UT students collaborate in The Cookery to create meatless meal

The Cookery serves as a subliminal classroom for our family, but last weekend, we opened it up to a mixed group of graduate and undergrad UT students who rinsed, chopped, blended and tasted a sampling of Middle Eastern dishes to create a meatless meal. The menu: saffron rice, hummus, bread, and cucumber yogurt sauce (jajik in my recipe binder). This fabulous meal […]

Hummus dries up in Southwest Austin

We knew the owners were facing a make-or-break situation at Dimassi’s Southwest location in Austin, and unfortunately, we found a farewell notice on the doors of the restaurant when we arrived to take in a buffet meal this week. I’ll miss the convenient location as well as the hummus and Arabic music feeds. It’s back to making hummus if I want it […]

That’s lunch?

I’ve spent the past week almost entirely outside (before the extreme Austin heat arrives) and away from the Cookery (not braggin’–just sayin’). Aside from steaming vegetables and slicing watermelon, the Cookery’s been quiet. In keeping with our light mission for June, here’s a crunchy option. We tried the spinach & artichoke hummus from Out to Lunch […]

New Year’s fiber fix: hummus

Hummus Who’s coming to dinner? This hummus recipe satisfies every generation. 1 cup cooked chickpeas 3 cloves garlic, crushed juice of 1/2 lemon 2 tablespoons tahina (sesame) 1/2 teaspoon salt olive oil 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped paprika Reserve 1/4 cup of liquid from boiled chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Mix crushed garlic, lemon juice, tahina and […]

Separation anxiety?

With canned chickpeas, your beans are ready to rinse. If you prefer to prepare dried beans for hummus, separate the chickpeas from their skins during the preparation process.  No worries. After an overnight water soak, bring chickpeas to a full boil in the water in which they’ve soaked, stirring occasionally, for two to three hours, until […]

Hummus for the holidays

Check your pantry. Do you have any garbanzo beans on hand? Here’s a healthy menu stretcher. We’re serving hummus during this holiday season.

Boxed to go – back to school lunch tip

The kids are taking lunches to school this year and they’re into their second week of brown bag meals. Have you boxed anything to go lately? We can’t seem to exhaust our excitement for fresh Texas tortillas. Spread tortillas with hummus, roll, and store in a sandwich bag or box.