Indian Spiced Chickpea and Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

Amazingly delicious soup courtesy of Missy Smalls. See her instructions below:

Serves 4 as a first course.

Ingredients:
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans chickpeas, drained
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
2 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground cardamom
1/2 t turmeric
salt and pepper
2 c chickeno or vegetable stock
1 (28-oz) can fire roasted tomatoes*
1 cup plain yogurt
Warm pita, any flavor or variety, toasted

*Note about the tomatoes: On the show, Rachael Ray used crushed fire roasted tomatoes, but at my store they only sell diced fire roasted tomatoes (which are actually a new addition to the tomato aisle, thank goodness). I just popped them in the food processor for a couple seconds once I was done with the chickpeas and it comes out splendidly.

1. Heat a medium pot with the extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Grind the chickpeas and onion in food processor. Add to pot and cook 5 minutes to sweeten onion.
3. Season the chickpeas with cumin, cardamom, turmeric, salt and pepper. Stir in stock, then tomatoes.
4. Simmer soup 5-10 minutes to combine flavors. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and warm pita for dipping.

Poppyseed Dressing

I had this at an enrichment activity once and couldn't get it out of my head. Delicious on salad, especially with fruit mixed in (and for you meat-eaters you can add chopped chicken, too).

• 1/4 c. red onions
• 1/2 c. sugar (or honey)
  
• 1/3 c. vinegar
• 1 c. canola oil
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 Tbs. poppyseed
  

Smooth ingredients together in blender. Store in glass jar if you don't want to use right away.

Great tossed with spinach leaves, fruit (mandarin oranges, apples, strawberries) and nuts (almonds, pecans). Throw in some chicken for you meat-eaters and you have a full-blown meal.

Aunt Suzie's Cheese Toasts

Per Megan's request, I'm posting a favorite family appetizer recipe today. It's short and simple and oh so delicious.

1/2 c. mayonnaise
4 green onions chopped top to bottom
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. beaumond seasoning
1/2 c. mozzarella
1 c. extra sharp cheddar cheese
1-2 baguettes, thinly sliced

Mix all ingredients together. Spread onto baguette slices (a little bit can go a long way if you have a lot of people to feed).

Broil in oven, watching carefully for cheese to bubble (they are easy to burn). Remove, cool for a minute and serve.

Apple Cinnamon Yams

Okay, I got this fantastic yam recipe from my dear mission companion, Whitney Worthen. It's a family favorite she made for us missionaries when we all gathered together for Thanksgiving back at the Institute building on the island of Tenerife in 2004.

(Note: This recipe is so good even non-yam-lovers can't keep their hands out of it. En serio.)

Here goes:

• 4 large cooked yams (2 medium cans)
• 2 large apples (peeled, cored, halved and thinly sliced)
• ½ c firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 4 TB butter
• ½ c chopped pecans

Place ½ yams in dish; layer ½ apples on top. Mix sugar, cinnamon, nuts and ½ tsp. salt in a bowl. Sprinkle ½ of mixture over apple layer. Repeat with remaining yams, apples and mix. Drizzle melted butter over the top. Cover and bake 40 minutes at 325 degrees. Uncover and bake about 10 minutes more with mini marshmallows on top (until slightly brown).

Disfrute!

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

This is a moist, hardy bread that you won't feel guilty for eating.

1/3 cup vegetable oil (or substitute oil for same amount of unsweetened applesauce)
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

In a large bowl, beat oil and honey together. Add eggs, and mix well. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt. Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then add to batter. Blend in chopped nuts. Spread batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 1/2 hour before slicing.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus

I'm totally addicted to hummus these days, and this recipe is simply amazing. A friend of ours, Chris Davies, brought it to a birthday party and I insisted on getting the recipe from him. He was kind enough to oblige, so the following is what I pasted from his e-mail to me, pretty much word for word:

(For regular hummus, just remove the bell pepper and keep everything else the same.)

• 2 15-oz cans of chick peas, drained (fresh is better, but cans are so easy)
• 4 cloves of garlic 1 roasted red bell pepper (you can actually get these in a jar and it works fine or just roast it yourself til you see black splotches)
• tahini sauce to taste (maybe 1/4 cup?)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• lemon juice to regulate consistency (use a lot, maybe a half cup to a cup)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt (not sure)

Blend together until smooth. Make sure it's thin enough to not kill the blender. If not add more lemon juice. In terms of consistency, it should be runny enough at room temp so that if you dip a spoon in it and then tip the spoon sideways it falls off the spoon after a moment.

Serve with warm pita bread, pita chips or spread on sandwich or wrap.