Butternut Squash & Mushroom Chicken Pot Pie
i read the name and got an instant food boner oh god OH GOD
Fork You: Tahini-Free Hummus
Last week, I was wrestling with a pretty nasty cold. In addition to taking lots of vitamins C & D, and echinacea, I decided to supplement with garlic. To do this in an agreeable manner, I decided to make hummus… but I didn’t want to go to the store just to get tahini, so I substituted in a bit of sesame oil. I did my research first, of course, and found out that if you add too much, it makes it taste kind of peanut butter-y, which might be a good thing, but might not, so be sure to add it a little at a time, and taste it!
I added a TON of extra garlic, so mine was so spicy that it almost had a horseradish-y spice to it, but you can add more or less according to your own discretion. It’s possible to make hummus without tahini entirely, but if you like the sesame flavor, this is a good alternative, and if you make a lot of Asian food, like I tend to, you may already have it on hand.
Tahini-Free Hummus
- 1 can drained chick pea
- 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- water to thin (or reserved liquid from chickpeas)
In the food processor, whiz together the garlic and olive oil. Add the drained chickpeas and begin to combine. Add in lemon juice, salt and spices. Add water or reserved liquid until the hummus reaches the desired consistency. Add sesame oil slowly, tasting every once in a while. (You may use more or less than 1 tablespoon.)
![chompsoflife:
A couple months ago, I was tasked with the job of amusing my four year old god sister for a few hours. Although this usually entails me giving her paper and a pencil to draw, while I sit besides her, browsing the internet, this time, feeling especially generous, I asked her if she would like to bake. One of my earliest memories of baking was when my dad and I baked a rainbow cake, similar to the one above. I thought my god sister would like making that cake just ask much as I enjoyed it when I was younger, so I offered her that option. She immediately said yes, so we spent the rest of the afternoon staining our fingers with drops of food coloring. This is a really fun cake to make, and quite delicious too! In fact, to this day, she still talks about this cake incessantly.
Rainbow Cake Recipe
3 cups cake flour*
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup shortening (I used non hydrogenated)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons imitation butter flavoring
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs about
1-2 tsp each red, yellow, blue food coloring
* You can make cake flour with this recipe.
Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl (a stand mixer bowl if using a stand mixer) and whisk to combine.
Add the shortening to the flour mixture, and mix until there are no chunks. Add the vanilla and butter flavoring, and briefly process until even distributed.*note: If sealed, this cake mix can be kept for several months before use
Blend the cake mix with water, oil and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer at a low speed until the ingredients are even distributed, and then increase the speed to medium and beat for two minutes.
Divide the batter into six bowls. In each bowl, use food coloring to color the batter. The colors I chose where red, orange (red and yellow), yellow, green (yellow and blue), blue, and purple (red and blue).
Layer the Batter in a greased and floured bundt pan. I began with the red batter, and finished with the purple batter. [EDIT: I should add that a tip to help create the swirls of colors is to make sure when you add one of the colors, to add it to the middle of the previous color, not just a layer on top of the previous color (if that makes sense). Also, gently coat the bottom and 1/2 of the sides of the pan with the first color, to create a sort of “shell” that will help with swirls! (: ]
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 35 minutes, or until a tooth inserted into the cake comes out clean (a little coloring on it is fine!). Once cool, remove from pan and dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lp3q9gUv9A1qmmx4eo1_r1_500.png)
A couple months ago, I was tasked with the job of amusing my four year old god sister for a few hours. Although this usually entails me giving her paper and a pencil to draw, while I sit besides her, browsing the internet, this time, feeling especially generous, I asked her if she would like to bake. One of my earliest memories of baking was when my dad and I baked a rainbow cake, similar to the one above. I thought my god sister would like making that cake just ask much as I enjoyed it when I was younger, so I offered her that option. She immediately said yes, so we spent the rest of the afternoon staining our fingers with drops of food coloring. This is a really fun cake to make, and quite delicious too! In fact, to this day, she still talks about this cake incessantly.
Rainbow Cake Recipe
- 3 cups cake flour*
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup shortening (I used non hydrogenated)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons imitation butter flavoring
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs about
- 1-2 tsp each red, yellow, blue food coloring
* You can make cake flour with this recipe.
- Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl (a stand mixer bowl if using a stand mixer) and whisk to combine.
- Add the shortening to the flour mixture, and mix until there are no chunks. Add the vanilla and butter flavoring, and briefly process until even distributed.*note: If sealed, this cake mix can be kept for several months before use
- Blend the cake mix with water, oil and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer at a low speed until the ingredients are even distributed, and then increase the speed to medium and beat for two minutes.
- Divide the batter into six bowls. In each bowl, use food coloring to color the batter. The colors I chose where red, orange (red and yellow), yellow, green (yellow and blue), blue, and purple (red and blue).
- Layer the Batter in a greased and floured bundt pan. I began with the red batter, and finished with the purple batter. [EDIT: I should add that a tip to help create the swirls of colors is to make sure when you add one of the colors, to add it to the middle of the previous color, not just a layer on top of the previous color (if that makes sense). Also, gently coat the bottom and 1/2 of the sides of the pan with the first color, to create a sort of “shell” that will help with swirls! (: ]
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 35 minutes, or until a tooth inserted into the cake comes out clean (a little coloring on it is fine!). Once cool, remove from pan and dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
