Hummus

Honestly, I don't have a recipe....I just add ingredients until it tastes good.

1 can garbanzo beans, all but a 1/4 of liquid drained  

2 TB of tahini

dash of cumin

dash of chili powder

1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

dash (or more) hot sauce or crushed red pepper

Combine ingredients in food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Serve with veggies, chips, toasted pita, etc.

Update on Sunday, March 2, 2008 at 10:24AM by Lisa J.

Other items to add:

jalapeno

a couple chipolte peppers

olives 

Roasted Beet Salad

-Wash desired amount of beets. (Usually I used 6 large beets)
-Bake at 400 degrees for about an hour, or until soft when stuck with knife
-Let beets cool.
-Peel beets and dice into quarters or smaller pieces
-Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (use a higher grade of both. I was amazed how much better a slightly more expensive bottle of balsamic vinegar was than the usual $4)
-Salt & pepper to taste

I also like to add slices of hearts of palm...which go especially well with beets.

My Guacamole

My guacamole tastes different every time I make it. I don't really have a recipe, per se, but you can follow the steps below and adjust accordingly.

-Use Hass avocados. (For four people I usually use 3 avocados, though, if my brother is over, I use 4. :))
-diced tomato, onion
-chop 1/2 clove garlic (sometimes I don't even add garlic b/c it's too strong)
-1 jalapeno, chopped
-chop small handful of fresh cilantro
-cut avocados, take out pits, save two pits (to keep avocado from turning brown), mash with potato masher or fork.

-add garlic, tomato, onion, and cilantro.
-add fresh lime juice, usually one half.
-add a dash of cumin and chili powder.
-add a few dashes of Frank's Red Hot sauce.
-salt and pepper

-store leftover guac with avocado pits. You can also add a little extra lime juice.