Archive | February, 2009

Nuts About Nuts

by Jamie Ginsberg on 12. Feb, 2009 in Jamie Ginsberg

Despite the recent health scare with Salmonella, I have been eating a lot of peanuts. Is this hypocrisy based on my stance on Mad Cow and Red Meat? Yes. I have no excuse beyond I believe the recent issue is related to one “bad nut” and not a reflection of the Nut industry overall. I am Nuts About Nuts.

Not all nuts mind you, strictly salted roasted peanuts. Yes, that is pedestrian, but I love opening the shells and popping that salty crispy deliciousness into my mouth and chewing like the monster I am. I inherited the nut habit from my dad, who drives my Mom and Sister crazy every time he sits at the table or the couch eating nuts. For some bizarre reason, they have always felt like his nut eating was a personal attack on them. They are truly nutty. Dad always like filberts and the occasional almond or walnut when I was a kid. He loved to crack them and eat them by the pound. As he has gotten older he has evolved to the cashews from Costco, which he also eats by the pound.

I used to love pistachios and still go there when I am in California. The pistachio guy at the Marin Farmers Market has the best flavored pistachios in the world and I love to get 3 or 4 kinds and indulge. My favorite is always the spicy, the contrast between the salty burn and the meaty nut is amazing. I have flirted with Macadamia nuts wondering how they are so amazingly delicious and why they go so well with wine. Spent way too much money at Trader Joes buying bags of nuts and making “custom mixes” that last me for weeks. “But nothing, Nothing…Compares To You.” Prince.

One day as I was eating Peanuts at the kitchen table, and talking with Olivia, I realized I had no idea where Nuts Come from. I took the kids to the office and showed them Nut bushes on Wikipedia. I was amazed to discover they grow underground in a root like fashion. What I remember about Nuts as a kid is George Washington Carver http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver, He is an amazing Man and inspiration to me. Not just because he was an evangelist for Nuts as a cotton substitute, but because he persevered thru horrific times with his pride intact. And he is probably responsible for my Nut addiction today ;-)

The real deal is Hoody’s Salted Roasted Peanuts at Costco. Get them with the Shells on and annoy everyone who loves you. $5 gets you a huge bag of delicious fun (Note “I’ve Got 5 On It” referenced a different kind of bag and is not sold at Costco, if it was you can believe the song would have been “I’ve Got 500 on it”). You can take them to the football game or eat them at work as I do to clear out your nervous energy. Either way, they are currently my favorite snack. Nuts About Nuts.

Read full story • Comments { 0 }

Messing with the Hummus

by Jamie Ginsberg on 06. Feb, 2009 in Jamie Ginsberg

If you know me, you know I am bottoming out. I have got it bad for the Hummus right now. I am a full on Hummus Junkie. Just take chick pea beans and throw them in my mouth. You want to see me salivate, put a can of chick pea beans in front of me and hide the can opener. I will Popeye that can like it is 1975 and Olive Oyl is by my side. I know this is ultra trendy, but I may have to check into rehab to kick this Hummus habit. Put your hands up…and step away from the chick peas!

A few weeks ago, this Hummus habit started. One of my fellow Yogis, who has a GREAT food Blog http://www.heidirobb.com told me I must use non-canned chick pea beans to really tap into the potential of my Hummus. I asked the Beezer to pick me up some dried chick pea beans at Whole Foods. Being the love of my life and proving her understanding of me, she returned with a massive bag of chick peas saying, “I may have gotten too many.” The truth is I don’t know what to do with dried chick peas.

I started by soaking them for a day in water. They swelled up to about half the size of chick peas in a can. I tasted one and it was FRESH. Not 1980s FRESH, but firm and ripe, guaranteed to hit the stomach hard. So I boiled the beans for an hour or 2 and let them sit overnight in the hot water. The beans were softer, but not a lot softer. I could eat them now, but there was nothing yummy about them. I took a bunch and cuisinarted them. Added some olive oyl (hah! take that Rachel Ray) and garlic and salt and the juice of 2 lemons and a healthy helping of rich thick tahini. The result was hummus. Not as smooth and delicious as my hummus usually is. But strangely more “natural” and “healthier” tasting.

2 nights later, as my Hummus supply was dwindling, I took out a large pan and sauteed the rest of the chick peas with garlic, oregano, onions, black pepper, crushed red pepper and paprika. This makes a great addition to pasta with olive oil or if you are like me a great snack (be grateful you are not like me). The beans sucked. they were still too firm to eat after 2 hours covered and being sauteed. So, I cuisinarted them adding the usual Hummus ingredients. The color was a little darker and poop like due to the carmelized onions and paprika. The flavor is alive and kicking, but the consistency is off.

Both of the above Hummuses count as failures in my book (ok blog). Still I use them as toppings to food and really enjoy them as a dip. The Beezer roasted some potatoe wedges and some squash wedges making the sides nice and crispy. Dipping the potato in the hummus was a vegetarian feast! FOr better or worse I need a real reason to stop using canned chick peas. In fact, I have a huge can from Costco waiting for me at home…

Read full story • Comments { 0 }