Foodie Penpal February 2013

My third month in the Foodie Penpals scheme and another fun time for me putting together my parcel to send, but more on that later.








This month I was paired with Abby Croft to send me a parcel.
She writes the blog It Melts into Wonder check it out.















In this months package I received the following:

Some Barilla Farfalle pasta but not just any old pasta, this pasta has a portion of vegetables built into it.  I had heard about this but had never bought any before.  This is great for my toddler as she will eat pasta at any time, hot or cold, so I cook this up for her Bento box and she eats it and get carbs as well as a veggie.

Some Tomato pasta sauce from a local supplier to where Abby lives in Indiana.  I used this with some minced beef and onions to make a Spaghetti bolognese.  It was delicious and I have a good size portion left in the freezer for a second family dinner.

Some pasta herb sprinkles from Penzey Spices.  There is a large Penzey spices shop on Rockville Pike near me, that I keep driving past and meaning to stop and go in.  Getting this spice has inspired me to make the effort now to go and have a look as I love all sorts of herbs and spices.  I think I will use this to make some garlic bread as well.

Lastly, I got a packet of Magic Pop crackers which I have seen in Wholefoods and the local Amish Market but just never got around to trying.  They are fat free and cholesterol free and were very light.  We tried them with some of my homemade hummus and they just melted in your mouth and let you taste the hummus without being overwhelmed by the cracker.  Here is the recipe for my hummus.

Hummus

Ingredients

300g dried chick peas

1 onion, whole but peeled

2 bay leaves

3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

3 tbsps olive oil

9 tbsps Tahini

2-3 lemons

fat pinch cumin

3 dolloping tbsp Greek yoghurt

Soak the chick peas in water for 24 hours and then boil in the water with the onion, bay leaves and 3 unpeeled garlic for 3 hours.  Then remove a good 350ml of the cooking liquid to keep and then drain them.

In food processor, with double bladed knife. add the peeled, chopped garlic, a teasp of salt. 100ml of the cooking liquid, olive oil, tahini. juice of 1 lemon and cumin.  Blitz till well and truly pureed.  Taste, adding more liquid to soften mixture.  Process again, grind in pepper, add yoghurt and give another whizz.  Taste and add more lemon juice, if necessary or yoghurt or seasoning. according to your personal taste.  Put into bowl and cover and chill for at least one hour before serving.

So thanks to Abby for sending me these goodies to try this month.