We had a great time doing an FK cooking demo at Blue Condos in Minneapolis, MN.  The residents enjoyed the FK production of:  Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Chicken with Tomato Salsa, Oven Roasted Winter Vegetables and Fruit Kabobs!  The residents were able to participate in some of the food prep and cooking, but they were also happy to watch Allison and I get our hands dirty…J

The night went with only a few kitchen blunders:  the sea salt shaker exploded into the winter vegetables (we added a few more potatoes to soak up the salt and added some extra vegetable broth), the food processor I brought wouldn’t work (even though it had just worked a week ago), the Blue kitchen wasn’t stocked with a vegetable peeler (Allison did great improvisation with a paring knife).  The beauty of cooking is that it doesn’t have to be perfect, sometimes you have to go with the flow and make the best of a situation.

Until next time,

*Mollie

Here is the recipe for the Roasted Red Pepper Hummus as promised to some of the residents @ Blue, enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Hummus

1 can Garbanzo beans (+ liquid from can)

1 red bell pepper, roasted*

4 large garlic cloves, roasted**

¼ cup Tahini***

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup lemon juice (~1 small lemon juiced)

½ teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender; blend until smooth and creamy.  Add more salt/pepper to taste. 

Serve with crackers/baguette/pita bread or use it as a spread on sandwiches.

*Roasted Red Pepper

Cut red pepper into wide strips; remove seeds and trim edges.  Lay on cookie sheet coated with olive oil.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Let cool completely or place directly under cold water to help remove skins. (It is not necessary that you remove skins but they can sometimes give a bitter taste, I usually remove them).

**Roasted Garlic

Cut top of garlic cloves off (the rough part on top) but leave the skins on and place in pan with red bell pepper or you can cover in tin foil.  Coat with olive oil.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Let cool.  Once cool, you can pop out the cloves of garlic from their skins and put them into the blender.   Roasted garlic has a softer flavor than raw garlic, so you many want to use more that 4 cloves if you desire more of a garlic flavor. 

***Tahini is made from ground or hulled sesame seeds mixed with oil and ground into a paste, popular in Middle Eastern cuisine.  You can find in at most grocery or ethnic food stores or it is found in bulk at co-ops (that way you can just get what you need for the recipe).