Authentic Hummus

I love Middle Eastern cuisine, especially hummus. It's healthy, filling and versatile - you can eat it with raw veggies, with crackers, pita bread, in a sandwich, with grilled meat. It can be flavoured with a myriad of spices or with roasted red peppers or roasted garlic... The possibilities are practically endless!

This homemade hummus is tasty and authentic, just as good as you'd get at any Lebanese restaurant.














2 cups canned chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained with liquid reserved
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, halved
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt to taste

Garnish:
Olive oil to taste
1 pinch paprika
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley

Place the chick peas, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin and salt in a blender or food processor. Blend adding reserved liquid from canned chick peas until hummus reaches desired consistency. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl.

Drizzle with additional olive oil and sprinkle with paprika and parsley.

Faux Red Lobster Biscuits

*Disclaimer: These were made a week ago - pre-Weight Watchers resolution! Lol!

I'm usually not a biscuit fan but Red Lobster's biscuits are the exception. There's just something about them, you can't help but gobble them up. (Good thing I've only been to Red Lobster 3 or 4 times!) I was very happy when one of my favourite blogs, Kayotic Kitchen, posted a recipe for Faux Red Lobster Biscuits. I didn't have all the ingredients so I had to make a few substitutions and the final result wasn't exactly like Red Lobster biscuits but still pretty good!



Inspired by this recipe.

1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1.5 cups grated cheese (I used white cheddar)
2/3 cup buttermilk or milk
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp oregano

Cut 1/2 cup butter in 2 cups of flour. Add baking powder, sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and 1.5 cups grated cheese.

Pour in 2/3 cup of buttermilk. Mix until you end up with a firm dough, but don’t over-mix. (I used plain ol' milk but had to use almost double recommended amount because my dough was too dry)

Drop spoonsful of dough on a baking sheet you’ve lined with grease-proof baking paper. Shape them up with your fingers a bit. My dough was enough for 6 extra large biscuits.

Melt about 2 oz of butter and whisk in 1/2 to 1 tsp garlic salt (I like a salty outer layer) and 2 tsp oregano. (I didn't have oregano so I used paprika. Made for a very salty crust. Next time I will use only 1/2 tsp of garlic salt and I will stick to oregano.)

Lightly brush the biscuits with 50% of the butter mix.

Bake them in a preheated oven at 400F (200C) for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of your biscuits. Until they’re golden brown.

Remove the biscuits from the oven and brush them with the remaining butter.

Firecracker Shrimps

Whoa baby, these shrimps are HOT! I found the recipe for these spicy numbers on The Pioneer Woman. Quick, easy, and oh so tasty; to quote Elizabeth Barrett Browning: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” These would be perfect: as an appetizer, in a salad, in a stir fry, as a side for steak, with rice, pasta or, as I enjoyed them, with buttered homemade bread and a big green salad. You can be sure I’ll make these again, and again, and again!



1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined.
2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
4 to 5 cloves garlic, pressed
Worcestershire sauce to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag, then add shrimp and marinate for 20 minutes to 2 hours. Skewer shrimp and grill until opaque and brown, with black bits.

Guacamole, Boosted!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love love LOVE avocadoes? It's not something I ate growing up but now I can't get enough of that buttery green flesh! Yum! One of my favorite avocado recipe is guacamole and I happen to think this version is pretty darn tasty, especially as a topping for huevos rancheros! Make some today!



1 ripe avocado
2 tbsp red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1 small tomato, finely diced
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp salt

Peel and pit avocado. Mash flesh until mostly smooth (I like to leave a few small chunks). Mix in red onion, jalapeno, tomato, lime juice and salt. Enjoy!