Hummus and Other Random Things

Hi Friends!

I'm not really a fan of the iPhone photos on here. Instagram I love, but still, on the blog..ehhh.  I left my camera at home though and the battery needs charging anyway. Also, it might strike my co-workers as a bit odd if I'm pulling out my point n' shoot at work at snapping photos of myself and/or food.  That's when the iPhone camera comes in handy. Sneaky. sneaky. ;-)  I also think for a quick snap such as this photo, it actually is not all that bad; as they usually turn out. 

So , did I ever mention to you how much I am in love with a goooood hummus?  I don't think I have yet.  Well, I am. I love Hummus.  I adore Hummus. I would go on a weekend getaway with Hummus. I wouldn't kick it out of bed if ya know what I'm saying .  Man oh man, Hummus rocks! I especially enjoy the ones with more flavor in them, then the classic Plain.  {though, that's wonderful , too}. Garlic Hummus/ Roasted Garlic is my #1.  #2 is Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. If I don't make my own, I purchase the Sabre brand. It's really, really delicious. It's smooth and creamy and full of flavor.  Well, I had  Chickpeas in my pantry yesterday. I had a bulb of garlic. I had a fresh lemon. I had olive oil. And well, I better have had salt and pepper in the house. That's clearly a staple. That would have been bad. {and embarrassing}. So, I decided to make my own Garlic-iky Hummus.  Look at how beautiful she is..

Let me tell you something...She was fantastic!!  It tasted great with some Reduced-Fat Triscuits I had leftover in the box.  I really could not believe how yummy this Hummus turned out!  I was proud of it because I have not made my own Hummus in over a year.  Why?  I have no idea.  I plan on not making that a habit again! here's the downer you guys....again, I really must say that this hummus was realllllllly delicious!  However, you must love garlic. Like, a whole lot.  I love garlic just as much as the next guy; but woah....make sure you carry minty gum with you at all times.  Here was my little own concoction yesterday:

Garlic Hummus

1 can Chickpeas

T. EVOO

4 cloves of garlic, diced well

Juice of 1 lemon

Dash Salt

Dash Black Pepper

Dash Paprika

Combine all ingredients in food processor until completely smooth and that creamy texture arrives. Chill in fridge for a few hours.

Yup. That was all. And it was mega tasty. But the problem was the 4 cloves of garlic I used. Yeahhhh. I realized that was a tad too much after my 3rd dipped cracker.  Eek! Next go-around?  I'm either going to just use 2 cloves of garlic, or roast the garlic. That way, you'll get yummy sweetness from the roasted garlic, and/or just a light garlic taste. 4 cloves just honestly over-powered this otherwise, very yummy Hummus Dip. The garlic is probably still with me as we speak...I'm chewing gum.

It's all about trial and error, right?  Back when I was 18. Okay, lying. 20 years old, I would have started bawling like a baby if a recipe didn't turn out the way I wanted it to the first time.  How sad.  A little part of wants to eat more of that hummus tonight.  Ehhh.....I will probably just have to can it. My husband doesn't like hummus. {yep, he's tried it..shockingly}.  So, since it's not up to par yet, but almost there, I'm the only one who eats this stuff, and I don't want to waste it completely or forget about it and have the entire fridge, or more, reek of garlic.  Oh well. I'm not terribly concerned about it.

If I have any advice from the above...it's to still try and make your own hummus. You'll be great at it. And you'll love it.  Just don't use 4 cloves of garlic!

In other news, this was my filling and scrumptious breakfast thins morning. Well, more like brunch. It was about 12:30pm when I was cooking this up in the office-community microwave, next to normal people who were anxious to warm up their chicken parm leftovers, or some noodle-casserole dish thing. Or so I saw in their tupperware.  Yum...

I ate this. And it was good.

This here delight is simply some steel cut oats, drizzle of honey, pumpkin puree, and dried cranberries mixed together with some skim milk.  Healthy, filling, and really, really, good!

Here are a few other not-so-exciting-and-most-likely-boring things that I have just been thinking about recently. You can take a break and go cook something if you'd like, but don't leave me. Pretty please?

- This blog.  I am so in love with this, it's insane. Just ask my husband. We will be watching a show or a movie, and out of left field I'll announce that I am going to go food shopping tomorrow and purchase strawberries.  Yup, I know.  Great story.  Luckily the hubby is crazy supportive so he'll just smile at me, and turn back to the TV. {probably hoping I'll shut up for the rest of the scene}. It's constantly on my brain. It doesn't matter what I am thinking about and it's certainly not always food. It's just the blog. How I can keep improving it. My writing. My ideas. Recipes. Food shopping,; fonts and colors. You name it.  It's my baby though and I am so glad I started it. 

-My hair. It's getting long. And it's getting annoying. I am still growing out my bangs. I love the look of bangs, but for me, they look great and last well enough for about 1 week. And then for some reason I retire my flat iron for the rest of the month and just get lazy about doing my hair.  It's currently in the early 90s style with that half curled/crimped look. Yeah.  That's called washing it, scrunching it, air drying it, and two days later it's just a hot mess.  I am thankful that my hair is pretty darn thick and therefore I do not wash my hair everyday. It's usually every 3-4 days.  Thank god. Especially if it's straight. I am not washing my hair after an hour of hard work!  Manual Labor too!  My wrists hate me after I am finished with that awful over-sized straighting brush. (good arm workout though).

 It's not good to wash your hair every single day, even if you have olive oil hair.  I have a wonderful hairdresser and colorist..for going on at least 16 years now....this she tells me all the time. I trust her. Don't wash your hair everyday.  It likes to get a little dirty.  So currently, my hair is just irking me because I have to clip my "almost grown-out" bangs back every single day or else I look like a doofus.

I am in my cousins wedding in June. The day after?  CHOP!  It's been about two years since I had a bob-style. I miss that look. And it's sooo much easier to manage!  Looking forward to that!  And it will be perfect timing since Summer will be waving hello soon after that.  Can't wait for warmer weather!

-Certain songs that you listen to/ just happen to hear everyday.  This could be while you workout, in the car headed to work, on the "gym radio", or even in the food store.  I have had the pleasure recently of hearing certain songs that take me back to wonderful times in my life.  For me, it was mostly happening on my iPod shuffle while at the gym or at work, thru my headphones of course.  Now , I know what you are thinking.  But you are the one who chooses what will play, silly!!  Yes, I am fully aware of that. my dear friends.  However, I forget what's on there. I really do.  I really do need to update my play list anyway because working out to the same music just isn't cutting it anymore.  But if I happen to not use it for say, 2 days in a row; then use it at the gym, it's like a breath of fresh air.  To hear a song that you can workout to, be surprised by it because you just forgot that it was on there, and then recall a great memory from it?  That's pretty awesome!

It would take way too long to tell you all of the songs I have heard that reminded me of a great time back then,  and it would be most likely be a snooze fest, but one stands out pretty well!  100% Pure Love by Crystal Waters.  Remember her?  Remember that  jam?  I do.  It was 1994 when this song came out and I have two cool memories from this song. Now, this just happened to pop on my shuffle while I was working out. I would normally click to the next song to find a faster-paced tune, but I left it on because I thought I had taken it off of my shuffle!  Nope!  So it played, I worked out, and I remembered stuff. It's also a catchy tune! One thing that was a cool memory was when I was 12 years old, I remember driving to the mall with my mom for new school clothes. This song played on the radio on the way there.  And that's the end of that story. Well, and the fact that we left with a ton of great " in-style" clothes back then. I was excited! I know, it's short. But it simply makes me smile because I went shopping with my mom.  She was awesome then, and still awesome now.  The other memory was when my jazz dance class did a number to this song. I have it on video somewhere in the house.  It made me want to find that video and watch a 1994 , maybe 1995, dance recital!  I remembered everything. Some of the girls in my class, my dance teachers, the dance classroom and how it was always freezing in there and the black and silver sequined costumes. Sometimes, I really do miss those days.  They were so simple! 

I just love a good tune! Especially when it takes you back to wonderful memories!  It's pretty cool. I still have that song on my shuffle. I may just keep it there for a little while longer.



-Yogurt. I am on a huge yogurt kick again!  And no, I am not with child. Someone at work said that to me today. I found it to be a little odd and awkward, but hey, we shared a good laugh after the fact.  I simply was opening the fridge to get a cup of yogurt, and I said out loud, "I can't wait to eat this, I'm on a huge yogurt kick more recently" and then I got a decent decibel reply back of " oh wow, really? are you pregnant?"  I guess some people don't like yogurt?  Hehe.   Some foods are really great tasting and healthy for you, people!! :-) When I do get prego though,  I pray to god that yogurt never leaves my side.  9 months without it?  I sure hope not.  I haven't had yogurt in about 3 months I guess.  And I am not sure why I stopped that kick in its tracks in the first place.  It's so damn good!  I prefer Greek yogurt. I adore Chobani brands.  Blueberry is my fav.!  I'm eating it as I type this. It's a great snack and can be filling in the mean time before dinner or as a pre-workout snack. One more thing that I just thought of? I can't wait to go to the food store and purchase 10 of these puppies.  {and other items}. Acme 90% of the time has a 10 for 10 sale. love.

What's been on your mind recently?  I'd love to hear if you experienced or can relate to any of the above thoughts or if you have any exciting things coming up for 2013!?

Monday is almost over...enjoy the rest of your evening!