YouTomb Easy, delicious hummus + 9 ways to (mindfully) devour it For some reason, many people tend to buy dips rather than make them. A few years ago I used to do the same thing. It just never occurred to me that I could easily make my own. Now I wouldn’t have it any other way — dips are one of the easiest and cheapest things to make. Hummus is one of my stock standard dips to make. There are many versions of the humble hummus. Serves 6–8, as a snack; Makes about 2 cups Prep & cooking time: 15 minutes This dip is gluten, dairy and grain free. 1 tsp cumin seeds1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzos), or 1 x 425 g (15 oz) can chickpeas (I prefer the BPA-free Eden Organic brand)2 tbsp hulled tahini (100% sesame seed butter)3 tbsp (45 ml/1.5 oz) extra virgin olive oiljuice of 1 lemon (~3–4 tbsp), or to taste2 garlic cloves, minced¼ cup (60 ml/2 oz) filtered watersalt, to taste Dry toast cumin seeds in a pan over gentle heat until fragrant. Grind toasted cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle. Keeps in fridge for 4–5 days. Variations: 9 ways to devour your hummus:
Cannelle et Vanille Goodbye to sugar? Homaru Cantu on how to trick your taste buds Homaro Cantu and Ben Roche can only be described as the mad scientists of food. These two pioneer unique food delivery systems — think maki rolls printed on flavored paper, a dessert disguised as nachos and a bleeding veggie burger — at their Chicago restaurants, Moto and iNG. At TED 2011, the pair spoke about their science-lab approach to food in the talk “Cooking as alchemy.” Homaro Cantu + Ben Roche: Cooking as alchemyEmbedded in this talk is a crazy idea — using “miracle berries” to trick taste buds into thinking that sour foods are sweet. Last week, Cantu wrote on his talk page, “After eight long years everyone, I have finally completed my first step towards the end of refined sugar.” Cantu wants to show exactly how he and his chefs cooked up these taste bud-bending recipes.
Pietopia™ | Home 10 of my favourite anti-inflammatory foods I don’t have any allergies or intolerances — not that I’m aware of anyway. However, because of two autoimmune conditions (endometriosis and uveitis), I eat to beat the inflammation in my body. Having said that, you don’t need ‘a condition’ to eat this way. Actually, I think it’s unwise not to. Many of us are familiar with the obvious, short-lived kind of inflammation. There’s another kind of inflammation, however. Unfortunately, the way we eat in the western world promotes this type of inflammation. Something also to consider is the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats we consume. All of this can be easily turned around — by eating in a way that naturally fights chronic inflammation. Since I was diagnosed with endometriosis, and read the book Endometriosis: A Key to Healing Through Nutrition (over three years ago now), I’ve been avoiding pro-inflammatory food-like substances. I find plant-based foods nature’s best anti-inflammatory medicine. turmeric — all I have to say is ‘curcumin’.
Matcha tea mousse pies and Japan in our minds Image from Wikimedia Commons No matter how hard we try to plan our lives, they can always be disrupted. And nature is unpredictable. I would have preferred not to have any reason to make this recipe, but Japan is in everybody's mind these days. So in remembrance of the Japanese people I have prepared this simple recipe for little mousse pies. Image from this blog Before I give you the recipe, I just want to remind you that there are various charities where you can contribute to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief, like the Japanese Red Cross, or even one of those bakesales for Japan that are being organized here and there. In Spain, a Japanese girl called Makiko and living in Madrid has set up a blog to ask for people to contribute by making an origami crane. Once you have your crane, you have to take a picture and send it to Makiko. Matcha tea mousse pies For the cake base: For the strawberry jelly: To put everything together:
Food in the air Imagine being tasked with feeding 30,000 people a day; a mixed bunch of passengers with various dietary requirements, tastes and perceptions of food. As an airline catering chef your main task is to mass produce safe and good food with a limited ingredient list, meals that should reheat well at 35,000ft whilst not losing too much flavor. As a crew member you are faced with a cramped galley which can be very cold sometimes, an oven (that’s not like the one at home) and a lack of decent equipment to prepare meals. Sounds like the start of a bad meal right? Airline food is still the subject matter of comedians’ jokes, and passengers regularly complain about the food options or quality of inflight meals (mainly in economy class). The first airline meal was served on a flight from London to Paris on October 11 1919 and it consisted of a sandwich, fruit and chocolate selling for 3 shillings! What else can we do to help enhance the on-board journey?
Eating Is Art Liquor-sampling service Flaviar goes mobile to help you find the best spirits | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Paul Sawers Flaviar has been catering to the world’s liquor-lovin’ masses for more than three years, with a subscription sampling service that delivers an assortment of hand-picked spirits to your door every month. While Flaviar has been a Web-only affair since its inception, today sees the official launch of its first mobile app, following an extended beta period. Founded out of London in 2012, Flaviar has raised around $500,000 in funding since its launch. In response to a growing demand for Flaviar in the U.S., the startup joined Y Combinator in the summer of 2014 and moved its headquarters out to San Francisco. The company still has an official subsidiary in London, though its team of 22 is split between offices in San Francisco and Slovenia. Available on iOS only for now, the Flaviar app is all about discovering new tipples, including scotch, whiskey, bourbon, rum, gin, cognac, vodka, and more. In a nutshell, Flavor is setting out to “be your IMDb for liquor,” as Soba puts it.