Coriander Red Pepper Hummus

I use hummus almost on a daily basis. As I became more and more conscious about reading labels, it dawned on me that my store bought hummus derived 70% of its calories from fat. In addition, ingredients included Citric Acid, Natural Flavors and Potassium Sorbate to maintain freshness. Suddenly, this didn't seem like the best idea at all. Since then I've experimented with a couple of different recipes and this is the one that hits the spot. 

Prep Time: 5 min

Ingredients:

1. 1 x 15oz can of Chick peas, drained and rinsed well
2. 1 tbsp Tahini (optional)
3. 1 tbsp Minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
4. 2 Flame-Roasted Red Peppers* 
5. 1/2 cup water, as needed. 
6. 1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro leaves, stemmed removed. 
7. Lemon/Lime juice, to taste
8. Salt, to taste

Directions: 

Add chickpeas, tahini (if using), garlic and peppers to a food processor and pulse until smooth, adding water as needed. Add Coriander leaves and lemon/lime juice and pulse again, add salt and do a quick taste test. Adding more lime juice and salt as needed. Serve with fresh celery, cucumber, carrot and pepper sticks and broccoli and cauliflower florets. Enjoy!!

   

* I use a brand called Bella Famiglia Flame Roasted Red Peppers, which has no added oil. Make sure you're getting a product where the peppers are not preserved in Olive oil. This brand has whole red peppers,   water, sea Salt, sugar, wine vinegar and grape must.  If you want to roast your own red peppers, here's how.  

Veggie Fact of the Day

The Great Northern Bean is one variety of Navy Beans which are also sometimes called pea beans or haricots. Most often used in baked beans, pies and soups, these have been shown to lower total cholesterol levels. Navy beans contain saponins which have been shown to exhibit antibacterial and antifungal activity and have also been implicated in inhibition of cancer cell growth. 

These beans also contain ferulic acid and para-coumaric acid - both of which have been shown to be is a strong antioxidants. FA has been shown to have anti-cancer, anti-apoptotic (prevents cell death) properties. Both are often used in topical preparations that contain Vitamin E and C.Interestingly, white beans, in Costa Rica are used only and exclusively in pork dishes. Navy beans are the most abundant source phosphatidylserine (PS) known. PS is a phospholipid that is found in cell membranes. PS has been used extensively in sports nutrition as it has been demonstrated to help speed recovery, prevent muscle soreness and improve endurance. Most recently, PS supplementation has been indicated to have some benefit in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. 

Two fun facts about these robust beans - they were a huge part of the U.S. Navy diet during the second half of the 19th century - hence the name. And the Navy Bean is the official vegetable of Massachusetts, the Baked Bean State.

FFVK Brussels Sprouts & Shiitake Mushroom Soup

Fat Free Vegan Kitchen posted a recipe on her Facebook page earlier today. One look at the accompanying picture and I was taken. I've had some frozen Brussels Sprouts (New Veggie #9) in the freezer for a while and I was looking for an interesting way to use those. And I love mushrooms ... I've often said "I've never met a mushroom I didn't love" and this recipe also allowed me a chance to try one more item on my 'pending' list of veggies/plant products to try ... Great Northern Beans - my New Veggie #53. 

FFVK Brussels Sprouts & Mushroom Soup

Prep Time: 30 min 

Ingredients: (FFVK Recipe) The list below includes my modifications based on what I had on hand. 

1. 1 medium onion, diced
2. 1 bag of frozen small Brussels sprouts, thawed and cut in half
3. 0.5 oz Shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted, liquid saved.
4. 0.5 oz Porcini mushrooms, reconstituted, liquid saved.
5. 6-8 fresh Cremini mushrooms, sliced
6. 2 tsp Minced Garlic
7. 6-8 fresh leaves of Sage, minced
8. 1/2 cup Quick cooking Brown Rice
9. 1 can (15 oz) Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed.
10. 2 cups of Vegetable broth
11. 4 cups of Water
12. Salt and Pepper, to taste
13. 2-4 tsp lemon juice.

Directions:

Some of the modifications I made resulted in reducing the cooking time. I had a frozen bag of Brussels sprouts, and I thawed them in the microwave which helped cook them some. I also used quick cooking brown rice which helped my case. I didn't have any rubbed sage so I used fresh Sage leaves instead. I cooked onions and garlic in water until translucent and then added Brussels sprouts. Cooked everything together for a couple of minutes and then added the rest of the ingredients except the lemon juice which I added after the soup was done and removed from the stove. Getting the soup together took me about 10 minutes, including dicing the onion and mushrooms and reconstituting the dried mushrooms. Then I just let the whole thing simmer for about 20 minutes until we were ready to eat. Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper. 

My Assessment: This was a hearty heartwarming soup. I loved it. My newly herbie husband also liked it and even agreed to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow (always a good sign). Thank you, FFVK, for another great recipe.