(no subject)

So...

I'm sure some of you are curious as to how the next batch of hummus went, after the discussion of the last batch.

Well, it was horrid, so I didn't eat any of it. See, at some point in time, I decided that chick peas should be skinned.

Let's just say that there are several *bad* methods for getting the chickpea innards without the skin. Trying to push them through a strainer is simply too much work... maybe it gets easier if I boil them longer, so they're *really* soft by the time I do so, but I don't think it'll be worth it.

The idea that I could crush them and boil them and remove skins from the top was also a magnificent flop, and I soon ended up with a large quantity of boiled, soggy garbanzo mess. ("Garbanzo" just sounds so messy in that context, I had to switch from "chickpea".)

Okay... so I started soaking some more. This time I did the only thing that made sense (given that I *wanted* those bloody things skinned)... I boiled them for over an hour (maybe as long as two), and then let them cool, and grabbed and 'squirted' the beans out of their skin. (For those of you who don't know chickpeas, they come in a membrane that's relatively tough. It's not like, say, a kidney bean or a pinto bean, where the skin and the innards seem more like part of the bean.)

Now, I don't know that this improved the hummus any... I do notice that it's nice and smooth, but I think the first batch was, too. Frankly, I think I ended up spending half an hour skinning chickpeas for no good reason.

If a ricer is *really* cheap, I might consider buying one, just to try it out. (A ricer is kind of like a giant garlic press; it's traditionally used to 'rice' potatoes, I believe.) Otherwise, I think I'll find the skins to be a perfectly ignorable part of hummus from now on.

I also answered one burning question on my mind, thankfully without burning anything... yes, you can boil hummus if you've got too much liquid in it. A low temperature, and a good lid that nevertheless has a steam vent does nicely for thickening things up.

This time out, I also included some fresh cilantro. It was ... interesting. It wasn't bad, but it didn't make my hummus more hummus-y. It deserves another try, for sure.

I've also been munching on falafel, with tomato and with cucumber/yogurt dressing. Cilantro makes an interesting addition to that, as does mint. Next time, however, I'm not going to put the cucumber in my mini-chopper. I like chunky style cucumber, not cucumber pulp. (Sooner or later, I intend to add more than cucumber, yogurt, and a single seasoning to my dressing, but for right now, it's working out nicely.)

I'm definitely glad I found the bulk food stores in my area that have the instant falafel... I don't think I'd have the patience to make it myself.

(no subject)

So...

I'm sure some of you are curious as to how the next batch of hummus went, after the discussion of the last batch.

Well, it was horrid, so I didn't eat any of it. See, at some point in time, I decided that chick peas should be skinned.

Let's just say that there are several *bad* methods for getting the chickpea innards without the skin. Trying to push them through a strainer is simply too much work... maybe it gets easier if I boil them longer, so they're *really* soft by the time I do so, but I don't think it'll be worth it.

The idea that I could crush them and boil them and remove skins from the top was also a magnificent flop, and I soon ended up with a large quantity of boiled, soggy garbanzo mess. ("Garbanzo" just sounds so messy in that context, I had to switch from "chickpea".)

Okay... so I started soaking some more. This time I did the only thing that made sense (given that I *wanted* those bloody things skinned)... I boiled them for over an hour (maybe as long as two), and then let them cool, and grabbed and 'squirted' the beans out of their skin. (For those of you who don't know chickpeas, they come in a membrane that's relatively tough. It's not like, say, a kidney bean or a pinto bean, where the skin and the innards seem more like part of the bean.)

Now, I don't know that this improved the hummus any... I do notice that it's nice and smooth, but I think the first batch was, too. Frankly, I think I ended up spending half an hour skinning chickpeas for no good reason.

If a ricer is *really* cheap, I might consider buying one, just to try it out. (A ricer is kind of like a giant garlic press; it's traditionally used to 'rice' potatoes, I believe.) Otherwise, I think I'll find the skins to be a perfectly ignorable part of hummus from now on.

I also answered one burning question on my mind, thankfully without burning anything... yes, you can boil hummus if you've got too much liquid in it. A low temperature, and a good lid that nevertheless has a steam vent does nicely for thickening things up.

This time out, I also included some fresh cilantro. It was ... interesting. It wasn't bad, but it didn't make my hummus more hummus-y. It deserves another try, for sure.

I've also been munching on falafel, with tomato and with cucumber/yogurt dressing. Cilantro makes an interesting addition to that, as does mint. Next time, however, I'm not going to put the cucumber in my mini-chopper. I like chunky style cucumber, not cucumber pulp. (Sooner or later, I intend to add more than cucumber, yogurt, and a single seasoning to my dressing, but for right now, it's working out nicely.)

I'm definitely glad I found the bulk food stores in my area that have the instant falafel... I don't think I'd have the patience to make it myself.