Hummus

This recipe is derived from "Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, & Lebanon" by Claudia Roden.

• 1 1/4 cups cooked peas or beans (tonight, I'm using frozen butter peas cooked in only water)
• 3 to 4 tablespoons tahini
• juice of 2 lemons
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• salt (I didn't use any)
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Option tonight: make a star design with lines of paprika and ground cumin.
• Other: Sprinkle on plenty of finely chopped parsley; or sprinkle with ground sumac and a little chopped, flat parsley; or garnish with a few whole boiled peas, or with pine nuts lightly fried in oil.

Blend the peas or beans to a puree in the food processor.  Add the remaining ingredients except the oil and add a little of the cooking water -- just enough to blend it to a soft, creamy paste.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Pour into a shallow dish and drizzle over the olive oil.  Garnish as desired.

Skordalia (Garlic Sauce)

I made this with leftover mashed white potatoes that had been in the fridge a few days.   Recipe is from "Greek Cookery: 300 Traditional Recipes" by Aspasia Angelikopoulu.

• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 150 gr. boiled potatoes
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1-2 tsp vinegar (I use apple cider)
• salt

Peel and mash the garlic to a paste.  Add the potatoes and mash.  Add 1-2 teaspoons vinegar and dribble in the oil, mixing constantly.  Serve the skordalia garnished with olives.

Variations: 1. A little lemon may be added along with the olive oil.  2. The potatoes may be replaced with crustless bread, which has been soaked in water and squeezed.

Pure Mustard Oil

The bottle says, "For Massage Use Only."  We have not tried that use, but it is supposed to be invigorating.  We've been cooking wth the KTC brand of "Pure Mustard Oil" for a few years and just this time buying it finally noticed the massage use statement.  I asked the manager at the Indian grocery whether it is ok to cook with this oil.  He said it is not approved for that use in America, though fifty percent of India's population cooks with it.  He pointed to a different bottle that is labelled for cooking, but it was a 50/50 blend of soy and mustard oils.  We were really taken aback by this odd limitation on mustard oil and checkd the internet for background.  There is a huge controversy and conspiracy surrounding the use of mustard oil that either relates to it being dangerous to use or outlawed to ensure a maret for western-produced soy oil.

Note: It is essential to bring mustard oil to the smoking point to sweeten it.  Otherwise, it will taste too biting.

Vegan Kheer

1/4 cup basmati rice
4 pods green cardamom
1" stick cinnamon
1/4 cup oatmeal
1 tsp agave nectar
1/8 cup fruit chopped (2 dried apricot chopped, golden raisins, etc.)
1/4 cup nuts slivered or chopped, toast if desired (almonds, cashew...)

• Add rice, cardamom and cinnamon to 2 cups water
• Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until cooked (20 min or so)
• Add oatmeal, return to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until cooked
• Add remaining ingredients, simmer a few minutes covered
• Remove heat and let stand covered for a bit
• Serve hot or cold