I made this dip recently out of both necessity and a need for something healthy to snack on. I had a Japanese eggplant in the fridge that I bought with the intention to make stir-fry as a quick weeknight dinner. Plans changed one night and by the time I revisited Mr. Eggplant, several days later, he was starting to look a little wrinkled and my taste for stir-fry had also dissipated.
I didn't have tahini to make baba ghanouj and I was tired of hummus, so I decided to try something a little different. Roasting the eggplant and a few leftover baby carrots, then processing them with some spices (whole cumin seeds and smoked paprika included), harissa and light sour cream—one of my fridge staples—yielded a tasty, vegetarian-friendly dip.
If you've never tried it, harissa is a hot and garlicky red pepper condiment with origins from Libya and Tunisia. For this recipe, I used prepared Mina brand harissa that I had in my refrigerator; the "mild" variety was the only option in the store at the time, but they have a spicy variety that you might be able to find, too. There are plenty of recipes out there that outline how to make it, like this one from Epicurious, and look easy enough. Making your own allows you to tailor the heat level to make it spicier, if you so choose, by adding extra chiles—it's something I'll be trying at some point, but suffice to say today wasn't the day.
Tasting like a cross between hummus and baba ghanouj, the dip ended up having a lovely reddish color from the smoked paprika, carrots, and harissa. As a bonus, it can easily be made vegan-friendly by omitting the sour cream—try it and let me know how it comes out.
During the course of my 7 month (eh, give-or-take…) hiatus, June actually marked the 1 year anniversary of the launch of From Anna’s Kitchen (FAK)! I would be remiss if I didn’t do something to highlight the 1 year “blogiversary”, even if belated. So by the numbers, I put together a quick recap of the year in review, from the first post published to today: 35 posts, of which: 15 posts contained recipes 5 were Pantry Raid recipes 2 foodie goals completed and 3 foodie goals set 10 pounds of strawberries picked 271 Tweets and 147 followers on Twitter—P.S., be sure to follow…
Well. It's been an interesting year, to say the least—part of the reason why I effectively took the better part of this year off from posting—but I won't get into that now. Instead, it's time for foodie goals!
I went back and forth on what to do for 2017, and whether to do them at all. Ultimately, I decided that, yes, I needed to keep with my tradition and set some. Even though we're 3/4 of the way through the year now (I had good intentions to post this about a month or two ago but, you know, life and all...), I'm determined to make them happen in the months remaining—and have strategically picked some that I think are pretty doable.
My final foodie goals verdict for 2016 was 2 for 5 completed, including making homemade kombucha and aioli. Both were sort-of successful—as in, there were no catastrophes or other things that got in the way of making them—but there was definitely room for improvement on both:
- I got too busy and, as such, my kombucha fermented too long before I bottled it. I tried it and let's just say that it was drinkable, but not pleasant (womp, womp). I have since gotten off a kombucha kick, probably because I drank too much of it for a while there, but recently had some delicious homemade strawberry-basil kombucha from Greenmouth, which might just change my mind about it again.
- My aioli had an off taste to it, likely from the oil that I chose; if I remember correctly, it was canola or vegetable oil for general cooking purposes, but I think it had been opened for some time. It definitely was not a fresh bottle, whatever it was. For my next attempt, I'll definitely buy fresh oil; more specifically, I'll make the small investment in safflower or grapeseed oil for a lighter, more neutral taste.
Happy new year everyone! I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season.
Once again, now is about the time of year to do some reflecting. And for the second year in a row, I am reflecting back on partially-completed foodie goals. Womp, womp. Life got in the way.
The bright side: I posted a foodie resolutions mid-year update back in June, at which point nothing was accomplished. I'm happy to report that something, even if it wasn't all of my goals, was accomplished in the remaining 6 months of the year.
My final verdict for 2016 is 2 for 5 goals completed. Here's what they were.
Soup is like one of the most perfect foods. A complete one-pot meal, it warms you up when you’re cold and it makes you feel better when you’re sick. As chance would have it, January, in addition to being my birth month and one of the coldest months of the winter here in Pennsylvania, is National Soup Month! Check out these recipes, including a few that are on my list of things to try. You can also follow #NationalSoupMonth on Twitter or check out my board of curated recipes on Pinterest for more ideas and inspiration. Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup — it all…
As the holiday season comes to a close, I am sure many of us have at least one gift card floating around, waiting to be redeemed. Or, if you are like me, maybe the holidays are not formally "done" yet and you might even have belated holiday gifts left to buy for those that we planned on seeing after the holidays.
In either case, if you are a food-lover looking for some ideas to use up your gift cards, or in search of a nice host/hostess gift for the person throwing the New Years Eve cocktail party that you are going to attend tomorrow, here are just a few suggestions worth looking into. You should be able to find them in most chain bookstores and big-box stores as well as, of course, online.
Soup is often my go-to lunch since it's quick and easy to grab from a store or a work cafeteria. I always have a stockpile of some kind of soup or chili in the freezer for when I don't feel like cooking when I get home in the evening, too, which I thaw overnight in the refrigerator or, if I don't remember, quickly thaw in the microwave.
I make and eat soup year-round, even during the summer, but nothing beats the magical feeling of eating hot soup on a cold day. It just warms up your body and makes you feel instantly better—at least, for me it does.
This recipe for mushroom barley soup is one of my favorites to make in the crock pot and let cook overnight for dinner the next day. It is healthy and doesn't require a lot of ingredients, making it a perfect recipe for using up pantry and fridge staples.
