Sunday, December 25, 2011

Ho Ho Ho in Nuremburg

Santa and Rudolph DH and I saw while visiting this year's
Nuremburg Christmas Market.
He gave candy to the kids whether or not he was given money.
DH and I stopped by to see him everyday we were in town.
Ho Ho Ho ... Merry Christmas everyone.
Buon Natale, Auguri and Happy New Year!

Friday, December 23, 2011

easy-peasy hummus and pita chips



Not a clue where I picked up this recipe, I've tried a bunch over the years since living in Bahrain.
Have made this recipe a few times .... and I think it's wonderful!!  It's a keeper in my house!
Dip can be made and refrigerated 5-days ahead and the chips can be kept in a resealable bag for about a week.    Neither one lasts that long in our home.
This is one of the things I'm taking this to a friend's home for a Christmas day potluck. 

Dip:
1 lemon
1 (15-oz) can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4-cup tahini
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teas. vegetable oil
1/2-teas. ground cumin
1/8-teas. cayenne pepper
1/4-teas. salt
1/4-cup water
olive oil and chopped parsley for garnish

Pita chips:
6 pita bread rounds
1/4-cup olive oil
garlic salt (I generally use a little garlic powder and kosher salt ...salt is a must, the chips are really bland without some type of salt)
pepper
2 TB dried herbs such as basil or oregano (my personal favorite is basil)

To make the dip:
Squeeze the lemon and put 1/4-cup of the  juice into a blender or food processor.  Use any leftover juice however you please.

Add everything else other than the garnish ingredients in with the lemon juice and process until smooth; pausing when necessary to scrape down the sides with a spatula.

Put the hummus in a small bowl or shallow platter and drizzle with oilive oil.  Sprinkle with parsley.  It can sit at room temperature for up to four hours.

To make the chips:
Heat oven to 400-degrees.

Cut the pita rounds into 6-wedges and then separate each wedges into two pieces.
Can use small cookie cutters instead of cutting into wedges if you want the chips to be fancy.

Arrange the pita pieces on two baking sheets.  Brush the tops with olive oil, then sprinke with some garlic salt, pepper and dried herbs.

Bake the chips for about 7-minutes or until lightly browned.  Rotating trays halfway through the baking.
Cool the chips.

Leftover chips can be stored for up to a week in a resealable bag (ours never last that long). 

Monday, December 19, 2011

Santa Pup

Santa Pup DH and I saw while visiting Mineo
 (a hill town about an hour from where we live)


Thursday, December 15, 2011

Friday, December 9, 2011

Friday, December 2, 2011

Keeping the mice away?



I have missed you all!   Computer and camera both went wonky ... and work, well .. let's just say that work has been challenging.  
Didn't have much time to surf the web -did get lots done around home.
 When the weather started getting colder here (this was taken in October or so), DH and I moved our cilantro and jalapeno pepper pot  from the terrace into the kitchen.  

 The colder weather also means cold floors ... so Indy has a few towels around so she can nap in comfort in sunshine.
We've used up all the cilantro .. but still have a few jalapenos to use soon ... and then I'll move the pot back outside until next spring.