Muhammara

Like I have said before, I love dips. I think it's such a shame that many vegans seem to be confined to plain old hummus (not that it's not incredible!!) when it comes to creating an amazing mezze platter! So, when I first tried muhammara at a Middle Eastern restaurant in Kansas City, I was hooked! Then, the most recent issue of Vegetarian Times had a recipe for it in their "easy entertaining" section! yay!

Luckily, summer has blessed me with lots of red bell peppers and our local Middle Eastern foods store had a great selection of pomegranate molasses...so this recipe was really a breeze! Try it next time you want to have a mezze platter for dinner with friends or just a good dip for snacking!

Muhammara (makes 2 cups or so)

2 cups walnuts

3 large red bell peppers

4 Tbs olive oil

4 cloves garlic

2 tsp salt

2 Tbs pomegranate molasses

**pinch each of cumin and crushed red pepper (my addition!)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spread walnuts on baking sheet and toast until light brown and you can smell them...about 10 minutes. Place peppers on greased baking seperate baking sheet and bake at the same time as the walnuts, for about an hour, until the skins are blackened and super soft. (The recipe calls for you to peel the peppers after you bake them, but I left the skins on, cuz that's how I like it, and it was still rockin'). Saute the garlic in 2 Tbs of the olive oil for about a minute until fragrant and caramelized. Puree all of the ingredients in food processor until smooth and creamy, then season with salt and pepper to taste. **I served mine with veggies and toasted pita bread and it was awesome! It also tastes good with a little Sriracha sauce...if you like it hot :)

Recipe from July/August 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times

Baba Ghanouj

Because summer in mid-Missouri is hot and wet and awesome, we get some killer produce in at our Columbia Farmer's Market...how lucky could I be?!
Last week, I got a butt-load of veggies from the market (yay) and my bounty included a couple beautiful EGGPLANT! (double yay) I only wish I had pictured these babies before turning them into something delish :( oh well, onto the yum....

I often crave creamy dips, such as hummus, like a freakin preganant woman or something, so I knew that using my new eggplant for a smooth, rich baba ghanouj! I just kind of winged the recipe, and made it to my liking, but you can make adjustments if you have a different palate.

Baba Ghanouj

(makes 2 cups)

2 small to medium fresh eggplant, sliced into rounds

2 Tablespoons plus 1 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup tahini

4-6 cloves of garlic

2 T lemon juice

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp paprika, or cayenne if you like it hotter

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Toss eggplant rounds in 1 tsp olive oil and spread in single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until browned and soft and gooey. mmmm

2. After eggplant has cooled so you can handle it, place it along with all the other ingredients in your food processor.

3. Blend until smooth, but leave some chunks, cuz chunks are good. seriously. But if you like it super-smooth and creamy, you dirty thing, blend it longer...it will still be goooood!

I dipped mine in veggies and pita bread and for dinner, but you can stuff it in wraps, sandwiches, or eat it out of the bowl with your fingers, cuz there's no shame in that either :)

oh, p.s. no farmers, no food! support your local agriculture, please and thank you!