Black Bean Hummus

Sorry that I’ve left you hanging friends.  I have some pretty big news.  No no, I didn’t win the lottery.  Nope, did not meet the man of my dreams and am currently siting on a beach in Fiji honeymooning.

I’m moving.

BAM.

Not anywhere particularly exciting.  Actually, I’m only moving one neighborhood over and about 4 miles away from my old apartment.  What is exciting is that this is the first time I’ll have my “own place.”  Probably shouldn’t have said that on the internet, now creepers are going to be coming after me and my single self.  Regardless, Queen Anne, get ready for my arrival! 

So you probably know what that means, almost everything I own is in a box, waiting to go in a box, or somewhat unpacked at my new place.  Basically, my cooking is pretty much non-existent at the moment.  I’ve been sustaining life on some bean soup I made an embarrassingly long time ago, Amy’s frozen meals and lots of coffee.  Lots.

But this black bean “hummus” (it’s really more like a black bean dip, but who’s calling the PC police here) is from a few weeks ago.  My friend Julie & her family hosted a glass sale out of their home to raise money for her dad & brother to go to Russia. John McComish (Julie’s dad) is an extremely talented local glass artist and he went to Russia to install some glass work at an orphanage.  I really recommend you check his stuff out: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hot-Glass-Seattle/209400679084056

Food.  Right.  To help nourish the shoppers, Julie and I cooked and catered for the event.  She made some delicious “faux-mosas” (samosa filling in phyllo dough), I made the black bean dip, cut up some veggies, laid out some tortilla chips & we attempted to make gluten free macaroons (they failed MISERABLY).

The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of tahini but as we didn’t have any of hand, and Julie conveniently doesn’t like tahini, we did without.  I think it made the texture a little thicker and the bean flavor a little more prominent, two things I was completely ok with.

In other news, I am starting the re-integration process for gluten & dairy!  Today (and today only) I get to eat AS MUCH GLUTEN as I WANT!  (insert evil, maniacal here)

Cherry & Apple Venn PIEagram

This recipe has been simmering on the back-burner for a while now and it’s finally ready to claim its place in the spotlight.  I made it the week I found out I couldn’t eat gluten or dairy and I knew that I wanted my next few posts to be for food that I could eat and drool over without feeling guilty.  Now, my masterpiece is ready (I also feel like this would be an appropriate time for an evil laugh, too) for general consumption.  Welcome to my deliciously geeky creation: a venn PIEagram.

There is a little bit of a backstory with this culinary creation and I need to give credit where credit is due.  A few months back (sometime during March Madness) my boss sent me a picture of a of a venn pieagram and I never turn down a challenge.  Ever.  Seriously.  Ask all my old co-workers at the Bivouac and Michigan Radio.  Ask my friends.  Ask anyone who I beat and is not crying in a corner with their inferior biscotti (not that I’m implying anything *wink wink* Lester).  Cut to the end of March Madness and I made this pie as a celebration for both the championship game and the fact that men of the world suddenly had a lot more free time on their hands.

Evidenced by the photos, I chose to make an apple pie with a crumble top and a tart cherry pie with a lattice crust.  I wanted to have two pies that would both contrast well and taste good together when they inadvertently mixed in the baking process.  Anyways, aren’t apple and cherry pie the definition of American?

If you want to make this (and if you want to impress people, I recommend you do), you’re going to have to use a few special and cheap supplies.  In hindsight, I should have taken pictures to show you how I jiffy rigged two disposable cake pans together but hopefully this (incredibly poorly drawn) picture will help:

I know, you wonder why I didn’t go to art school.  I ask myself this too.  Just call me the queen of MS Paint instead.  So as you can obviously see, get yourself two disposable cake pans, cut out a section from one of them and then tape them together.  Tada!

Roasted Pear and Toasted Pecan Ice Cream

Three more weeks.  I keep on having to repeat that to myself over and over… only three more weeks until I will (hopefully) start reintegrating gluten and dairy.  My doctor thinks I am sensitive to one of the two and I need to "cleanse" my system more before I nosh on a hunk of bread or block of cheese.  While I wouldn't call my current diet ideal, not being able to have dairy hasn't been too hard.  I've known for a while I'm lactose intolerant.  I mean, haven't you noticed that 99.9% of my recipes use a milk substitute?  But what has been hard is finding a soy ice cream without brown rice syrup.

You'd think having the word rice in the name would mean it was gluten free.  You'd be wrong.  It's one of those sneaky glutenous ingredients.  So, if I can't buy it I'll make it!  I had some pears that were at the edge of being over ripe and a craving for some ice cream.

 When you make this ice cream (which I highly recommend) make sure you set aside a chuck a time.  While not being labor intensive, there is a lot of down time.  At least at the end of it all, your house will smell like roasted pears, toasted pecans and you will be snacking on some freshly turned ice cream.