Tuesday, July 13, 2010

frying fish

Well, not literally.  Dentist this morning, after which I continued my hunt for tahini.  I used to be able to buy it everywhere but somehow, these days, I can't find it very often. So on the way home from the dentist I stopped in yet another supermarket and bought the last two cans. This should hold me for a while, like maybe 2 years. The top can is almost empty.
Now why, you might ask, do I need so much tahini? Good question.  I seem to use a lot of it.  I always make my own hummus bi tahini and baba ganouj, which require this ingredient.  Both are so simple to make and so wonderful and much less expensive (if you amortize the $6.49 can over a year's time - LOL) than buying it.  Besides, it is authentic when I make it. The recipe comes from a Syrian/Lebanese cookbook that the father of my children brought back as a gift when he returned from a sojourn to the middle east 35 years ago.  I almost always have some in the fridge and can make it on the spur of the moment.

Hummus bi tahini

1 cup canned chick peas, drained.
1/3 cup tahini
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Throw chick peas in food processor and purée.  While the processor is running, slowly add tahini and lemon juice, alternately.  Add garlic crushed w/ salt.  Sauce should be thick and smooth but if it seems to thick, thin with water.
Yum yum yum.

1 large eggplant, baked or broiled or grilled till skin is crisp and starts to crack open & flesh is soft.  Scoop pulp out and throw into food processor.

Add 1/3 c. tahini
1/2 c lemon juice 2 cloves garlic, 3/4 tsp salt
Process till smooth.

I bought radishes and was going to make a delicious radish salad with tahini from a vegetarian cookbook I have,but never got around to it tonight. Maybe tomorrow I'll post this very different, tasty recipe. I mean, there aren't all that many recipes for things to do with radis.

Now it is almost 3:am - I drank too much coffee but did get some work done, moving things around on my design wall, which is out in the hallway by the front door.  The problem is, if I move it so it is not blocking the a/c vent, then it is blocking the door from the garage (which we use constantly) and it falls over every time, scattering my carefully placed pieces of cloth. 

So this is why it looks different every time I post it. It falls down and can't get up.  I feel as though it's one of those rubic cubes - I can move the pieces around but will never get them in the right places.  I think it is my procrastination board.  But I have given up for tonight.

12 comments:

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

We always have hummus in the house... I like to grind up my sesame seeds to throw instead of buying tahini, which you are right can sometimes be hard to find... Yumyum indeed!
Your design wall looks amazing... I don't think there can be a wrong layout with all thos fabulous blocks.... Have fun playing!!

Anonymous said...

Rayna,
Add the recipe tag so I can find this next time I need the proportions for heavenly hummus.
Love the rubic cube analogy. My life feels like that right now.
Diane

wlstarn said...

I actually found tahini at the local Kroger, which I thought was pretty amazing for a small southern city. They had it in 2 different places: with the falafel mix & matzo things, and in the organic section with the nut butters. My other alternative would have been to call my daughter, who works at Whole Foods. I am sure they would have it. The can I bought at Kroger had sat on the shelf so long, it had completely separated & the stuff on the bottom was the consistency of cement! Any good ideas for remixing? I thought about taking an unopened can to the paint store and having them put it in the shake-up machine.

Cate Rose said...

I make my own hummus too, or used to, anyway. Look for Maranatha brand in natural food stores. I've also found that halvah is nearly impossible to find anymore, the fresh kind you used to see. The Joyva brand halvah is too hard and chewy.

Terry Grant said...

I have the same problem finding Tahini, and I like the one in the can better than the Maranatha brand in the jar, but will take what I can get. I have found one Albertson store that usually has it in their Kosher food section. Would never thought of it as Kosher food, but what do I know? I use it in hummus, but also make tahini salad dressing that we love. Very simple--tahini, lemon juice, lots of fresh garlic, put thhrough the crusher thing, plenty of salt and water to make it thick enough for dressing. Whisk it all together, adding a little water at a time. At first the water and tahini won't mix, but then suddenly they emulsify and it becomes white and creamy. Yummy.

Gerrie said...

We have a local grocery store called New Seasons where I finally found it. I have not seen it in the can, like you posted, in ages. Hummus is one thing my grand kids like so I like to have the ingredients on hand.

Terry Grant said...

PS. My salad dressing instructions should say the water is to make it THIN enough for dressing--plenty thick already!

Eva said...

Funny why it is not available! We used to get it on every corner, haven't bought it for a while, have to be careful with greasy matter. Perhaps this is why it is getting rare. But it is such a healthy food (says the traditional Chinese Medicine).
The quilt is beautiful. Obviously it can fall apart without taking too much damage -- maybe there are more variations that work?

Janet H. said...

Make a stop at Sahadi's when you're in Brooklyn. They have large jars of very delicious Lebanese tahini.

Sandy said...

Oh my dear, you need more Armenian friends! Around these parts I can get tahini in just about any convenience store, and a choice of brands too. If you ever get stuck, let me know. Yeah, I make all that other stuff too, had to learn or I wouldn't have been accepted into this family. I think one of the problems is that most of the mezza things are so popular now that you can buy them prepared everywhere. Like salsa, and yogurt- both I have abandoned as too much trouble any more. Do you like Haloomi cheese? It fries! To die for, and my current addiction.

Oh, Whole Foods has tahini here, but you have to look hard.

badmomgoodmom said...

Thanks for the timely recipe. I linked to it from our CSA blog.
http://madisonschoolcsa.blogspot.com/2010/07/inventory-and-recipe-idea-for-july-15.html

Diane Cransac said...

I know exactly what you mean, I cant find tahini over here and really really miss my hummus!

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