have i mentioned my new food processor?

i may or may not have brought up the fact that i am the proud owner of a 9-cup brushed stainless cuisinart food processor.  i love this appliance.  i also love hummus.  and so the story begins.

i made hummus.  the end.

ingredients:

1 16 oz can of garbanzo beans

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini

juice from half a lemon

garlic to taste

salt to taste

cumin to taste

any combination of spices, oils, peppers, etc. that you deem appropriate

put everything into the food processor and process it until creamy.

these are the flavor combinations we've come up with:

original - nothing fancy

jalapeno - added chunks of jalapeno and additional cumin

spice blend - added a random assortment of spices from my spice rack until i got a taste i enjoyed

beet - added beets and more lemon juice

orange "chicken"

A was checking out vegweb, as she often does, and found an incredible sauce recipe.  seriously incredible.  like lick the plate clean incredible.  like if you ordered orange chicken at a restaurant the sauce on our plate could not even compare to this sauce incredible.  plus, it's pretty easy to make - which definitely boosts the incredible-ness.

ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon orange juice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

red pepper flakes to taste

2 teaspoons cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water

saute the garlic and green onions in olive oil then add water, orange juice, lemon juice, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes.  bring to boil and reduce heat.

dissolve cornstarch in water and add it to the mixture, stirring constantly.

continue cooking until it reaches a consistency that makes you feel happy.

we've made this dish twice and A has been in charge of the sauce both times (it could be due to the fact that she loves recipes).

to prepare the tofu, i  followed a similar procedure to the one we used for the baja tacos.  i set up four bowls.  one with lemon juice, one with flour, one with a veganaise and soy milk mixture (we had no soy yogurt on hand) and one with tortilla crumbs.  cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces and dip them into each bowl (in the order listed).  then, using a cast iron skillet, fry the tofu until golden brown.

we served the tofu and sauce over a bed of sushi rice alongside steamed broccoli and peapods.

deliciousness.

avocado soup

as previously mentioned, i moved into a new apartment at the end of may.  as a house warming gift my mother bought me a food processor.  it is a thing of beauty:

the presence of this new appliance in my apartment prompted A to investigate recipes that required the use of a food processor.  she found a recipe for avocado soup.  she made said soup while i was at work.  i must admit to feeling a twinge of jealousy regarding the fact that she used my beautiful new kitchen appliance before i did, but this feeling quickly faded since she did, after all, make me dinner.

avocado soup:

3 limes

3 cups water with ice

3 avocados, halved and pitted

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 small jalapeno pepper with seeds, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

fresh cilantro, chopped

flour tortilla, cut into strips for garnish

olive oil (to fry tortilla strips)

basically you throw everything but the tortilla strips and oil in the food processor and process it until smooth.  while this is happening, take the tortilla strips and fry them in oil until crispy.

ladle the soup into bowls and add tortilla strips and chopped cilantro to garnish.  A served the soup alongside a black bean and corn salad.

my opinion of this soup: kinda bland.  A agreed.  the consistancy of the soup was good, if you are a fan of thick soups along the lines of butternut squash puree, etc.  i, however, am not a fan of thick soups - they tend to remind me of baby food or things served in nursing homes to people with no teeth.  and despite the fact that A claims i am an 80-year-old man trapped in a 25-year-old woman's body, i need food with texture.

*side note* there is some truth to her claims of my geriatric nature.  quote from me while driving home around 11pm: "wow.  i'm suprised to see the lawrence bus running so late at night with all the budget cuts lately."

basically, the soup lacked flavor.  in the event that this dish gets repeated, i would add more garlic, possibly cumin, and cilantro to the mix.  my opinion of the black bean and corn salad: delicious, full of flavor, pretty damn good.

black bean and corn salad (A did not give me the recipe and since i don't use recipes anyways, i'll just give you the basic run down):

cook a cup of brown rice and let it cool.

add one can of drained and rinsed black beans.

add one can of drained and rinsed corn kernels or cook some corn and cut the kernels from the cob.

saute chopped green peppers, maybe some onion, minced jalapeno and minced garlic.  add this to the bowl.

add chopped cilantro, cumin, salt, pepper and anything else you think would taste good.

mix.

as i said, the black bean and corn salad was freaking delicious. and A even cooked the rice on her own - i was so proud.

bottom line: disappointing christening of the food processor but delicious black bean salad.

So when we said May had been busy and we were going to get better at posting - we lied. Our summer has been equally as busy as our spring.  We did manage to do plenty of cooking however and even took pictures of some of them.  Finding time to post them was the difficult part. So we are going to post them all now in one big hoorah. We also thought we'd share some pictures of our exciting summer adventures.
There was midsommarfest, pride, Amber's wedding, The Great Urban Race and Market Days. All were a great time. Even though we did not win the race, truth - we just barely finished it. But we finished it and that was the point.

Our Adventures:

Oh and our team name for the race: Geeks Who Eat :)