The Best Hummus Ever

The best hummus ever. It’s a bold statement to make, I know. I discovered this recipe a few months ago and never looked back. Sayonara, store-bought hummus! This hummus is super smooth and fluffy. It almost has the consistency of frosting. Creamy, dreamy hummus. Okay, enough adjectives already!

What’s the trick? Peel your chickpeas. I always buy canned chickpeas, because I don’t have the patience to soak them myself. Once you drain the can of chickpeas, put the pointy end of a chickpea between your thumb and index finger, and give it a little squeeze. The chickpea pops right out of its skin. Turn on some tunes, and you’ll be done in no time. It usually takes me 10-15 minutes, but it is so worth it.

Naked Chickpeas

Ethereally Smooth Hummus (recipe from Smitten Kitchen)

15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and peeled

1/2 cup tahini paste

2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 small cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3/4 tsp. salt, or more to taste

Approx. 1/4 cup water

 

In a food processor, blend chickpeas until they look like coarse crumbs.

Chickpea Crumbs

Add tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt, and puree until well blended, scraping down the sides if necessary. With the food processor running, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until the hummus is light and creamy.

That’s IT!

I always eat my hummus on carrots, but you could also serve it with pita wedges or chips. Smitten Kitchen recommends drizzling it with olive oil and sprinkling paprika over the top. I don’t do that, but I’m sure it’s delicious.

A few notes, if you don’t think the hummus tastes garlicky enough right out of the food processor, don’t panic. The garlic flavor will get stronger once it’s been in the fridge for a while.

If you’re trying to cut down on sodium, skip the salt. I forgot it once, and my hummus, while not as salty, still tasted great.

This is what the tahini paste that I use looks like. I know it’s sometimes tricky hunting for an ingredient you’ve never seen before. I searched for weeks before I finally found it. They keep it in the Mediterranean section of my grocery store.

Mother’s Day

I know that I have sung my mother’s praises on the internet for Mother’s Day before. But she’s my mom, and I love her. So you get to listen to me again.

I’m feeling particularly nostalgic this year. Maybe it’s because I’m celebrating alone. (And by alone, I mean me and my two kids, of course..) Maybe it’s because my Daddy lost his mama this year. Maybe it’s because I have never lived 1,412 miles from my Mom on Mother’s Day before.. Maybe it’s all of the above.

Have I showed you a picture of my mom lately?

Here she is two years ago, hiding behind her coffee cup at the breakfast table on our family beach trip.  It’s funny, because this picture reminds of Grandmommy (my great-grandmother, my mom’s grandmother). Grandmommy always ran from the room and hid when a camera came out. I don’t know why you’re hiding, Mom. I think you’re lovely, even without makeup or your hair “done.” I never understood why you got up so early in the morning to get yourself ready for the day. I never thought you needed it.

Here she is again, last Christmas, loving on my nephew Levi. She sure is good at loving on some grandkids. And at picking their noses, but I digress…

Here’s another one. It’s kind of old, too. You can tell because Neely Bug is TINY. But look at that sweet Nana face. I love it. I love photos. Sometimes, they capture things you don’t necessarily notice in the moment.

You know who else I’m thankful for this Mother’s Day? My Mamaw. She’s the only grandmother I have left this year, which makes me sad and all the more grateful for her at the same time.. If it weren’t for Mamaw, I wouldn’t have my Mom.

She will not love that I shared this particular picture of her, but it’s from the same beach trip two summers ago. We made a low country boil, and Neely sat in Mamaw’s lap and ate all of her dinner that night. Look how happy my little scavenger is. Mamaw kept having to ask for more food…which kept getting stolen!

I am very fortunate to have had these beautiful, Christian women as my influences growing up.

And since I’m feeling sentimental for Mother’s Day, I think it’s also necessary to give a little credit to this guy – the handsome one, mashing the potatoes. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be a mother myself.

Love to all! Now, go give your mama a kiss. Or call her. Or give her a Skype kiss. You get the picture. Happy Mother’s Day!

Don’t name your kid “Phone!”

Happy Mother’s Day! Just a little bit early. You’re welcome.

Spring Running Playlist

My Nike watch is very happy that we finally have warm weather. It’s quit harassing me and asking if we’re ever going to run together again. I didn’t have the foot pod synchronized correctly, so I wasn’t able to use it all winter.

It was also time to revamp the running playlist. I kept some of my old favorites and added some new songs that I am loving so far.

Here’s what’s shuffling in the Shuffle these days:

1. Brighter Than the Sun, Colbie Caillat

2. Right In, Skrillex

3. Thrift Shop, Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis

4. Black and Yellow, Wiz Khalifa

5. YOLO, The Lonely Island feat. Adam Levine

6. Bangarang, Skrillex

7. Everybody Talks, Neon Trees

8. Lucky Strike, Maroon 5

9. My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up), Fall Out Boy – longest song title ever. Sheesh!

10. Starships, Nicki Minaj

11. Whiskey’s Gone, Zac Brown Band

12. Scream & Shout, Will.I.Am & Britney Spears

13. Hate On Me, Glee Cast version

14. Blurred Lines, Robin Thicke feat. T.I. & Pharrell)

15. Mirrors, Justin Timberlake

16. Stronger, Kanye West

…..and RUN! I’ve PR’ed my 5K time twice in the last week, so it must be working. What’s playing in your earbuds these days?

Photo – Circus

 

I took these little cuties to the circus for the first time last week. Here they are, waiting in fevered anticipation for popcorn, cotton candy, acrobats, elephants, and all the other theatrics that go along with a trip to the circus. It’s too bad all I could get out of them were their camera grimaces…I mean smiles.

 

Homemade Taco Seasoning

So you like tacos. I do, too. Around here, we eat a lot of tacos. They’re on the menu at least once a week, and in between times, we eat the leftovers. I tried this homemade taco seasoning back when I began my 24-Day Challenge. It was in a cookbook we were using to get recipe ideas, and I love it! I have adapted the recipe from the original just a little bit, and multiplied it to make more than one meal’s worth at a time.

You need these guys.

And these two. They somehow missed the original lineup, and I’d already started using things and was too lazy to arrange them all again.

This photo isn’t really important. I was just amused that the off-brand of spices at my local store are called Fancy Pantry. I guess that makes this fancy taco seasoning.

Taco Seasoning:

1/2 cup chili powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 tsp. dried oregano

4 tsp. paprika

4 tsp. ground cumin

8 tsp. sea salt

8 tsp. ground black pepper

Throw ‘em all in a bowl, mix it well, and jar it up! This makes about 1 cup of taco seasoning.

When it’s taco time, add 3-4 tablespoons of taco seasoning to cooked ground beef or turkey, along with one 8-ounce can of tomato sauce. Simmer for about 5 minutes, and you’re ready to go!

Make – Jewelry Organizer

I have been in desperate need of jewelry organizing solutions for a while now. A small jewelry box on my dresser houses my favorites and most oft-worn pieces. I also have an earring frame that an aunt made me years ago that holds my earrings. But that’s it. Everything else has been crammed into jewelry boxes and bags in a small drawer in my dresser for a while now. It’s a complete disaster. When I try to find something, pretty much everything has to come out until I locate what I want.

Enter this empty frame that I found in the Hobby Lobby clearance aisle a few years ago. It used to live on my living room wall…two houses ago. Since then, it’s just been hanging out in various closets. I finally found a way to give it new purpose. All you need to do this project yourself is an empty frame, a roll of mesh hardware cloth (mine has 1/4-inch squares), a staple gun, wire cutters, and some S hooks.

Begin by cutting the hardware mesh to fit the back of the frame. This is the trickiest/most time-consuming part. I’m sure there is something more efficient to use than the little wire snips that I have. If you have something better, by all means, use it!

Once you have your piece of mesh, flip the frame over, and staple the mesh to the back.

I stapled mine down every 3-4 inches, making sure the wire was pulled tight and flat all the way across. It will flatten out some when it hangs against the wall, but you don’t want it all bowed and saggy.

All that was left to do after that was to hang it on the wall, add the S hooks, and hang my necklaces. The whole project took maybe 20 minutes, and the bulk of that time was spent cutting wire. This isn’t every necklace that I own, but it gets the bulkiest ones out of the drawer. I love that I’m wearing them more now that I can see my options all the time.

 

Yoga Pants Song

I know. I’m sharing a lot of videos lately, but this one cracked me up. I almost snorted Spark out my nose. Tim Hawkins sings about yoga pants. Enjoy.

Dove Real Beauty Sketches

Ladies, if you haven’t watched this video yet, do it now. It will be three minutes well spent. What in incredible reminder that I am my own worst enemy when it comes to looks. I hate seeing photos of myself. I can almost always find something wrong. To quote the video, “You are more beautiful than you think.” Wow. Just wow.

Eat – Marshmallow Fluff

I have a confession to make. My kids are addicted to marshmallow fluff. Well, maybe not the fluff itself, but fluffer nutter sandwiches. Aidan packs one in his lunchbox almost every day. When I stumbled upon this recipe for homemade marshmallow fluff over at A Farmgirl’s Dabbles, I knew I had to give it a shot.

Marshmallow Fluff

• 1/3 c. water
• 3/4 c. light corn syrup
• 2/3 c. plus 2 T. sugar, divided
• 3 large egg whites
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, combine water, corn syrup, and 2/3 cup sugar. Place over medium-high heat and cook until boiling. Cook, stirring, until mixture reaches 240° on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from heat.

While the saucepan on the stove top is cooking, beat the egg whites. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites and cream of tartar together until light and frothy. With the mixer running, slowly pour in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Beat until soft peaks form. Let sit until saucepan ingredients are ready.

With the mixer on low speed, drizzle the hot syrup from the saucepan very slowly into the egg whites mixture. Increase mixer speed to high and continue beating for about 7 to 9 minutes, until mixture is stiff and glossy. Add vanilla and beat on high just a bit more to combine completely.

This stuff is super yummy! I ended up with 3 pint-sized jars full. It should last us about three weeks, optimistically. It makes a great fluffer nutter. It also makes a great filling for a cookie sandwich, if you don’t have any marshmallow frosting on hand, that is.

Next time, I’m going to play with different flavors. I think it would be really fun to have strawberry fluff, of chocolate. Mmm…

I will leave you with this, which a friend shared with me last week. I hope you get it stuck in your head just like I did. Just kidding. But not really.