Too Hot to Cook Challenge: Day 2

Tomorrow is CSA day, which means today I’m lucky if I have anything left from it. 😉

Note to self: If your box is 2/3 fruit, 2/3 of your box will be gone on day one.

What I do have left is some jalapenos. And a few peaches. Oh, and like 2 cloves of garlic.

Here’s the plan:

Spiced hummus, w/peaches and cream smoothies to tame the spice.

Here’s the approach:

Make your hummus. If you have never made it before, you will be amazed by how easy it is. 🙂 Here is your basic hummus recipe:

One 15-ounce can garbanzo beans

1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh preferred

1/4 cup tahini

Half of a large garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving (I use Bari)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt, depending on taste

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 to 3 tablespoons waterDash of ground paprika for serving

Combine all ingredients, minus the paprika, in a blender or food processor. Process until creamy and smooth. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of paprika.

For my *spiced* hummus, add to the basic recipe, before :

1 jalapeno, stem and membrane removed

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Puree until smooth.

Serve with pita, pita chips and/or veggies. And breathmints.

Hummus makes everything ok.

 

Now, for the smoothies.

In a blender (that has been washed really well and doesn’t smell like hummus), toss in:

4 peaches that have been pitted, halved and frozen. Peel if desired, before freezing, preferrably.

1 cup vanilla greek yogurt

Dash of vanilla

Dash of cinnamon

Puree until creamy. Thin as needed with a milk of your choosing. I thin mine with vanilla flavored kefir. 🙂

Serves two large smoothies or four half sized ones. 🙂

These would be SO good frozen in popsicle molds for the kids this summer!

Quick, easy, fresh and packed with protein…all without the heat of the oven. Sounds great to me!

 

 

 

Too Hot to Cook Challenge: Day 1

The challenge? It’s too hot to cook. Especially in a small space. 108* degrees has a funny way of making you reach for Chinese takeout.

The plan? To post a new recipe each day this week that doesn’t require the oven…and perhaps, very little or no stovetop use.

Yesterday”s approach: Salad Greens+veggies+fruit+herbs (if desired)+protein+ easy homemade dressing=delicious, easy, no heat needed dinner.

My salad was made yesterday out of whatever we had between my CSA box and leftovers in my fridge:

1 head of lettuce, chopped. (CSA)

1 pint of strawberries, sliced. (CSA)

1 cucumber, sliced. (CSA)

Leftover chicken, chopped.

A few random broken pita chips for crunch

Aaaanddd

This dressing recipe:

In a blender, combine:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar ( I always use Bragg’s)
2 TBSP water
2 TBSP raw, local honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Pulse to combine, then turn blender on, and slowly drizzle in 3/4 cup good quality olive oil.  

Toss w/your fave salad combo, and enjoy. Oh, and tell your oven to enjoy  the vacation. 😉