano. If I could “do-over”, I’d add a second one, so I’ve updated the recipe to match my taste.
 Honeydew Salsa Total time: Approximately 1 hour.
5-6 large slices of honeydew melon, skin on
1 large onion, skin on
2 jalapeno peppers
1 lime
1/2 c cilantro, divided
Cut the onion and jalapenos in half (long way for jalapenos). Grill or Broil onion, peppers, and half the melon slices until the edges just start to char. Flip or turn them until all sides are this way. Remove from heat and let cool.
Remove the outer layers of the onion and melon skin, discard. Chop two slices of onion and place in food processor or blender. Add jalapenos, cooked melon, and half the cilantro, puree until smooth.
Chop up the remaining raw melon and cooked onions and place in medium mixing bowl. Add puree and remaining cilantro, mix well. Squeeze in the juice of one lime, mix well. Chill for at least one hour before serving.
Makes about 3 cups.
I don’t normally like fruity salsa, and I never thought I’d make some, but I have this honeydew itching to be eaten, and I’m running out of ideas. I imagine you could use cantaloupe, pineapple, mango, or some other sort of fruit. This was startlingly good.
Total time: 8 minutes.
Adapted from the back of the jar.
http://www.bgfoods.com/recipes/detail.asp?RecipeID=122359&BrandSiteID=176
1/2 c molasses
1 c ketchup
1/4 c vinegar
1/4 c dijon mustard
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground chipotle pepper
Mix well.
I did pulled pork sandwiches again; added a pound of pork and 1 cup of water and let it sit on high in my crock-pot all day. And, again, I had to boil it down to get rid of the extra water. This sauce is ready to dip as is, but it tastes better heated up, and it made for a pretty awesome sandwich.
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