Pesto Hummus

Snow falls occasionally here in Northern Virginia, usually no more than about 4 or 5 inches at a time, and it’s a chance for fun followed by a quick melting, but we have more than our normal share of snow this winter. We still have plenty of snow on the ground leftover from the back-to-back blizzards two weeks ago, which dumped almost 30 inches on us. The DC area set a new record for winter snowfall, beating the previous record set in the winter of 1898-99, and our county has received over 75 inches this winter, far above our average of 23 inches. Read more

Popcorn with Brown Butter, Rosemary, and Lemon

Popcorn has always been one of my favorite snacks, and as a child I got excited when my dad brought out the vintage hammered Club Aluminum pot and poured in some kernels. Sometimes we had butter on top, but mostly we ate it with a simple sprinkling of salt or occasionally seasoned salt. I don’t think my parents have that old pot anymore, but as I reminisce about all the popcorn we ate together, I wish they still had it. Read more

Papas Criollas (Tiny Yellow Potatoes)

One of my fondest food memories is of the tiny round potatoes known as papas criollas from Colombia. The Colombian papas criollas grow wild in the Andes highlands and have a thin, tender skin and a buttery yellow interior that yields an amazing flavor. They are a favorite for soups such as Ajiaco or served as appetizers or sides either roasted, fried, mashed, boiled, or skewered and grilled. Here in the United States you can buy them frozen in some stores or in jars from various online grocers (see Where to Buy below). I have searched for years but still have not found frozen, canned, or fresh papas criollas in any of our local Hispanic or international grocery stores.

If you’ve ever had a memory of food so strong that you still dream of it 15 years later, you’ll understand my excitement when I spotted tiny yellow potatoes in Trader Joe’s last week. Read more

Oven-Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Have I ever mentioned that purple is my favorite color? I find the color exhilarating and like plants that bear purple fruits and vegetables, including tomatillos.

Our tomatillo plants were slow this year along with everything else in the garden. The extended cold, wet spring put a damper on things, making everything slow to grow and blossom. We finally harvested some tomatillos a few weeks ago, much later than last year, and with the early cold snap this week we didn’t get much of a growing season at all. All we can do is preserve what we have and hope for better next year. Read more

Roasted Garlic Hummus

This is our first year for growing garlic and now we are slapping ourselves for not trying it years ago because it was so easy. We planted the garlic cloves back in October and then just let them do their thing, no difficult maintenance required. They sprouted before winter set in, then the real growth came in spring when the temperatures warmed up.

We planted softneck silverskin garlic, the most common type of garlic you’ll find in markets or stores. It doesn’t have scapes like hardneck garlic, but it keeps longer after harvest than the hardneck type. Softneck garlic is good for braiding, something I really should practice but I’m all thumbs when it comes to fine motor skills.

As always, we learned a few things with our experiment. First, choose a type of garlic that will thrive in your area. In general, hardneck varieties do well in cold climates and softneck varieties do well in hot climates. Plant only the biggest cloves because they yield the biggest bulbs with the most cloves, and save the little cloves for the kitchen. Plant cloves in October to November in a sunny spot about two to three inches (five to eight centimeters) below the surface. Keep it watered in the spring and when the weather turns hot. Once the green tops start to brown and lay over, stop watering for at least one week before harvesting.

Harvesting is not difficult, just carefully dig around the bulb without touching it to loosen the roots then lift it out. Tap the garlic a little to get most of the dirt off, but don’t worry about removing all the dirt because you want to leave the papery skin on for storage. If you harvest on a dry day you’ll have an easier time tapping off the dirt.

You can use the newly harvested garlic right away, but for long-term storage it needs to cure (dry), so put it in a place out of direct sunlight (not the refrigerator) for about two weeks. We hung it from the rafters in our basement root cellar. After the garlic has cured, you can braid it. Softneck varieties will keep for up to eight months and hardneck varieties will keep for up to two months.

And of course, save some of the big cloves for planting again.

When ready to use, just cut away any dangling roots and use a clean dry toothbrush to gently rub away the outer skin and remaining dirt.

Roasted garlic is one of my favorite foods. It tastes delicious smeared on good artisan bread and adds another dimension of flavor to tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, caramelized onions, hummus, and many other dishes. Serve the hummus with raw vegetables, pita slices or pita chips, or baguette slices. It’s also delicious on bagel or pita sandwiches with avocado slices and alfalfa sprouts.

This is my contribution to Grow Your Own, a blogging event that celebrates the dishes we create from foods we’ve grown, raised, foraged, or hunted ourselves. Amy of Playing House is our host for this round, so be sure to visit her blog for more information about submitting your post. The deadline is July 30. If you are new to the event, you can read more about the rules for participating at the Grow Your Own page.

References

Leslie Land – How to Grow Garlic

ROASTED GARLIC HUMMUS

Makes about 2 cups.

Equipment

food processor

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce/425 g) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (or 1/2 cup dry beans, soaked overnight, then drained and rinsed)
3 tablespoons sesame tahini (I prefer Ziyad brand, but any will do.)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 whole bulb roasted garlic (or 2 if you really want some garlic flavor)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
4 to 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of the skin. In the bowl of the food processor, add the beans, tahini, lemon juice, sea salt, and garlic. Process for a few seconds to get the mixture started. While the processor runs, begin drizzling in the olive oil, starting with 2 tablespoons, adding more as necessary to create a smooth consistency.

Other Easy Appetizers

More Recipes With Roasted Garlic From Around the Blogs

Baking Bites – Roasted Garlic Grilled Flatbread

Wild Yeast – Roasted Garlic Bread

Kalyn’s Kitchen – Garlic-Roasted Green Beans with Shallots and Almonds

Ezra Pound Cake – Roasted Garlic, Poblano, and Red Pepper Guacamole

Herbed Goat Cheese

Delicious food does not have to be difficult to prepare or require hours slaving away in the kitchen. Some of my favorite foods are simple with just a few good ingredients that shine together. The classic goat cheese rolled in herbs is one of those simple appetizers that is hard to resist with slice baguette and seasonal roasted tomatoes. You can make the full recipe to serve four or more or halve the recipe to make a delicious appetizer for two.

I just walk out to the herb garden and snip off whatever is in season to make this, and this time I had fresh parsley, chives, and lemon thyme to chop and coat the soft tangy cheese. Fresh cilantro, basil, lemon basil, and marjoram are also good choices. Rolling the cheese in some good olive oil helps the herbs to stick. Read more

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