fast food

Don't worry, we are eating, though judging from my blog, it doesn't look like it. It's been a little crazier than usual around here, what with preparing for conferences (me), working on a dissertation proposal (Drew), and wrapping up the winter quarter and starting the spring one (both of us). Hence, we have been eating "fast food," or meals that require little preparation.

We had tons of collard greens from the garden, so we stir fried them with onion, garlic,  broccoli, carrots, and red pepper and made a red curry (coconut milk and a small jar of curry paste). And last week, we made tofu reubens, which involves little more than pressing and baking tofu. 

The "fast food" will continue for the next few weeks, but in the meantime, let me share with you the best hummus recipe. Hummus is easy to make, but I never made it, until fairly recently. I dabbled here and there, trying out different recipes, but I always went back to the store bought stuff. I could never find a recipe I liked- my hummus would turn out too stiff or too watery. It's not that the store bought stuff was superb, it's just that it was still better than my sorry homemade stuff. This embarrassed me a lot, not that anyone knew about my inability to make good hummus. 

Finally, about six months ago, I became determined to stop buying hummus and start making it. I started testing recipes again, but my hummus just wasn't very smooth. At long last, Smitten Kitchen came to the rescue. It turns out that the secret to super-smooth hummus is to peel the chickpeas. I know, don't roll your eyes; it's the truth. And it is so worth it. Here is the recipe. My only recommendation is to go easy on the salt, the 3/4 teaspoon was too much for my taste. But above all, if you're going to make hummus, peel the chickpeas. Trust me.