“But it isn’t easy,” said Pooh to himself… “Because poetry and hums aren’t things which you get, they’re things which get you. And all you can do is go where they can find you.” ~ from “The House at Pooh Corner” by A. A. Milne (1882 – 1956)

Hummus, one of our favorite hums, can always be found in the refrigerator.

The word hummus comes from Arabic for chickpea, but is used colloquially as a term to describe just about any pureed dip. Indeed, we make it from beets, peas, and zucchini, as well as protein and mineral rich chickpeas.

For some reason that nobody has been able to explain to us, prepared hummus is incredibly expensive, even when made from something as cheap as chickpeas. We’ve seen it for as much as $6 for an 8 ounce container, while a 15 ounce can of plain chickpeas is rarely higher than $1.35 – and it is very simple to make at home.

Just because we can, we make hummus in the food processor, but at good Greek restaurants, they’ll make it for you at the table with a mortar and pestle. Simple as that.

The basic hummus is made from chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans), lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and salt. From that point, there is no limit to the variations, just consider what it will be served with. Here, we’ve included a roasted red pepper (from a jar) for extra smoothness.

Roasted Red Pepper Chickpea Hummus

Serves 8
Time: 5 minutes

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon minced garlic (2 cloves)
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
1 roasted red pepper, skin and seeds removed
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and run to puree to the smoothness you prefer. OR… Combine in a bowl and mash by hand with a sturdy fork. OR… Combine in a mortar and use a pestle to mash to the desired consistency.

Make up to 3 days ahead, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

In the photo, we served this chickpea hummus as a topping for the spinach pies from page 94 in the Mosaic Meals cookbook, and garnished with a slice of pickled beet.

“So bring me two pina coladas, one for each hand. Let’s set sail with Captain Morgan and never leave dry land…” ~ Shawn Camp, American musician, in his song lyrics for “Two Pina Coladas” (1966 – )

Somewhere in my dreams, we’re putting our feet up and enjoying pina coladas every time the thermometer registers “hot and sticky”. Then we wake up and face reality. The real deal is just too high in sugars and fat to allow this dreamy drink to be more than a rare indulgence…

Hold the boat! It appears we have the technology to make a less decadent but equally tasty version that is appropriate for everyday use. In fact, considering the calcium, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber involved, it might even be good for us.

The secret for a thick and rich result without the guilt of the beach bar rendition is simply to freeze the pineapple, juice, and banana before blending with coconut milk beverage. Making the drink with these ingredients keeps the original flavors but greatly reduces the sugar and fats associated with the prepared mixers.

Everyday PC Smoothie

Serves 4
Time: 3 hours freeze ahead + 5 minutes active

1 (8-ounce) can bits or slices of pineapple in juice
1 ripe banana
2 cups So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage
¼ teaspoon coconut extract

3 hours ahead of time: Slice the banana into ½ -inch rounds and combine with the pineapple in juice. Freeze.

Mix the frozen banana-pineapple mixture with the remaining ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve immediately.

Optional: Stir 2 tablespoons of coconut rum or white rum into each serving for those who wish a little extra kick.

Now, sit back and say, “Ahhhhhh….”

“Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough, but not baked in the same oven.” ~ Yiddish proverb

When my mother used to make potato tikki, it was merely a tasty way to use up leftover mashed potatoes and vegetables. Until recently, we didn’t even know that this dish has its roots in India. And now, we make extra potatoes just so we can enjoy some tikki a day or two later.

Made with white potatoes, it is known as “Aloo Tikki” and when made with sweet potatoes it is known as “Suran Tikki”. Here, we chose sweet potatoes because of the greater nutritional value, but feel free to go with whichever you like.

For years, we have fried the patties in a pan of 1” deep oil, creating a crispy crust around creamy white potatoes laced with chopped, cooked vegetables. Out of curiosity, we wanted to do a side-by-side comparison with a baked version to see if frying was really warranted.

As it turned out, the fried version may have excelled in crispiness, but compared bite-for-bite, we were surprised at how much the absorbed oil covered up flavors. The fried version begged for ketchup, but the baked version was tasty enough to stand entirely on its own.

In the photo: The darker patty (left) is the fried, the lighter (right) has been baked.

Baked Sweet Potato Tikki

Serves 2
Time: 10 minutes active + 20 minutes baking

2 small to medium cooked sweet potatoes
¼ teaspoon dried ground ginger
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
1 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 375° F and lightly oil a baking sheet.

Slip the skins off the potatoes if they aren’t already peeled and mash with a fork in a large bowl. If you wish, finely chop the skins and mix them in with the mashed potatoes along with the ginger and peanut butter or sunflower butter. Stir well, then, fold in the diced green chilies.

Form ¼ cup patties about ¾ inch thick, and roll in bread crumbs to coat. Place on the baking sheet with at least 1 inch space between each. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until lightly browned and hot through.

As the photo shows, we served our tikki with the creamy Baked Coconut Rice from our May 11th post, and a side of peas.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet…” from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (written around 1591-1594)

The Mosaic Grandpa came home from a trip to the Whole Foods antipasto bar with a fun selection of goodies, but one of them really threw me for a loop – marinated butter beans. I had never heard of them before.

Butter beans, it appears, are the new name for old fashioned lima beans, in all their creamy splendor, and Whole Foods is boasting the biggest, creamiest ones we have ever seen. They are, however, very, very expensive.

Going down the canned vegetable aisle in our local Kroger, we were able to find a 15-ounce can of butter beans with “extra large” noted on the side for 89¢. On opening, draining, and rinsing, we found them to be about ⅓ smaller than the ones in the antipasto bar but with the price difference, we can deal with it. The flavor and texture was the same as what Whole Foods offered.

One of the claims-to-fame of butter beans is that they offer a generous portion of the trace mineral molybdenum, which is a necessary component of an enzyme our body produces that detoxifies sulfites. If you’ve experienced a headache from drinking even a little bit of wine, or felt off after eating salad from a salad bar, you may have been reacting to sulfite-based preservatives. NOTE: For some folks, sulfites are life threatening and no amount of molybdenum will help. For the rest of us, however, some marinated butter beans might be worth including on the happy hour spread.

Marinated Butter Beans

Makes 1 ½ cups
Time: 5 minutes + 6 hours marinating time

1 (15-ounce) can extra large butter beans
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Mrs. Dash (original)

Rinse and drain the beans well. Mix everything together in a pint-size jar with a tight fitting lid. Turn to coat evenly, then refrigerate for at least six hours. Drain to serve, but save the marinade to use again for a second batch!

Grandpa stuffed some marinated butter beans into some pickled hot peppers instead of his usual cheese, and we tried the beans on a dinner salad, both with equally excellent results. They are also wonderful just served as part of a platter of olives along with some nice breads as a simple appetizer.

“There are worlds out there where the skies are burning, where the sea is asleep, and the rivers dream. People made of smoke, and cities made of song. Somewhere there’s danger, somewhere there’s injustice…and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on Ace. We’ve got work to do!” ~ Doctor Who television show (1989, Survival: Part 1)

Sometime a couple of years ago, as we became more avid label readers, we realized just how much added sugar was in virtually all processed foods. Apparently the fact that most of us are hardwired to enjoy sweet flavors is being exploited, and few of us care.

Our first step toward reducing our sugar consumption was to not buy anything with high fructose corn syrup on the label. That was limiting, but our conviction was strong. Hint: Organic foods never us high fructose corn syrup because it always comes from genetically modified corn, which does not legally qualify as being organic.

The next step was to decide which foods do not need sugar added, or which foods we could add sugar to taste ourselves. Doing this helped us to discover that in a lot of cases, we were just as happy with less, and sometimes happier because too much sugar of any form masks the flavors of the other ingredients.

As all of this was occurring, we were unknowingly lowering the bar for how much sweetness we actually enjoyed. A little, it seems, is going much farther these days, and this week I actually got to the point where I said, “Ick. This is too sweet.”

In honor of becoming less sugar burdened, this version of a popsicle came to mind. The slice of peach inside helps hold the stick and provides just a hint of sweetness. The peach tea is a pretty color as it naturally intensifies the peachy flavor.

Teasicles

Serves 8
Time: 5 minutes active + steeping and freezing time

2 Celestial Seasonings Country Peach Passion tea bags
1 cup water
1 fresh peach

Bring the water to a full boil and pour over the tea bags in a measuring cup or small teapot. Allow to steep for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut a fresh peach into 8 wedges. Place one wedge in each section of a popsicle mold or small paper cup. Pierce the peach wedges with the sticks to get them to stand up straight in the mold. Fill up each section with the tea and place in the freezer until frozen all the way through.

All this begs the question, what really puts the sweet in our summer? Perhaps it isn’t sugar at all.