Roasted Garlic Hummus

Approximately halfway through the first quarter at my Superbowl party... It was gone by halftime.

Oh hummus, how I love thee. Few things are not made better when slathered in hummus. Crackers, pitas, veggies... Spread on sandwiches... Tossed with pasta... Made into ice cream (OK, maybe not that...)

Up until a few years ago, I always picked up my hummus pre-made from the grocery store, in some tidy little plastic tub with an ill-fitting lid. BUT NO MORE, READERS! NO MORE!

Having read the ingredient list on the side of those containers of store-bought hummus, I decided I'd rather control what went in. So here, after much experimentation, is my hummus recipe!

• 2- 16oz cans chickpeas, drained and washed
• 1/2 cup tahini (sesame) paste
• 2 whole heads garlic, split in half through the equator
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
  
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
   
2. Place garlic cut-side up on a sheet of tinfoil. Drizzle with olive oil. Wrap fully in foil and roast for 45 min-1 hour, or until garlic is soft and browned. Open tinfoil and let cool until you can handle them.
3. In food processor, combine chickpeas, tahini, and lemon juice. Add roasted garlic (cloves only, not paper), cayenne, salt, and black pepper to taste.
   
4. Turn food processor on. Drizzle in olive oil until hummus forms thick, smooth, uniform paste. Serve immediately, or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
   

A Few Quick Tips for Healthy Eating

Hello readers! So, I figured, since everyone is still fresh on their New Years' Resolutions, that I'd give a few helpful pointers for healthier eating.

Now, some of you may be saying "Billy, who are you to talk?" Well, let this be a "do as I say, and as I am doing, not as I did" situation. Everyone, from the fittest athletes to the most gluttonous slobs, can learn to cook healthfully.

And speaking of fit athletes and healthful cooking, Beijing Olympic double gold medalist swimmer (in freestyle) Garrett Weber-Gale is a self-proclaimed foodie, and, being an elite athlete, is also concerned with what he eats. In addition to that, however, Garrett has high blood pressure, and finds ways to make amazing food while being mindful of health concerns. You can read his blog at www.athleticfoodie.com (you can also use the link on the right side of this page).

Garrett has high blood pressure to deal with. In my family, we have HBP, but also diabetes, as well as some very picky eaters! The point is, we can all eat healthier, and it doesn't have to be hard!

OK now, on to the simple, easy steps!

• Use cooking spray, or put olive or vegetable oils into spray bottles, instead of pouring oil over food to coat.
• Try using sea salt instead of table or kosher salt. Sea salt is lower in sodium (and higher in potassium) than table salt.
• Instead of using butter and flour to thicken sauces, try pureeing steamed vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, and parsnips all work well) and using those to thicken! They add an extra layer of flavor, as well.
• Add (more) veggies to everything! When making mashed potatoes, add cauliflower or parsnips to the mix. Beef stew? You can do more than just carrots, onions, and celery! Try beans, sweet potatoes, winter squash, and peas! Making a fresh fruit smoothie? Try using 100% carrot juice instead of your usual liquid.
• Desperately seeking dessert? Instead of running for chocolate- and cream-based desserts or baked goods, why not try fresh fruit drizzled with a little melted chocolate? Strawberries, raspberries, pineapple, dried apricots, dried mango, and prunes are all great with a little chocolate. Or leave the chocolate behind all together, and achieve that savory taste by grilling some halved peaches or plums and drizzling with balsamic vinegar!
• Instead of frying or sauteing, try the three best healthy cooking methods: steaming, roasting, and grilling! Steaming quickly cooks veggies while retaining their vitamins, while the dry heat of roasting and grilling impart delicious flavor to whatever you're cooking without adding any fat!

And last, but certainly not least:

• Whenever you can, make your own food. That way, you know exactly what you are putting into your body. Also, cooking is fun!
  

The Best Chicken Soup

So, I learned almost everything I know about cooking from my mother. She is a fantastic cook. Brilliant, even.

However, when we're making chicken soup, the rest of the family wants me to make it.

This soup is fantastic, and it couldn't be easier. You can use whatever chicken you have around. If you have a whole chicken lying about, FANTASTIC! Pop that sucker in some broth and water and cook until it falls apart, then strain the bones out of the liquid and make your soup. Have no chicken around and want a shortcut? Buy a rotisserie chicken, "disassemble", and use that.

In my house, we usually have boneless, skinless chicken breasts. These are the culinary equivalent of linoleum flooring: functional. Not pretty, not drool-inducing... Functional. But they still work, because of all the other delicious little things that get thrown into this soup!

• 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized cubes
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 cups carrots, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
• 1 1/2 cups corn, either fresh or frozen
• 1 box frozen chopped spinach
• 1 large (28oz) can diced tomatos
• 3 Tbsp. dijon mustard
  
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 bottles amber beer (Sam Adams, Killians, or anything you like)
• 6 cups chicken broth or stock
  
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1 Tbsp. thyme leaves
  
• 1 Tbsp. rosemary leaves
  
• 2 Tbsp. tumeric (yes really)
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  

1. Place olive oil, onions, carrots,and celery in a large soup or stock pot and saute until softened, ~5 minutes.
2. Add chicken and cook until chicken is at least partially cooked, ~5 minutes.
3. Add garlic, saute 1 minute.
4. Add thyme and rosemary.
   
5. Add wine and stir to deglaze the pot. Stir in mustard. Bring to a boil.
6. Once boiling, pour in 1 beer, chicken broth/stock, and tomatoes (including their juice).
7. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Drink the other beer, you've earned it.
8. Simmer for 20 minutes.
9. Add peas, corn, and spinach; return to a gentle boil.
10. Add tumeric. The soup should turn a pleasant yellow color. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
    

Fresh Pea and Parsley Soup

It currently winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, and unless you are lucky enough to live in one of those post-card-worthy places where it is always warm and sunny, there probably isn't too much locally-grown fresh produce running about. Sure, there may be some wonky-looking rutabagas running around, hiding out in the root cellar, but as for fresh greens and the like? Yeah, they're being flown in on a plane from Chile.

Which is why, during these cold winter months, I stay cold to get many of my veggies. Really cold. Ice cold.

Yes folks, I'm talking about frozen vegetables. Vegetables flash-frozen at the peak of freshness (god bless marketing for giving me terms like flash-frozen... its so... photographic!)!

Now, you will never see a canned vegetable in my kitchen. Ever. I don't believe in them. But frozen? Sure! Many vegetables are perfectly good when frozen! Carrots, peppers, chopped spinach, peas... Oh peas... Perhaps the perfect frozen vegetable.

Which brings us to today's recipe. As I stated in yesterday's post, I recently served this Fresh Pea and Parsley soup alongside my Roasted Tomato and Pepper soup at Christmas for a festive first course. Now, let me tell you: Even though the tomato was amazing, and warm and rich and all those great things, the light, fresh taste of peas and parsley was a deliciously welcome respite from months of heavy holiday food (along with being full of vitamins, good for you, etc etc etc...).

• 2 lbs frozen peas
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  
• Water, for steaming
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Put an inch of water in the bottom of a medium-sized pot. Using a steamer basket (or other steaming mechanism), steam the peas until just cooked. DO NOT OVERCOOK! NO ONE LIKES BROWNISH PEAS! The peas should remain bright green.
2. Once steamed, shock peas in cold water to stop the cooking process.
3. Empty water from bottom of steaming pot. Place olive oil and onion in pot and saute until softened and translucent, between 3-5 minutes.
4. Add cooked peas and 2 cups stock to the onion pot. Begin to puree with immersion blender. Add stock, as needed, and continue to puree until almost smooth.
5. Add parsley and puree further until smooth. Heat through over low flame. Add salt and pepper to taste.
   

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

The keys to this super-easy recipe are cooking spray (in the amounts used, it only adds a negligible amount of fat) and fat-free vegetable or chicken broth or stock, from a box, from the grocery store. While I do love homemade stocks, to assure that meat stocks are fat-free, ya gotta go with the box!

To puree this soup you can either use a traditional blender or an immersion blender, which my mother affectionately calls "the outboard motor". Both will work just fine, so whichever you've got will do!


Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

• 2 Large butternut squash, sliced from head-to-toe (lengthwise) and seeded
• 3 Granny Smith Apples (or other tart cooking apple), peeled, quartered, and seeded
• Fat-free vegetable or chicken stock or broth (whichever your taste prefers)
• 2 cloves garlic, skin removed
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 pinch yellow curry powder (optional)
• 1 pinch nutmeg (optional)
  
• Nonstick cooking spray, such as Pam
  

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
2. Place squash, cut-side up, on baking sheet, along with apples. Place garlic cloves in hollows of squash (from where you removed the seeds). This will help the garlic to roast evenly without burning.
3. Spray squash, apples, and garlic with nonstick spray. Lightly coat with salt and pepper.
   
4. Roast in oven until squash is fork-tender; anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the thickness of your squash. Remove and let cool until squash can be handled.
5. Using a large spoon, scoop the cooked squash out of its skin and place it in your blender (or, if using an immersion blender, in a pot), along with the apples and garlic. Make sure you leave all the skin out of the blender, as the skin does not taste good.
6. Add approximately 1 cup of broth or stock to your squash and begin pureeing. Add more as necessary, until a smooth, thick, and creamy soup has formed. Reheat on stove-top over low heat, stirring frequently. Add optional spices now.
7. Once hot, adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crusty bread.
   

Winter Soups!

To me, nothing says winter cooking like thick, hearty soups. They are easy to make, make your kitchen smell fantastic, and have that warm-you-up quality that you need when you're just in from shoveling snow.

Now, while most soup recipes call for gobs of butter, cream, or other rich ingredients to conjure up flavor, I turn to other, more healthful methods, namely roasting, pureeing, and fresh herbs. Because of this, most of my winter soups are low fat, and some are even fat-free! Add to that the fact that they're chock-full of vegetable goodness, as well as make-you-feel-full fiber, and you have a perfect, and tasty, food!

My soup recipes make a fair amount of soup. I recommend freezing leftovers in individual-size servings (I love those little Gladware or Ziploc plastic containers from the grocery store). Frozen, most will keep at least a month, if not longer!

Stay tuned for a week of soup recipes! First up, Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup!