Digest the Feed
Day Two Went Better, January 15, 2014
In a Facebook feed today, I saw mini peppers with their tops sliced off and filled. I assumed it was hummus but after looking at the recipe, realized it wasn’t. It got my head rolling about two things though. The first being, how do you eat those with it not all oozing out in the first bite somehow? And secondly, why am I buying tubs of hummus when it is supposed to be cheap, gluten free and easy to make? Since the weather has been more mild, it seems like a good time to give the oven a rest and experiment. I’m currently picturing slicing those little mini peppers open, laying them flat and slathering hummus into them…
The most basic question is, what exactly is in hummus? I know that chickpeas/garbanzo beans are the main ingredient, but what else needs to be in it for it to be considered “hummus”. By definition, it is to have chickpeas, oil, garlic, lemon juice and tahini (sesame seed paste). The portions vary quite a bit from recipe to recipe, so I’m just going to get everything and see what happens.
I went to the store and I saw three brands of tahini available, all similar in size and price, so I didn’t know which one to pick. I’m not one for just grabbing one and letting it go. I have to have a reason, so my first reaction is to check reviews of the brands from my iPhone. Well, in this particular case, it seems that most people do not bother with reviewing items such as bottles of tahini. Then I stop. Wait wait wait. When I looked at a bag of sesame seeds the other day, it clearly said processed in a factory that also did wheat, etc. I don’t mess with that stuff. But if those can be a problem, then why wouldn’t tahini, a paste made from sesame seeds, possibly be a problem as well? I spun the three jars around and sure enough, it is. One was clearly labeled as being processed in a plant with wheat, flour and other items. The second had no warnings and the ingredient list seemed okay, so I deemed it neutral. The third was clearly labeled gluten free. That made my decision for me. Third jar it is. Just be aware!
Day One Was A Failure, January 14, 2014
With my ingredients lined up on the counter, I began slicing all my peppers and attempting to blend…in a mini food processor. My fault. It doesn’t work. Perhaps if I had a half batch it may have worked, but this was a huge failure and that wasn’t my only problem. Ewwwwwww. My proportions were very wrong for my taste, so much so that I scrapped it. There was no fixing this. I decided to call it quits for the night and try again the following day.
Take two. After tediously adding ingredient by ingredient, I have a light and bright, gluten free hummus recipe that I am extremely satisfied with. Yay! I gravitate towards the roasted red pepper hummus, so I decided that I’d use some of the fresh mini sweet peppers in mine.
Fresh Sweet Pepper Hummus
16 ounce can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon gluten free tahini
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
½ cup sweet peppers chopped (more for dipping)
½ teaspoon onion salt
Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Put them in the blender with the clove of garlic, olive oil, tahini and lemon juice. Blend until smooth. Add the sweet peppers and blend again. After it is smooth, stir in the onion salt.
I was originally going to fill these mini pepper pieces but after seeing how pretty they were, I decided to take a different route. I chose to turn them into petals for a flower design. I thought it would be a cheerful little presentation for a picnic or summer holiday party. What do you think?
My Gluten Free Hummus and Pepper Petal Flower
