Alone and Hungry.

Alone and hungry is not a fun state to be for someone who likes cooking. Cooking for one is a difficult task. Today I opened the fridge and the pantry trying to find something delicious to eat. This is what I came up with....


Basically I took a portabella mushroom and put in a pan with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Smothered the mushroom with garlic butter and place sliced cherry tomatoes inside the cap. Then I topped the cap with a mixture of smashed potatoes and broccolli. I sprinkled ground almonds on the top before baking to give it a crust.
Well, it was delicious, filling and easy to make. My dinner for one was successful. Although I'll be happy when the boyfriend comes home on Saturday, cooking for two is much more fun.

Mmh, hummus.

I love hummus. It's tasty, easy to make, healthy and it makes a nice "while I'm making my actual dinner" snack. My favorite kind is sold at Trader Joe's, I forget the brand but I particularly like the roasted garlic and olive flavors. I realized at about $4 a container, it was much more economical to make my own. My first attempt was disastrous, I used bulk dried chick peas and didn't cook them for long enough and my blender was horribly outdated and I ended up with a chunk, hard and disgusting mass.
Here's my latest recipe, I have a lovely new food processor which makes the job easier, in addition to using canned chick peas.

1 can (15oz) chick peas
3 large cloves of roasted garlic
Juice of 1 lemon (give or take depending on amount of juice)
2 tablespoons of tahini
1 and 1/2 extra virgin olive oil
That's the basic recipe, I like the flavor of roasted garlic better then fresh, I find it blends in better and doesn't over power the hummus.
I made two variations...
Variation #1 = 1/2 can (about 7-8) artichoke hearts
Variation #2 = 1/2 tsp of chipotle powder

My pre-dinner snack...

Yay to my first posting!