Help! I didn’t buy any hummus this week because I have a few cans of chickpeas in the pantry and I figured I would just make it. But, the tahini that I thought was in the pantry is not there, so it must have been purged during the move. I feel like there was a way to make it without tahini - maybe using the water from the chickpea can or something? I also ran out of lemon juice making dinner the other night so I will be substituting lime juice instead. This might turn out to be a really odd hummus 
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So the tahini and lemon juice are pretty essential but I imagine you could use an almond butter or peanut butter and go for more of a chickpea dip rather than a hummus? Also, if you have a lot of sesame seeds (I buy them bulk) you can puree those with a little water or oil and make tahini. But if not, I’d try adding just a little nut butter at a time, you could also soak some nuts (like cashews would work) and then puree those into the chickpeas. You could also scrap the whole thing and do a different type of bean puree, like a white bean puree, which doesn’t usually take tahini anyway, but IDK what you’re serving it with!
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We used to do just olive oil and lemon and cumin and salt when I was growing up. But a lot of lemon. In university I knew a LOT of people who did PB.
I think with the lime I’d add the cumin and maybe some cayenne pepper and it might be a good dip?
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That sounds good. I’ll definitely add the cumin with lime and a bit of cayenne but not too much because it’s mostly for B.
We are also out of peanut butter 
We have pb powder though which can be mixed with water. I’m running out of a lot of staples so apparently it’s time for a Costco trip.
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I made a really delicious dinner this week and wanted to share! I took a bag of frozen butternut squash bisque (which I made a while ago with coconut milk), brought it to room temp and combined with a lot of ricotta and parmesan and a couple of spices. Then I used that as the filling for lasagna roll ups, and I covered the whole thing in homemade alfredo sauce (with a little cheddar added in). I baked it and then let it finish under the broiler and it is SO GOOD. I will definitely make it again. Served it with a side salad.
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Do you have a preferred recipe for the butternut squash bisque? I’ve got a couple of them remaining in the basement and am (very) leery about delivery produce so I’m thinking they’ll be the base for my meals next week, but I haven’t found a recipe that’s caught my eye yet.
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I don’t usually use one! I follow the same basic method each time though and I do it for sweet potatoes too.
- Halve squash and bake.
- Toss squash in pot with chicken stock (just a little at a time, it should be very thick) and puree.
- Add fat (cream, evaporated milk, coconut milk, whatever) and spices. Puree again until perfectly smooth. I use an immersion blender.
- Get to desired consistency by adding fat/stock and heat over low until warm and tasty, adjust spices by taste. I like to add a couple different types of chili powder for some kick.
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Oooh. I have a butternut squash soup that I thawed (from my produce place) that didn’t work as a soup for me. Maybe I will get tofu.riccota and do a lasagna!
I typed ricotta and then remembered veganuary.
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That sounds good!
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Monday was day 1 of my totally bonkers cooking week to fill up my freezer and I got a lot done. Chili was the meal of the day!
Made a homemade paste of roasted onions (I put them under the broiler in oil), lime juice, spices, canned chipotle peppers, oil, garlic.
I decided to use dried beans so I had to soak black beans and pinto beans overnight and then cook those first while I prepped everything else. Luckily I had a bunch of homemade stock in my fridge so it was easy to flavor them.
Stirring this was ridiculous
I could barely reach because I’m so short and it was so thick! I like making thick freezer chili though because I always add water when I reheat it anyway.
I ended up with some extra cooked beans too so I also froze those! Tomorrow I’m making the pad prik king, pork lamb, and tempeh for dinner. None of that gets frozen, and I think I might hold off on the Arancini since my freezer is pretty packed; I made way more chili than anticipated (16 lbs of meat!). Plus, everything for the Arancini is a pantry or freezer staple so it’ll keep. I do need to make falafel this week though, because that’s a lot of fresh stuff but I think I’ll do that on Wednesday and just make dinner tomorrow so I can work out. I also have the ingredients for corn chowder…haha so maybe I will do that tomorrow too since it’s easy? So:
Tuesday- Pork larb etc. for dinner + pickle carrots + Corn Chowder (100% freezer, or maybe I wait and make it later in the week and we eat right away? undecided.) – soak chickpeas
Wednesday- Falafel Platter stuff for eating fresh
I hope I have enough space for all this!
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Do you have a vacuum sealing device for the beans? That’s cool!! So much chili, omg.
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Yes, I have a food saver! I use it a lot actually, just not for soups because I think it’s more trouble that it’s worth when freezer ziplocks work as well. It really reduces freezer burn for other things tho !
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I’ve had one for awhile and want to get in the habit of using it, I should add that to my New Years resolutions list. It seems like it would be great for meat and freezer leftovers.
Did you all grow up with the vacuum sealer informercials, maybe Foodsaver maybe another brand? I was obsessed and it definitely influenced my purchase of one a few years ago.
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Yes! I remember them fondly. I added it to our potential registry list
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Yesterday was another success! I really didn’t feel like doing anything but I pushed myself and I made dinner as well as loads of corn chowder for the freezer (we’ll eat the jars this week). I also made a (not pictured) cornbread because husband requested it and it’s quick enough so why not. Today I am taking the day off! But I will be back to work tomorrow making falafel and pita and stuff.
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You guys make me feel like a lazybones. What’s in my freezer are quarts of stewed tomatoes, herb disks, spiced onions, salsa verde, onions/lentils, sauteed onions, frozen chilis, bread, mireproix, some meat, and coffee. And LOTS of bits & pieces for soups & stews.
I realized I had so many of the bits & pieces I need to do an organizational purge/rearrangement. I have no real idea what I have or where it is. I’ve designated one shelf for “soup stuff” and a bin to put the freezer containers in… we’ll see if the freezer is saner and it’s easier to use the food up after I’m done!
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Ohhhh love a good freezer reorg. Take before/after photos?
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Too late! I only did one shelf’s worth…
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Last night I cut up an onion, some mini red peppers, and an orange pepper. Drizzled with a combo of olive oil, lime juice, and chili-related seasoning (mostly Penzey’s Chili 9000 with the remains of a jar of Arizona Dreaming thrown in). Baked on a sheet pan until roasty.
Then I put all that in a flour tortilla with some shredded cheese, the remains of an avocado that needed used up, some homecanned salsa, and some greek yogurt because I didn’t have any sour cream.
IT WAS SO GOOD. I will totally have this again. Boyfriend added chicken to his.
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My plans have been derailed by nature’s plans today, so instead of making falafel I’m just going to pack the carrot pickles in brine and soak the chickpeas. Luckily the pork larb and pad prik king made a lot more than expected so there is plenty for dinner, and lunch is of course well taken care of thanks to mountains of chili and corn chowder and corn bread. I pre-make husband’s breakfasts so nothing to do there either.
Hopefully tomorrow I can do the falafel, if meds kick in and help a lot I may try and prep the mix ins today (herbs, hand ground spices, etc.) so that tomorrow I can just puree the chickpeas and be on my way. Oh also I really want to try air fryer donuts! There’s a cheater recipe I found that uses canned biscuits so it’s super fast and I can’t resist trying it when those go on sale! I love love love donuts, but not fancy ones, those are a lie. I like krispy creme style ones that are so airy I can eat a half dozen.
That sounds good @TrisPrior !
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