Eggplant Chickpea Dip

We have tons of eggplant! In the spring, we planted half a dozen seeds, figuring that we'd get maybe 2 plants if we were lucky. Instead, we have 4 very hearty plants, all of which are producing multiple eggplants.

They're gorgeous - shiny purple veggies hanging amidst light green leaves, mixed in with the lavender flowers.

We do like eggplant a lot & have used it for sandwiches, lasagna, cheezy layers, & chips, but never for a dip. One of my friends sent me a link for an eggplant dip she'd tried, & I was inspired to make a dip. What a great way to use up 2 eggplants at once! If you aren't swamped with eggplant, you could easily halve the recipe.

Because I used a green bell pepper & did not peel the eggplant, the dip turned out a funny shade of gray-green. Don't let that scare you off! It tastes creamy & delicious, with a hit of garlic & a kick of heat.

Eggplant Chickpea Dip

Adapted from Whole Foods

Makes about 3 cups

2 large eggplants (about 1 pound each)

1 1/2 c cooked chickpeas (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)

1/4 c dried parsley

1 small bell pepper, seeded & roasted

1 jalapeno, seeded & roasted

2 T lemon juice

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

2-3 T nutritional yeast

Preheat oven to 450°F. Remove stems from eggplants & slice in half lengthwise. Place halves cut-side down on a baking sheet. Bake until soft, about 40 minutes. At the same time, place bell pepper & jalapeno on a small baking sheet & roast for about 30 minutes or until soft. Once roasted, allow eggplant & peppers to cool slightly before blending.

In a Vitamix or the bowl of a food processor, place all ingredients. Process until smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl & serve warm. This dip can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week. It is best served warm, so if storing, it will need to be reheated.

Note: The original recipe suggested removing the eggplant skin before processing. I kept it on for the added nutrients, however this could cause bitterness. Try a bite of the roasted eggplant to determine how it will taste before proceeding. You may also be able to leave half of the skin on & remove half for a good combination.



Black Bean & Cucumber Salsa Dip

When I eat dip, I like to use a small/broken chip (or other dipper) & pile it with a lot of dip. The Bup is the opposite; he likes to use a full chip & put a little dip on it. Except with this dip. He was using a spoon to pile it onto his chips!

We both loved this. It's healthy & perfect for summer weather. The cool cucumbers take some of the edge off the spice from the salsa & jalapeno. The beans provide protein & some substance to the dip. We paired this with lots of watermelon for a light lunch.

I do have to tell you about these chips. We stock up when we go to Trader Joe's because they are amazing. They're the Veggie & Flax Seed Tortilla Chips. I can't decide which color I like best, but I think it's the green. The flavors aren't that much different, & maybe it's all mental, but they are really made from different veggies, so who knows. Either way, they're delicious.

Any chips would go well with this dip. I think it would also be good on some toasted baguette rounds, as a black bean bruschetta.

Enjoy!

Black Bean & Cucumber Salsa Dip
Serves 4-6

1 1/2 c cooked black beans (or 1 can, drained & rinsed)
1 jalapeno, seeds removed, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1/2 small cucumber, diced
2/3 c salsa*
1 tsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Combine all ingredients & mix well. Chill for about 30 minutes before eating to allow flavors to meld. Serve with tortilla chips!

*I used Trader Joe's Double Roasted Salsa, but any kind will do. Use your favorite! You can also choose how hot you'd like your dip to be by the heat of the salsa. I thought the mild salsa with the jalapeno was just spicy enough, but you may prefer more kick!

Spinach Dip Filled Ravioli

A lot of my dinner inspiration comes from an increasingly large Excel spreadsheet full of recipes I think look good. Anytime I'm on the web & find something that looks like we'd enjoy it, I add it to the list. I'm picky about recipes, but the list still keeps growing. It's almost embarrassing...but it's handy for dinner ideas!

From there, I decide what I'm hungry for, what ingredients we have on hand, & how much time/energy I have. I'm fortunate, because the Bup isn't picky. He's fully supportive of my quest to conquer my recipe list. So far, 258 tried, 338 to go! And now I wish I hadn't looked that up. Yikes!

This recipe is a combination of two ideas, plus a few variations. It's very rare that I make a recipe exactly like it is. I always feel like I have to make a change: healthify this, add extra that, substitute this because we don't have that, etc.

My Italian grandma always makes homemade raviolis for Easter, from scratch for the dough & the filling. Mom & I made them one year & it was a lot of fun...and a lot of work. I'm sure Grandma would be in shock over this, but I used Joy's idea to make ravioli using wonton wraps. I figured that since I'm using a non-traditional filling, maybe that makes it ok not to make my own dough?

So cute!

The wonton wraps were surprisingly simple to work with. They sealed easily with just a tiny bit of water & I didn't have any problems with them sticking together or tearing. It was a little time-consuming, but not anything near what making my own dough & cutting it would have been.

The end result was delicious. My first bite reminded me of America, Italy & China all at once. The wonton wraps made for a thin, lighter texture than traditional raviolis. Paired with a tossed salad & a glass of wine, it made a perfect Valentine's dinner.

Spinach Dip Filled Ravioli
Adapted from Whole Foods
Inspired by Joy the Baker
Yield: about 4 dozen

1 (12 oz.) package prepared wonton wrappers

2 jalapeño peppers, chopped & seeds removed

1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 c unsweetened almond milk
1/4 c lemon juice
1/3 c nutritional yeast
3 c (2 15 oz. cans) Great Northern beans (or other white beans)
1 avocado
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 (16 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, squeezed to remove excess liquid

To make the filling:

In a large dry skillet, cook the peppers, onion, & garlic over medium heat until browned & softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add almond milk, scrape up any browned bits, & simmer for 2 minutes.  Measure lemon juice, nutritional yeast, beans, avocado, salt & black pepper into a food processor or high-speed blender. Add the pepper & onion mixture & purée until smooth. If mixture is too thick to process, add 2 T more milk at a time. Stir in the spinach. Taste & season with more salt & pepper as desired.
NOTE: There will be leftover filling, which you can use as a dip for chips & veggies or as a spread. If you prefer to not have leftovers, the recipe can easily be halved.

To assemble the ravioli:

Gather the wonton wrappers, a bowl of filling, a spoon, a small bowl of water, a towel & a platter or piece of wax paper to lay the raviolis on.

Place a wonton wrapper in front of you so that it looks like a diamond.  Place a generous teaspoon of filling on the bottom half of the diamond. (After the first few, you'll get a feel for the exact amount that will fill the wrap but not ooze out the sides.) Dip your finger in water & run your wet finger along the bottom edges of the diamond.  Fold the top half of the diamond over the filling dollop.   Press the triangle edges together, making sure there are no air pockets.  Grab the two farthest points & bring them together in the center.  Use a drop of water to seal the two points together. Lay ravioli in a single layer on platter or wax paper.  Repeat until wonton wrappers are all filled.

In the meantime, heat a large pot of water to boiling. Add raviolis. Stir gently one time & allow to boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain & serve tossed in your favorite tomato sauce or pesto.

Make ahead:

Ravioli can be frozen by placing it in the freezer, in a single layer, until frozen.  Once frozen, seal in a plastic bag & freeze until ready to use.  Frozen raviolis can be cooked straight from the freezer, just increase the cooking time to 7-9 minutes. 

Roasted Garlic & Kale Spread

What if every night could be pizza night? I think it'd take me a pretty long time to get tired of pizza, especially with all of the varieties out there. We make 2 pizzas so that there are leftovers for lunches. One is always topped with bbq sauce, the Bup's favorite & a standard in our house. The other one is always different & I like to experiment a little.

I wanted to try carmelized onions & pears, but that got vetoed. :-( Maybe next time...

Instead, I made up a roasted garlic & kale spread, inspired by Ashley's Kale Pesto. We had 2 heads of garlic that were ready to sprout, so I roasted them before they went bad. Roasted garlic is fancy. The garlic turns creamy & spreadable after a short time in the oven., transforming it into a different food altogether.

We used the spread as a sauce on the pizza, but I can see it being great as a topper for baked potatoes or crusty bread, a spread in a sandwich/wrap, or mixed with pasta. I have some leftover to use!

Roasted Garlic & Kale Spread
Inspired by Ashley's Kale Pesto
Yield: about 1 cup

2 heads of garlic
1 tsp. olive oil
2 c kale, chopped (about 100g)
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/3 c roasted hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350*F. Slice off the top of the garlic heads, to expose the tops of the cloves. Wrap each head seperately in aluminum foil & drizzle each head with 1/2 tsp. of olive oil. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until garlic is soft. Squeeze cloves out of the husks. Place garlic & remaining ingredients into a food processor or blender & blend until combined. I left mine with some chunks, but if preferred, continue to blend until smooth. Taste & add additional salt and/or pepper if desired. Store extra spread in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer for future use.

Tasting Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus

As you're probably well aware by now, I love hummus.

It's November, a month that's often devoted to being thankful, & I'm thankful for hummus!

I only started eating it a few years ago, but now we have a container in our fridge almost all the time. It's good on everything! We use it to dip veggies, in sandwiches, on chips & bread, & anywhere else we can. 

Since it's pretty expensive & we consume so much of it, I make my own. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's just so-so, but we always eat every last bit.

When the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program offered to send me a coupon for Sabra hummus, I got super excited! I like to try new flavors & it's always a treat to not need to wash the food processor for the zillionth time.

I chose the Roasted Pine Nut Hummus because it's a flavor I'll probably never make at home. Pine nuts are expensive! This hummus is super creamy, with hints of pine nut flavor, but not overwhelming. The ingredient list is pretty short, & I recognize everything on it.

While I considered making something with the hummus, I wanted to sample it by itself first, to get the full flavor profile. I don't think it's going to make it into any recipes before we devour it. Yum!!

A Dipping Dessert

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip. It rocks.

I first had it about 10 years ago when my aunt brought a batch to a family get together and I loved it. Then I forgot about it until I found it on Jessica's How Sweet It Is blog. Her post was actually variations on the theme - Snickerdoodle, Peanut Butter Cookie, and Chocolate Fudge. I made the original recipe and split it into 3. We had original, snickerdoodle and peanut butter.

The peanut butter was my favorite (surprise!). Actually, I can't believe I haven't talked more about peanut butter on here. I eat it on/in everything - my oatmeal, apples, bananas, toast, bagels, dipping sauce, muffins, icing, noodle salad (that wasn't a big hit...) and anything else I can get my hands on.

Can you believe my husband never heard of putting peanut butter on bagels until I asked him for it? The first time he made me one, he spread it on so thin that I could barely taste it. He's into it now, though, and it a little more generous with the pb. :-)

Maybe we could just have some wine with that?