When my sister was in Omaha a couple of weekends ago, we went on a shopping spree at Whole Foods. She loves to cook but finds it challenging to do in her New York City apartment; her kitchen is literally the size of my coffee table. She was excited to roam the aisles of Whole Foods, picking up ingredients to create culinary masterpieces in my “huge” kitchen.
Unfortunately, my sister had to leave before she had the chance to teach me how to make homemade hummus. But this weekend, I was craving hummus and pita chips, and, knowing I already had all of the ingredients, I decided to attempt it myself. One caveat: my sister was going to use plain yogurt instead of tahini for a low fat hummus.
Using Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything (thanks, Alice!) as a guide, I quickly and easily whipped up hummus in my blender. I simply replaced the required amount of tahini with the same amount of yogurt. I’m not sure if that was the “right” thing to do… my hummus, while tasty, was a bit runny.
Later, while browsing the web, I came across this recipe for hummus with yogurt, which is very similar to the recipe I invented, except I did not add peanut butter (weird!) but did include cumin.
Would I make it again? Probably, but first I would test it out with tahini.
Do you have a favorite hummus recipe?
Yesterday two friends and I co-hosted a baby shower at my house for J and D. They are having a boy, so we chose to decorate with baby blue and spring green. Aren’t those hydrangeas absolutely gorgeous? They came from Costco and Whole Foods, and the adorable baby-themed cookies were made by Bianca’s Creative Cookies. At the end of the two-hour party, we wrapped up the leftover cookies for the 18 guests to take home as favors.
It was actually a co-ed shower, so we did our best to keep it guy-friendly. We served plenty of beer (in addition to mimosas and sparkling juice) and played a non-cheesy baby trivia game. L and I had tons of fun brainstorming questions on our 5.5 hour drive to Minneapolis in July.
There are so many things you need to have to care for and entertain a newborn, and J & D received many generous gifts from their friends and co-workers. One of my faves was this super soft baby blanket that my mom knitted for the parents-to-be. Isn’t it gorgeous? (Yes, I biased.) I keep telling her to open a shop on Etsy or something to sell them since she loves making them and has plenty of time to knit now that she’s retired!
One of the best parts of the shower was spending time with my fellow hostesses to plan the event. They are both so creative, and I think we gave Martha Stewart a run for her money!
L, you’re next…
This weekend I did something that scares me. I wouldn’t say I’ve conquered my fear, but I’m one step closer to not being afraid.
So what did I do?
I went through a car wash.
Yes, you read that correctly. Car washes freak me out, especially the ones common at gas stations here in Omaha, where you pull into a garage, put the car in park and wait as the spinning brushes move up and down the length of your car.
I don’t know what I think might happen. Maybe I’m afraid that the brushes won’t stop spinning and I’ll be trapped in the car wash forever. I don’t know. It’s not a rational fear. But I like clean cars, and since my husband isn’t home to get them washed, I have to do it myself.
(Confession: A couple of weeks ago, I made my friend J drive through the car wash at Bucky’s with me.)
What at some of your irrational fears? Help a sister out. Share your fears so I feel less ridiculous about my car wash phobia.
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I’m sad to report that, in the past two days, I had to dispose of two deceased bunnies in my backyard. The whole experience was a bit traumatizing, and I’m grateful that my mom was in town and able to assist.
And by assist, I mean that she shoveled the baby rabbits into the black garbage bags while I shrieked and closed my eyes.
(image source)
In an effort to save money and eat more healthfully, I’ve started bringing my lunch and an afternoon snack to work rather than buying. (I’m sorry, but even though Subway is quasi-healthy, it’s still fast food in my opinion.)
The food I pack is not very exciting. Typically I’ll eat a sandwich on wheat bread with some Baked Lays or pretzels around 1pm and then 1 oz of almonds around 4pm. I dump a single-serving packet of Crystal Light iced tea mix into a reusable water bottle to wash it all down.
I’ve realized, however, that I go through quite a few plastic baggies now that I bring my lunch, which got me thinking about reusable sandwich and snack bags. Sure, I could reuse my Ziplock bags, but an even better alternative would be a washable, colorful sandwich bag. I found a bunch that I like from Wrap-n-Mat, WasteNot Saks, ReUsies, Kids Konserve and LunchSkins. Even Tupperware makes a sandwich container–perfect if you’ve got a delicate PB&J to transport. Plus, nearly all of the above-mentioned companies also make snack-sized bags, so I could pack my almonds in (environmentally friendly) style.
But which to choose…
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