12 Days of Meyers - Spicy Hummus

When the Austin Food Blogger Alliance was first created back in 2011, we had an open cocktail party to not only introduce this new group to the local food bloggers, but also to give the bloggers a chance to meet each other and to hopefully get them excited about joining this one-of-a-kind alliance. It was at this event that I first met Hilah.  She was standing at the bar and I was instantly drawn to her as I was already a fan/follower of her online cooking show.  I went over and introduced myself as I wanted to see if she was that same wicked-cool chick in person as she was on her show. I was very happy to learn that she was. Everything you see on her wildly popular show is exactly how she is when y'all are just hanging out with her.  Along with her producer and husband Christopher Sharpe, the couple have created a strong following for their show. As wildly popular as she is, I'm impressed that she has not let stardom go to her head as she is still grounded, funny and adorable, and all while cooking up a storm in her cool orange kitchen. Did I mention she was just voted #1 of the top 10 Austin Food Blogs by the Austin Chronicle?  I'm happy to be able to share her recipe here for yummy Meyer Hummus as today's guest blogger.  And if you have not had a chance to check out her site, please click on her link below for a fun cooking 101. Or go here for a list of her cookbooks to order.

Hummus was one of the very first video recipes I posted. It's a staple in my house because it's quick and cheap to make, it's high in fiber and relatively low in calories (at least the way I make it, it is) and is a wonderful snack with some celery sticks and even a decent stand-in for dinner when you're rushed or lazy or home alone with no one to judge you for eating hummus on crackers in your undies on the couch, sprinkling crumbs amongst the cushions as you yuk it up with the TV. In the years since publishing the original recipe, I've gotten innumerable comments to the effect of: I never knew hummus was so easy to make.

And that is how I wreak my vengeance upon manufacturers of over-priced, store-bought hummus!

I'm kidding, what kind of insane person would take personal offense to a hummus company?

For this spicy variation on hummus, I used plenty of sweet-tart Meyer lemon juice and cut down on the olive oil by, like, a whole lot. This makes it thrifty for the change purse and lower in fat and calories, duh, so maybe it will help out with those New Year resolutions, too. If you like the buttery texture of traditional hummus, feel free to add another 1/4 cup of olive oil to the mix. 

Harissa is a spicy condiment from North Africa made from ground dried red chiles, caraway, cumin, coriander, garlic, salt and enough olive oil to bind them together. It's divine. I happen to have a tube of it (pictured) that I got from World Market, but if you can't find it, it's very easy to make your own and it's delicious in this and as a rub for grilled meat or fish, or an addition to salad dressing (especially grain salads). If you've got a modern copy of The Joy of Cooking, there's a recipe in it that I use and is the best recipe I've tried for homemade harissa. 

Spicy Meyer Lemon Hummus

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 Meyer lemon (or 2 standard lemons)
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons harissa (or less for less heat)
1/2 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt (reduce or omit if using canned chickpeas)

Instructions
Drain chickpeas (and rinse if using canned) and place in blender or food processor.
Zest the lemon to get 1/2 teaspoon zest and add that; juice the lemon to get 1/4 cup lemon juice and add that, straining the seeds out.
Add all other ingredients and pulse a few times to get started, then blend to a smooth puree. You may want or need to add some more water or olive oil for a thinner hummus.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to a week.

Yield: about 2 cups

Check out more of Hilah below.
HilahCooking.com

Find me on Youtube! http://youtube.com/hilahcooking

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hilahcooking

Check out my cookbook! http://learntocookbook.com/

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/HilahCooking

And sometimes I use Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/hilahcooking/

12 Days of Meyers - Lemon Pizza

I'd like to introduce Katie, the first guest writer for this year's Twelve Days of Meyers posts, who writes the Slow Down And Savor blog. Although I've never met her in person, I feel like I know her very well as we have talked and traded many notes through our social media channels over the last year or so. Unfortunately, even the two times she came out to my house to pick up lemons I was at work and did not get to meet her. This sweet newlywed writes a powerful little blog where she continues to encourage readers to slow down and savor the good life. She took no time at all to jump at my offer to write a guest post and started testing recipes with the bag of Meyers I gave her. Enjoy her twist on the sweet and savory of these lemons and don't forget to check out all the other yummy dishes and write-ups that she puts her heart and passion into.

When I first received the bounty of Meyers, I had so many ideas. I knew I'd make more than just one recipe, but I didn't know how much I would end up doing with the little guys.  I couldn't help but dive right in and start using them for, well, everything! Including some of the best dang guacamole I've had. The lemons added something different, something incredible to this guacamole. The lemons some how brightened the already fresh dip, and brought out several different flavors. Basically, it was amazing.

I then scoured the internet, looking for different ways to jazz up my life with lemons, and discovered the lemon and lavender bath. The bath smelled SO good, and no joke, it was super relaxing. And guess what? I didn't get at all sticky! Win. However, the lavender looked kind of like a bunch of bugs, and since I just threw it in willy-nilly without a care in the world, draining my tub was something of a chore. So for those of you who want to indulge in a lemon-lavender bath, please beware and use a cheesecloth or other kind of device to hold your lavender together, or else, welcome to my nightmare.

Once I cleaned my tub free of lavender and lemon seeds, I was in the mood to bake. So bake I did. I whipped up a beautiful and delicious Meyer Lemon Meringue Pie from an Alton Brown recipe, and received one of the best compliments ever from the kiddo: "It looks so good and it tastes so good, I don't think that you made it. I think you bought it. I like your pies… but I feel like you didn't make that one because it's really good."

But I didn't stop there. After the guac, bath and pie, I moved on to a more savory situation with Meyer Lemon Chicken Piccata. What I love about using these Meyer's, is that you can use them for both sweet and savory dishes. So when I stumbled across a mouth-watering recipe for this chicken dish, I knew I had a winner. All I'd do is switch out the regular lemon juice for my Meyer lemon juice. I never made chicken piccata before. I've actually never even tasted chicken piccata before, so this was a first for everyone, but man it sounded really good. I love capers and lemony goodness, so it had to be good.

And it was. It wasn't even hard to make, which surprised the crap out of me. Something with such a fancy name sounds hard to make. But no. It wasn't. It was flavorful, and tart, and satisfied the palates of my hubby, the kiddo and me, which is always a winner in my book. Served with a side of corn and pasta, and you've got a healthy and delicious meal.

To add some zest to snack-time, I blended up a bowl of garlicky Meyer Lemon and Parsley hummus, and found a new go-to dip in that stuff. Whew, it was dang good, guys. Dang. Good.

Now, one may think that after using these lemons for practically everything, my family and I would be lemoned-out, but we weren't. Not at all. I even decided to use the rest of these beautiful yellow gems in a recipe I concocted all on my own; a recipe that I would be preparing for a big pot-luck style Christmas party. I had no idea how my idea would pan out, but I knew it would at least be interesting.

My idea came from my recipe for those goat cheese crostinis with Meyer lemon, olive and fig relish from last year. This time, I'd be making a flatbread pizza, using some of the same ingredients.

So here it is folks. Let me introduce:

 Slow Down & Savor's Meyer Lemon, Goat Cheese and Olive Flatbread Pizza. Exciting stuff, huh?

1 pre-packaged flatbread pizza crust

Olive Oil

Goat Cheese (4-6 oz)

Garlic-stuffed olives (or any olives you like), chopped

2 Meyer Lemons, washed, de-seeded and chopped, rind-on

red pepper flakes

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F

Apply a thin layer of olive oil to the crust, and bake it for about 4 minutes.

Remove crust, and add your goat cheese. It's easiest to just crumble it over the crust and spread it around with your hands after.

Add the olives, lemons and red pepper flakes, and put back in oven for an additional 10 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Remove, and let cool before cutting and serving.

This flatbread pizza was a hit. It was intriguing and interesting, tart and savory, salty and briny. Personally, I loved how the lemons brought out all the deliciousness from each of the ingredients, making the whole thing bright and exciting. It wasn't your average pizza, that's for sure. I'm glad I went out of the box, and tried something new.

So thank you, thank you, thank you to Kristina for providing me with an ingredient that took my family, friends and I on a real adventure.

12 Days of Meyer - Day 6: Meyer Hummus

Being on a low glycemic diet these days pushes me to make better snack choices. I have always loved hummus but when I realized that homemade tastes much better then the store bought, as well as being cheaper, then why not, right? This recipe is not traditional as I leave out the tahini, but you can certainly add some if you like.

Meyer Lemon Hummus

(Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups of Hummus)

In your blender, blend the following until a paste is made, fine or coarse - your preference.

1 1/2 cups of cooked Garbanzo Beans (chick peas). I like to cook my own but you can use canned.
Zest of 1 Meyer Lemon
1/3 cup fresh juice of a Meyer Lemon
1/3 cup good extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of fresh garlic
1 tsp of salt (more if you prefer)
Black pepper (to taste)

Place in a dish and serve with pita wedges or raw veggies.