Spicy Red Capsicum Dip & Another Baby Item Finished

Well we finally had some nice weather on Saturday, so nice in fact that Miss Fish and I set up the out side lounges and watched Mr CLI work lol.

 

So for lunch on Saturday I fancied some dips. I made Lorraine Elliot's tuna one from her site Not Quite Nigella.

 

Then I wanted on a bit spicier, after a search on the Internet I came up with this one.

 

Now if you don't want to use the mayonnaise you could replace it with 1/2 cup of raw nuts and blitz till chunky.

 

Spicy Red Capsicum Dip

1 red capsicum with core removed and cut into chunks, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, several drops tobasco, 1 clove garlic peeled, 2 tbsps grated Parmesan , 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 dessert spoon lemon juice, 12 sundried tomatoes

 

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blitz till smooth.

 

 

Also I managed to get another item on my to do list completed. I started this blanket for Miss Le Coiffure's baby while she was pregnant.

I picked the colors before I knew the baby was going to be a girl, but Miss Le Coiffure likes the colors so I continued on and finished it.

 

 

Hot Cheese Dip - Salsa de Queso

Here we are after much tethering and toggling, don't you love this hi tech world, finally a photo of the cheese dip.

What to do when you are hungry and feel like something warm and cheesy, make this dip.

You can make this dip in about 5 minutes. There are many ways you can vary this dip, you could add finely chopped spring onions or add bacon. Or even instead of using tasty cheese use blue vein.

Cheeses dip
1 tbsp butter, 1 clove of garlic grated, 2 tbsps plain flour, 3/4 cup milk, 1 cup of grated tasty cheese, 1/2 tsp tabasco

In a small saucepan melt the butter, add the garlic, stir for 30 seconds. Add the flour whisk to cook for 1 minute don't let it brown, add the milk, whisk till a smooth sauce forms. Add the cheese and Tabasco, whisk until cheese has melted. Check consistency, you may need a little more milk if too thick. Serve with corn chips and enjoy.

Beans Means Dips

Well we are nearly into Summer so here are 2 recipes for dips that can be whipped up in a matter of moments, if you have guests pop in a the last moment or fancy something to nibble on while having afternoon drinkies in the Summer heat.

One is my favourite hummus.

You can get the recipe here.

http://www.cooklikeina.blogspot.com/search/label/Dips

The other is a spicy bean dip that can be made with a can of any beans that you like chickpea, kidney, butter beans or 4 bean mix, to name a few.

So I always have 1 can of chickpeas and another can of beans in the pantry just for this reason.

Spicy Bean Dip

1 400gm can beans drained, 1 small tomato cut into 1/4's, 1/2 - 1 tsp Tabasco sauce, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon or lime juice

Place in ingredients in a food processor, process till either very smooth or leave a little bit chunky. Taste to see if it needs more juice or Tabasco. Put into a serving bowl and enjoy.

The Humble Hummus

Now by no means is hummus a minor dish in the kitchen it is actually a very versatile dish.

The original recipe is chickpeas, tahini, garlic, salt, lemon juice and olive oil, all processed together until a smooth paste. But the variations are many and varied. Miss Fish has brought home tins on mixed chickpeas and corn kernels which have been sitting in my cupboard while I pondered what to do with them.

After reading Not Quite Nigellas recipe for hummus using a can of 4 bean mix, I thought mmmm why don't I do the same using one of the cans of chickpea/ corn combo, and I did.

http://www.notquitenigella.com/2011/08/05/easiest-four-bean-hummus/

The result was a very creamy hummus without a hint of the corn. So I got thinking could hummus be made with any type of tinned bean, yes it can my corn/chickpea combo worked at treat. A quick search on the Internet found many varied recipes using a variety of ingredients from

pumpkin

http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/15798/pumpkin-humus

rocket

http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/15795/rocket-and-mint-houmus

and even zucchini

http://courant.typepad.com/raw/2008/04/hummus-without.html

Now you don't have to only use hummus as a dip, spread it on warm souvlaki wraps place on you favourite salad ingredients like lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion and even some crumbled feta then top with cooked lamb cubes or slices of roast lamb a squeeze of lemon juice, then roll it up and enjoy.

You can even replace the lamb with slices of chicken which have been cooked with slivers of red capsicum and slices of onion. Once again smear some hummus over warmed souvlaki wraps top with sliced lettuce then the chicken mixture, perhaps a dollop of greek yoghurt, roll up and eat.

There are many ways to enjoy hummus only your imagination holds you back. So next time you go to pick up a container of hummus from the supermarket shelf, think again go to the tinned bean isle grab a tin, get a jar of tahini - it last forever in the cupboard, then go home and whizz up a batch. When you taste it you will wonder why you didn't make your own all the time.

Now I processed mine in the little processor I have for my bamix blender, but you can use a normal blender, a mortar and pestle or even grate the garlic into a bowl use a fork to mask the beans the mix the other ingredients in well.

I also don't add olive oil, but if you find your hummus is a bit dry add a little oil.

Hummus

1 can of beans drained, 2 cloves garlic, 1 heaped dessertspoon of tahini, juice of 1 lemon approx 1 tbsp, 1/2 tsp salt

Process in any of the ways mentioned above, taste add more salt or lemon juice as needed.