Cilantro Hummus and Mexican Dip!

Hey guys and gals! We hope y’all had a good Easter weekend! For ours, my mom and step-dad threw together a last minute family gathering at their house. It was really fun and full of flavorful food! Since my mom and step-dad decided to go plant-based over 2 months ago, most of the food we served was vegan-and scrumptious :). My mom made her famous red beans and brown rice, a veggie pad thai, vegan spinach “cream cheese” dip, vegan potato salad, and a vegan seven-layer dip, among other things like veggie dogs with veggie chili. I added to the mix by making Cilantro Hummus and a Mexican Corn and Bean Dip. Everything was so good! A few other members of our family even brought over a veggie dish or 2! While not everyone may understand or is very keen on this lifestyle and way of eating, most people really enjoyed all the dishes.

I got the idea for cilantro hummus from the New Orleans Farmer’s Market on Saturday. My mom and I went early that morning to get some fresh produce and one vendor, a Lebanese woman who we always see there, made a cilantro hummus dip that she was selling. We tasted it and thought it had such a fun, flavorful kick! So I decided I’d try to replicate the idea. This makes a yummy dip for chips or carrots and veggies. Also, I think it would be a great addition to a veggie sandwich! Nix the mayo-add the hummus! Here’s what I sorta did!

Cilantro Hummus Dip (serves 6-10)

I am approximating a bit here, as I added and tasted as I blended-which I recommend you do as well.

3 cans garbonzo beans
half an avocado
1 tsp ground cumin
2 lemons squeezed
3 large garlic cloves
fresh cilantro leaves torn off the stems-I’d add this as you go to see how much you want. I added then blended then tasted a lot so I don’t know how much I really used.
olive oil-as needed but I wouldn’t use a lot since it’s fatty…
water as needed for whatever consistency you want

Blend all together!

Also, below I am giving you the recipe for an easy, tasty, affordable dip that you can bring to any party and people will love you for it!

Mexican Bean & Corn Dip (serves 6-10)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can rotel (I used lime & cilantro-but any should work fine)

1 can shoepeg corn, drained

1 avocado, chopped up

1/3 purple onion

2-3 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

Mix all together! Ole!

Yummus Hummus!

Who here loves hummus? Everyone does, right? How can you not?! It’s healthy and tasty and making it at home from scratch couldn’t be easier! Seriously-once you make it at home you won’t want to spend $4-$8 on the pre-packaged ones at the grocery store! Plus almost any brand that you buy at the grocery is filled with oil which adds so much saturated fat! I’m not anti-oil, but I do try to avoid it when I can.

Hummus is always great to have in your fridge to use as a mayo-substitute. It’s great on sandwiches or with veggies for a quick lunch or snack! This would also be a great addition to your SuperBowl spread this weekend! But beware, garlic breath is possible here so take the garlic down a notch if you’re concerned about that. Anyways, last night I was craving hummus so I decided to whip some up with ingredients I had on hand. The recipe that I’m posting below was sort of thrown together and unmeasured-but I can approximate! (Is that a verb?)

Yummus Hummus! (makes a decent bowl-size for 2-4 people to pick on)

1 can garbonzo beans-drained and rinsed.

2-3 T fresh lemon juice (start small and add as you taste)

1-2 tsp. cumin (start small and add as you taste)

1 tsp minced garlic (if you’re serving this in a social setting, consider using less garlic due to lovely garlic breath!)

a little water or vegetable broth or olive oil (most recipes use tahini-but I didn’t have any on-hand)

a small handful of sunflower seeds (my secret ingredient that adds a little extra umph!)

kalamata olives (a few to thrown in to process with the dip, and however many you want to garish on top)

Whole wheat pita bread and/or fresh veggies to dip!

Directions

Add the garbonzo beans to your food processor. Add the lemon juice, garlic, sunflower seeds, olives, and a little of whichever liquid ingredient you choose and blend. Start small with all the ingredients and blend and taste as you go.  Add the water/veg. broth/oil as you need it to get it to the consistency you want.  After your dip is made, throw a few kalamata olives in the processor and throw on top of your dip! Toast/warm your pita bread and eat up! Enjoy!

Hummus is one of those things that you can totally make your own! Try throwing in some sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, fresh basil, fresh parsley, coriander, pepper, you name it! Let me know how you guys make your hummus!

 

Love & chick-peas, Kelli 🙂