* Bread
-** Slavery
+** Yeast Ranching
-Rather than buy yeast I decided to be hardcore and enslave wild yeast
+Rather than buy yeast I decided to be hardcore and capture wild yeast
in a jar. It is actually [[http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm][pretty damn easy]]. I used the method mentioned
in the former link, but added a bit of *science* (or--I've kept a beer
yeast starter before). I used my giant bottle of Iodophor to sanitize
-the jar in which the yeast were to live (just to kill any natives; I
-rinsed the jar afterward with tap water and didn't sanitize any
+the jar in which the yeast were to live (starting with a clean slate;
+I rinsed the jar afterward with tap water and didn't sanitize any
utensils), made sure the water used for feeding was at about 90°F, and
fed the starter a tablespoon of dry malt extract (maltose being to
-yeast what fast food is to a fat American) and a quarter teaspoon of
+yeast what fast food is to an American) and a quarter teaspoon of
lemon juice (just to slightly acidify the initial mix and make the
yeasties new home a bit more hospitable to only them at first) for the
first two days. This resulted in a bubbly and happy starter on the
- [[Habanero Hot Sauce]]
+* Things That Go Into Other Things
+
+ - [[Roasted Garlic]]
+
* Light Fare
- [[http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/small_dolmas.html][Dolmas]]
* Ingredients
- - 1 cup dried chick peas (or two cans)
+ - 1 cup dried chick peas (or two cans; if using cans, try to find "no
+ salt added" to avoid making things too salty)
- 1/4 cup liquid from chick peas (or vegetable stock)
- - 8 cloves of [[Roasted Garlic]]
- - Medium red bell pepper
+ - 8 cloves (one head) of [[Roasted Garlic]]
+ - Medium red bell pepper, roasted
- 2 tsp paprika
- - 5 tbsp lemon juice (fresh if possible)
- - 2 tbsp olive oil (middle eastern if possible; the cultivars taste
- different!)
+ - 1 tsp ground cumin
+ - 1/2 tsp table salt
+ - 5 tbsp (~1 lemon) fresh lemon juice
+ - 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (if you can get your hands on it,
+ [[http://www.palestineoliveoil.org/][Holy Land]] is great)
- 5 tbsp tahini
- - 1/2 tsp kosher salt
* Directions
** Bell Pepper
-Scorch the skin off of the bell pepper over flame or under a broiler,
-and then [[https://web.archive.org/web/20130527144021/http://www.ochef.com/158.htm][roast the pepper]]:
+Scorch the skin off of the bell pepper over flame or under a broiler
+(optional -- I leave the skins on and notice no difference), and then
+[[https://web.archive.org/web/20130527144021/http://www.ochef.com/158.htm][roast the pepper]]:
To roast the pepper, put the cut pieces in a baking dish with a
little oil and pop it into a 400°F (205°C) oven, until the pieces
- are tender and slightly browned, about 25 to 30 minutes.
+ are tender and slightly browned, about 35 minutes.
+
+Conveniently, this is the same temperature garlic is roasted at, so
+you can roast both at the same time.
** And Now for the Actual Hummus
- 1. Prepare the beans (or be lame and use canned beans)
- 2. Throw everything together in a blender or food processor and blend
- until it is smooth
- 3. Put whatever frilly garnish to make it look better on it if you must
- 4. Take to a gathering of some sort
- 5. Goodbye hummus
+ 1. Prepare the beans (or open canned beans)
+ 1. Add beans, roasted garlic, and chickpea water to food process work
+ bowl and process for two minutes
+ 1. Add lemon juice; process for one minute
+ 1. Add tahini, roasted bell pepper, salt, cumin, and paprika; process
+ for one minute
+ 1. Drizzle olive oil in while processing for three minutes.
+ 1. Garish if you desire (minced garlic, capers, coarsely ground black
+ pepper, and olive oil for example)
+ 1. Take to a gathering of some sort.
+ 1. Watch the hummus evaporate.
* Notes
beans the night before. My strange friend came to the rescue with the
equivalent amount of home prepared white beans and it was a good
substitute (slightly different flavor, but the spices here really
-dominate). I used the water from boiling the dried tomatoes as there
-was no fresh chickpea water on hand and it was delightful.
+dominate). I used water from boiling dried tomatoes (slightly
+different recipe) as there was no fresh chickpea water on hand and it
+was delightful.
I've used cheap blenders, decent food processors, and a
super-expensive blender to make this. It comes out about the same each
-time. Just blend everything together at a moderate speed until it is
-whatever you consider reasonable smooth.
+time. You can just blend everything together at a moderate speed until
+it is whatever you consider reasonable smooth, but processing in steps
+with a good food processor results in a slightly better texture.
+
+
* Ingredients
- 1 or 2 heads of garlic
- - A tablespoon or so of olive oil
+ - Two tablespoons of olive oil
* Directions
+ 1. Preheat oven to 400°F
1. Separate the cloves of the garlic heads; leave the skin on the
individual cloves (only removing lose bits of skin).
- 2. Put onto a piece of aluminum foil and throw a tablesoon of olive
+ 1. Put onto a piece of aluminum foil and throw a tablesoon of olive
oil on top of the cloves.
- 3. Rub the olive oil over the cloves
- 4. Turn the foil into a pouch and throw in the oven at 250°F for an hour
+ 1. Rub the olive oil over the cloves
+ 1. Turn the foil into a pouch and roast in a preheated 400°F oven for
+ an hour
* Notes
-The roasted garlic bits seem to keep tolerably in the fridge for a day
-or two so there isn't really any reason to roast less than a full head
-of garlic. Obviously you can throw some spices in if you want, but I
+The roasted garlic bits keep for a few days in the fridge so there
+isn't really any reason to roast less than a full head of
+garlic. Obviously you can throw some spices in if you want, but I
usually just roast the garlic because I use it in heavily spiced
things anyway. Don't try to roast more than two heads worth of cloves
in a bunch, but naturally you can throw a bunch of pouches into the