Friday, June 13, 2014

Tzatziki

Tah-Z-Key
Such an odd word for such a strangely tasty item. 
What is Tzatziki you ask? A traditional Greek cucumber yogurt sauce. Sounds weird, tastes delicious. 


Ingredients: 
2 cups of Greek Yogurt (I used Fage)
1 cup of cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1-2 TBS of lemon juice
2 TBS of chopped italian parsley
1 small clove of garlic, minced
+1/4 tsp of salt

Directions: 
Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until well mixed. It will not be smooth, but will still be slightly chunky. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Refrigerate and serve. For optimal results, serve within three days. 

What can this be served with you ask? Well just for a few ideas-it can be used as a salad dressing, as a dip for veggies or as a cool sauce for a chicken wrap, but really the possibilities are endless! 

Hummus

Hummus is one of those foods I have always found scary. The color looks bland and I'm not a big dip person anyways so I always find myself apprehensive to try it. Once as I made this hummus all my fear were rushed away. How could anyone be scared of something so simple easy and delicious?

Ingredients: 
1-15 oz can of chickpeas (Garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
3-4 TBS of fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup of tahini
1 small clove of garlic, minced (I used a microplane to grate it)
1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper
2 TBS of EVOO
2-3 TBS of water
+1/2 tsp of salt

Directions:
Place all of the ingredients in your food processor and blend until smooth. Add water as needed to get hummus to desired texture. Let the machine go for at least a few minutes so it can get nice and creamy. Taste and adjust as needed. Depending on how salty and flavorful the item you are serving with the hummus is you may need to add a bit more salt or lemon etc to get the right taste.