Indian cooking, veganizing, and the quest for the perfect hummus

Here it's been a whole week again since I posted... That's partly because the black bean chili I posted about last time lasted us an entire week, and partly also because it's been so gorgeous out that the thought of staying inside on the computer has not been very appealing. But here is a sample of what's been cooking...

On Saturday evening a good friend of mine came over to cook dinner with me, and I thought, What would be a simple, flavorful, fun vegan meal to teach Kelly how to make? And nothing seemed to fit the bill better than aloo matar, Indian potatoes and peas. I didn't remember until she got here that she had actually spent the summer in India, so we spent the evening discussing Indian cuisine and culture, and enjoying this spicy meal with whole grain chapatis.




Sunday morning I made these FatFree Vegan omelettes--I doubled the recipe and made vegan omelettes for two! I filled my omelettes just like SusanV did, with sautéed spinach and mushrooms--not because I meant to imitate her necessarily, but because those are my favorite omelette fillings. As you can see from the photo, I stuffed my omelette a little too full! Hee hee.


Bob wasn't too crazy about this breakfast... but I loved it. I think his main problem with it was that the inside of the omelette didn't cook up very firm, so it was a little squishy. A couple ways I could try to remedy this are to make thinner omelettes, or to cook one side of the omelette and then attempt to flip it and cook the other side. Both of these options sound tricky to me. I happened to like the softness of the inside, personally, and I think these omelettes could not be more perfect. There was a time in my life when omelettes were my favorite breakfast, and now that option is open again! Thanks, Susan!

There are some great pubs around town that Bob and I have had fun becoming familiar with. The default food item for a vegan to order at a pub is hummus--around here, every place has hummus, and so Bob and I are becoming hummus "connoisseurs," if you will. The good news is that every place we've been to serves first-rate hummus; the bad news, though, is that I've become addicted to it. And since going out for hummus two or three nights a week could become quite expensive indeed, I am questing to create the perfect hummus for those nights when I can't justify going out to satisfy my hummus needs.

I have made hummus many, many times before--just search my blog for "hummus" and who knows how many results you will find. And many of those times, I have been creative and come up with recipes I would gladly make again. However, I have to admit that I have never created the "perfect" basic, standard hummus recipe--you know, the plain, lemon-garlic variety. It often has a) a slightly bland flavor, b) too much garlic and/or lemon, or c) a dissatisfying texture. But in the next couple of weeks, I am determined to jump this hurdle and create a tasty, creamy, perfectly balanced hummus, and then I am going to do a happy dance.


This hummus came close, but it wasn't quite there. I was very satisfied with this hummus, though, and I'm looking forward to building on it next time. I found some big fluffy whole wheat pita loaves at the nearby grocery, and I warmed those up to serve it with--they're so much better than the thin, flimsy, cardboard-esque pita loaves that I have become accustomed to... Does anyone know a great recipe for soft, fluffy pitas?

My sister is coming to visit me this weekend, with her fiancé! I am having a hard time believing that my baby sister is engaged, but that's the way of the world, I guess--you get older, the people you love get older, and then you wonder where in the world all the time slipped off to. Anyway, I'm looking forward to her visit, and we've got some fun planned, so I may not be around until next week. But I wish you all a super-fantastic weekend, until next time!