Hummus... It's a great snack or a meal!

HUMMUS...

It's that time of year that Mediterranean foods are more appealing to me.  Actually, these foods call me by name. LOL  I especially love hummus.  Hummus is made from beans, usually garbanzo beans (chickpeas).  As a child, my mom would make this and we called it "Garbanzo Bean Spread."  I had no idea what hummus was in college until I saw it and tasted it.  I remember saying, "Oh! Garbanzo Bean Spread!"  From that time to now, I've called it by its proper name.  

Hummus is quite simple to make, but it taste so good.  I eat hummus a number of ways.  For instance, I eat hummus with pita bread (usually with toasted pita bread chips I make myself), but I also use it as a spread on my veggie sandwiches as a healthy alternative to condiments.  I eat it as a dip for my veggies.  However, I love salads and I usually thin my hummus out a bit with lemon juice and eat it on top of salads.  Hummus has a good bit of protein  and fiber and because of this, it is a very filling food.  It could quite easily be a snack or a meal unto itself!

So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy the below recipe as much as I do.

HUMMUS

Ingredients: 

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups or 16 ozs of garbanzo beans (cooked and drained)

Juice one lemon

2  tablespoons tahini

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup water (optional, depending upon desired texture)

PREPARE, and then

About 1 teaspoon cumin (I just sprinkle)

About 1 tablespoons olive oil

About 2-3 whole Green olives, diced or whole

Instructions

1. In a food processor, coarsely chop cloves of garlic. Pour in garbanzo beans. Add lemon juice, tahini, and salt. Process until combined.  Add about 1/4 cup of water for a creamier texture.
2. Serve in small dipping bowls.  Pour olive oil over the top and sprinkle of cumin.  Garnish with diced or whole green or kalamata olives for a bit of added flavor.  Enjoy!

Note: You may also be able to blend these ingredients, though depending upon your blender, this may be a bit difficult. I've always found the food processor easier.

Hummus with celery, carrots, and cucumber sticks.  Yum!

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Comment if you love hummus or if you add extra ingredients to your hummus to make it even more flavorful.  

Taco Sauce like a boss!... Okay, like Taco Bell

TACO SAUCE...

When it comes to taco sauce, well... I'm picky.  Yes, if it doesn't taste remotely like Taco Bell's Mild Taco Sauce, I don't want it.  Yep, leave me be! I truly understand why folks love that stuff.  I would have Taco Bell's bean burritos doused in lots of mild sauce at least three times a week as an undergraduate in college.

I'll admit something here...I'm too chicken to do anything hotter than mild because my sensitive flavor palette is discriminating.  Now, your taste buds and my taste buds may be very different, but mine HAS to have what it likes in order to be happy.  True story, I once paid good money for store-bought taco sauce (with very healthy ingredients) that I threw away based upon the taste.  It did not taste like Taco Bell's.  That began my quest to make my own Taco Bell Mild Taco Sauce without any of the garbage that I didn't want to eat.  I was beginning to think that the taste could not be achieved without the "Spices, Salt, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate as preservatives, Potassium Chloride, Yeast Extract, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavors" (See: http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/ingredientstatement).  Well, determination is root of all success.  I didn't give up!!!  Nope, it wasn't long before I stumbled on to the below recipe, which I modified from a Food.com recipe.  Imagine how happy I was to find this recipe!  I was happier than a _____ (You fill in the blank).

According to my taste buds, this sauce is the real deal!  I did change the Food.com recipe slightly by substituting organic cane sugar in place of the refine (agave or honey should work as well, but I haven't tried it yet, though I've made this sauce MANY times), and replacing the white vinegar with raw apple cider vinegar.  At present, I am SO UPSET that I've been eating the stuff with all that garbage in it so long!

Now, the original recipe calls for canned tomato sauce, which is fairly cheap to buy.  However, I would like to give a word of caution.  For those of you who truly know me, you know that I prefer to eat things out of glass bottles and not cans.  Canned foods usually contain extremely high levels of Bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical used as protective coating inside of the cans.  BPA has been linked to a host of major health problems, such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, obesity, learning disabilities and other neurological problems (Google this! It's worth knowing). I use canned tomato sauce that is BPA free. The Muir Glen Company began transitioning their tomato products to BPA free cans in September 2010, decreasing the shelf life of these products to 2 1/2 years.  Consequently, an expiration date after March 2013 should have a BPA-free liner that is the color of copper (the old BPA liner is white).  Hopefully, a BPA-free label will appear on their products to make it easier for consumers.   To make your own tomato sauce, see the tomato sauce recipe posted for May 9th.

TACO SAUCE (Tastes like Taco Bell's Mild Sauce)
Modified from Food.com: http://www.food.com/recipe/taco-bell-taco-sauce-60254?scaleto=16&mode=null&st=true

Ingredients:

• 1 (32 ounce) quart tomato sauce (no chunks)
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 2 tablespoons instant minced onion
• 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt (I make my own 3 Tbs sea salt and 1 Tbs garlic powder)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cane sugar (or 3/4 teaspoon honey or agave)
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients into a sauce pan, stir well, and bring to a boil.  Turn down heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Remove and cool. Pour into the jar.
3. May be kept in refrigerator for several days.

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Tonight I poured some of my taco sauce on my taco salad; so, I'll share that recipe below.  This is one of my very easy go-to recipes. By the way, I use all organic raw produce.

TACO SALAD

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded lettuce (I shredded myself)
• Handful corn chips (I use Simple Truth)
• bean-eef
• diced fresh tomatoes
• diced raw onions
• vegan cheese
• a dollop of avocado dressing
• taco sauce   

Instructions:
Build a salad bowl using the above ingredients.  Pour taco sauce to the desired taste as a dressing.  Enjoy!

Today's taco salad, all made up! 

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If you like this recipe, let me know.  If you recommend any brands of bottled tomato sauce, let me know what it is. If you make your own tomato sauce from scratch, let me know that too.  I'll probably post a homemade tomato sauce recipe once my tomatoes are harvested later on this summer.

Yo Quiero Tacos ...Well...Vegan tacos with bean-eef!

BEAN-EEF...

What does this sound like to you?  Right, beef...only it's beef made from beans.

First, I am a lover of tacos.  I could eat them almost every day.  They are such a staple, I make sure I keep the taco-making ingredients handy.  Now, you can make EVERYTHING from scratch for your tacos or you can buy it.  Yes, for me, I can make the taco sauce, the avocado dressing, the flour tortillas, the bean-eef (lentils), and the cheese sauce myself, but I'm only going to share one recipe in today's blog.  I'll devote other blogs to the other taco staples. If I'm in a crunch, I also buy everything except the avocado dressing from the store (just beware of the ingredients).  Though today's blog is dedicated to bean-eef, I'll admit that sometimes I buy the tortillas, vegan beef substitute (soy/wheat), and/or even the vegan cheddar cheese from the store (such as Whole Foods or Krogers).  However, I  even at my laziest, I prefer to make my taco sauce and avocado dressing (I'll share these EASY recipes at a later date).

If you buy it, I would suggest that you stay away from harmful ingredients, such as hydrogenated oil (or partially hydrogenated oils), refined or white sugars, high fructose corn syrup or any artificial sweeteners,  enriched flour, bleached flour, MSG, and any artificial or non-vegetable or non-fruit food dyes or coloring (Some natural coloring are made from bugs...Eww).  Most taco seasonings are made with whey and sugar.  To make matters worse, most "veganized" versions are usually full of yeast extract (another name for MSG...just in a smaller amount) or MSG.  I've only found two store brands without these ingredients, Spice Appeal Taco Seasoning and Simply Organic Southwest Taco Seasoning. It is easy to make your own though  and lots more affordable than the non-whey, non-MSG, non-sugar, non-yeast extract versions, just check out Bargain Briana's site for the recipe (http://bargainbriana.com/how-to-make-your-own-taco-seasoning/).  Good news, in this recipe, you don't have to worry about taco seasoning.  You only need this if you find that your bean-eef (recipe below) does not have the desired taco punch you want it to have or to spice up the store-bought meat substitute.

So, before I begin, I want to warn you that some of these take time.  The good news is that once you make the tortillas, you can have them for a while.  Make a bunch at once and chill for a minute.  Below, I've included a YouTube video of how to make your own flour tortillas, but here again,  you have to substitute the wholesome flour and oils.  Personally, I use COLD-PRESSED oils, which includes extra virgin olive oil or any organic non-hydrogenated oil (avocado, peanut, sesame, coconut, etc.).  The reason I capitalized cold-pressed is because there are olive oils out there that claim to be extra-virgin without being cold-pressed.  Cold-pressed is the best.  You're usually going to pay top dollar for this stuff.  Next, I don't use conventional nonstick cookware because of the toxic PFIB and PFOA chemicals (Google these! This is worth knowing).  I find that a ceramic or a cast iron skillet works great if seasoned correctly (they don't work if not seasoned properly).  There are websites and videos on how to season them properly (Again, google this!).  I may even post something at a later date.  Presently, I use my ceramic skillet to make my tortillas and I never had a problem.  Again, you can simply buy vegan tortillas if you don't have the time to make them.  I've included a YouTube video example of how to make the vegan tortillas, substituting extra virgin olive oil in the place of butter.  You can also use the winter spelt (see picture below) in place of the all-purpose wheat flour.  I have no problem with King Arthur's Organic All-purpose flour, which is both unbleached and unbromated.  It's cheaper than spelt and I use it all the time.

(VIDEO LINK: How to make flour tortillas -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TcZT9M11vw)

All-purpose Winter Spelt is heavy and expensive,
but a good substitute for the gluten-intolerant.
I use it in  pie crust mostly.

Now, to the pièce de résistance... the bean-eef.  I also give you instructions on how I build my tacos.  So, if you were asking, "Where's the bean-eef!"  Hush up!  LOL! Here it is!...

Showcase of the ingredients and the finished bean-eef

BEAN-EEF (Lentils)


Ingredients:

• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2-1/2 cups no-chicken or vegetable broth

Instructions:

1. In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
2. Uncover; cook for 6-8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Mash lentils slightly.
3. Spoon about 1/4 cup lentil mixture into each taco shell. Top with lettuce (shredded), tomatoes (diced), fresh vidalia onions (diced), vegan cheese (shredded...I prefer vegan cheddar), drizzle with taco sauce, and finish with a dollop of avocado dressing. Yield: 6 servings.

Vegan taco dressed to impress.  Yum!!!

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I'm am about to enjoy my tacos right now, I hope you enjoy them too!!!  By the way, this is MUCH cheaper than buying any meat substitute.  I believe whole foods (unprocessed) are also better for you.

If you like this recipe, let me know!  I'm always happy to hear what you think.  If there's an ingredient that you think makes this better, feel free to post that too.

Herbal tea for me, please!

TEA...

I grew up on tea, herbal tea.  There were lots of herbal teas that we would drink, without anything else to enhance the taste.  We would drink ginger tea, chamomile tea, peppermint tea, mullein, blue vervain, valerian, rosemary, red raspberry, cornsilk tea, spearmint tea, dandelion tea, lavendar tea, rosehip tea, pau d'arco tea, sassafras tea, red zinger, and may more.  To be honest, some herbal teas are not the best tasting; however, others have fantastic flavor!!!!  I still prefer to drink herbal tea before other options.  For starters, they provide a host of medicinal benefits while I am enjoying something other than plain water.  However, anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE my water, but mixing it up from time to time with herbal tea truly helps me.

Herbal teas in my cupboard today

When I was young, my mom was strict with our diet.  She did not let us have soda or Kool-aid, and we generally never had fruit juices outside of special occasions or on cereal (more on this at a later date).  My mom made sure that we ingested nothing with caffeine, artificial coloring, or refined sugars. Yep, as you can imagine the neighborhood children thought we were very deprived, however, we were never sick. If we were thirsty, there were only two things that my mom would generally allow us to drink, water and herbal tea. Usually, the tea could not have anything in it, unless it was a stevia leaf for a hint of sweetness.  However, in the summer time, we were usually able to get an okay from our mother to put honey in the tea, perhaps due to the nutritional benefits of honey and the tea while playing outside in the sun.

Like most children, we loved colorful drinks, and our go-to summer tea was Red Zinger by Celestial Seasonings. We would make gallons of this tea! Celestial Seasoning makes affordable herbal teas and blends.  I especially love their zinger herbal blends.  If you google Red Zinger, you will find that it is a blend of various teas, including  Chinese hibiscus, wild cherry bark, West Indian lemongrass, peppermint, orange peel, lemon myrtle, and licorice.  It has various medicinal properties, including lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, among other benefits to digestion and colds.  Miraculously and despite the medicinal benefits, the neighborhood children drank this without any complaints.  In fact, they seemed to love it!!!

So, if you are looking for healthy drinks that you can make at home for yourself or for your little ones besides the fruit juices, which generally can be highly caloric, or if you are looking for water flavorings besides Crystal Light or other highly chemical packets, you may want to try various flavorful herbal teas. Lavendar, peppermint, and sassafras, which tastes remarkably like root beer are great options. Many herbal blends are also good as well.  You might be surprised about the added medicinal benefit you get with these teas in addition to the flavor.  Do your research first to make sure that the tea you buy tastes great.  For example, blood root tea and golden seal both have wonderful medicinal properties, however, the first sip may end your whole herbal tea experience. 

So, today I was in the mood for red zinger, but I was all out! I was relieved to find that I had a fruit zinger sampler box from Celestial Seasonings.  So, this time I chose black cherry fruit zinger with heaping tablespoon of raw organic honey...just because I could.  I'm in tea heaven right now as I drink this blend while writing this blog. In this way, I feel as if I'm sharing it with you!  I encourage you to enjoy some herbal tea next time you're in the mood for something besides water.

Enjoying some sweetened Black Cherry Zinger with ice!

If you also love herbal tea, leave me a comment.