Saturday Afternoon Hummus

I hope you've had a lovely Saturday...

I large chunk of mine was spent doing dishes:

See why I need a dishwasher, people?

And this is from ONE NIGHT of cooking for TWO PEOPLE!

Alex and I also took a loooong walk around the neighborhood and saw:

giant sunflowers- I love 'em because they're like really tall flower trees.

(nice shadow, Mads, gah)

Birds of Paradise blooming everywhere:

What a beautiful name... describes the plant fittingly I think.

Rows of palm trees and an endless blue sky:

Then a bird pooped on Alex.

I'm guessing it's an omen from the football gods foreshadowing the outcome of Cal's football game today against number 1 ranked Oregon? Yes.

We came home 3 hours later to a clean(er) kitchen, so I decided to whip up some hummus, adapted from a recipe told to me by the chef at work.

Into the blender went:

1 can of garbanzo beans drained (but save the juice)

juice of 1 lemon

2 garlic cloves

some cumin

a little tahini paste

a splash of olive oil

a splash of apple cider vinegar (I'd omit next time)

salt and pepper to taste

I know the measurements aren't too specific but all I had to go on was the ingredient list, so I just added what I thought would work... The end product turned out pretty well, though next time I know to go lighter on the tahini paste and omit the apple cider vinegar completely.

A great tip I learned from our chef?

Save the juice from the garbanzo beans when making hummus. It's nice 'n chickpea infused and serves as a great replacement for the water that many recipes call for- so much tastier!

When I get the exact recipe down to a T, I'll be sure to post it.

With fresh hummus to use,

I got to work on this giant:

spinach, hummus, quinoa, beets, orange bell pepper, pom seeds, crumbled Mary's crackers, goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. SO GOOD! It's been awhile since I had a giant salad.

For dessert:

that's vegan chocolate cake from last night + one scoop of to die for coconut milk mint chocolate chip ice cream.

After watching 3 hours of recorded Top Chef: Just Desserts episodes, I've finally peeled myself off the couch and am getting ready for a night out in Santa Monica with my girl Lauren.

YES, I know it goes completely against my week long goal to succumb to the temptation of going out but I CAN'T HELP IT! I've been SO good this week- even forgoing our usual Saturday brunch out indulgence for an at home breakfast that actually turned out better than any brunch out I've had out in awhile. It even contained leftovers (gasp!)

1 egg, 1 egg white with black bean burger crumbles, a teeny bit of shredded monterey jack cheese and Herdez hot salsa.

It was really flavorful and filling- those black bean burgers are SO easy to make, super delicious and keep for days in the fridge. Doooo it!

Now after this shot

of Aloe Vera juice, I'm ready to bounce.

See you tomorrow!

Have a great night :)