We have decided that spring break is a cruel joke. Just as you have begun to establish a sleep-at-least-12-hours-a-night-and-don't-do-homework-for-more-than-15-minutes schedule, you are thrust suddenly back into the middle of the semester. And it's all uphill from here.
I think that collectively we might have gotten around 4 hours of sleep a night the week before break and coming back was like a slap in the face. Even as I am aware that I have hours of homework to do, I still somehow haven't managed to convince myself that I am no longer on vacation.The other morning Kimberly and I had both dragged ourselves out of bed at 6AM, and as we stared at each other catatonically over our toothbrushes, we both clearly agreed on one thing: it was too early.
But if there's one good thing that came from spring break, it's that we got a taste for good food and aren't about to deprive ourselves again. Despite our somewhat mushy post earlier about how important taking time for good food is, we admit that sometimes we fail to live out our own food philsophy. In fact, in the hectic weeks before spring break, we might have been reduced to eating pancakes for every meal of the day at least once. But those days are over. Or at least we're trying to put an end to them (they were dark days).
While we're still really busy now, and will be until the end of the semester in May, this week we've been focusing our energy on quick, healthy foods. Even though we didn't spend a lot of time in the kitchen, at least for our standards, I think it's safe to say that we loved what we ate this week.
Nonetheless, we do have something to admit. Homework isn't the only thing that we have been known to procrastinate on. This hummus recipe has actually been a rough draft for quite a while and although we didn't eat hummus this week, we're only just getting around to posting it. Fom my faint recollection of it, it was delicious. And it's really easy - you just throw things in a blender. Soaking the chickpeas is the only forethought necessary and if you're using canned chickpeas, it's not even an issue. Homemade hummus always tastes creamier to me, and this recipe came out garlicky and wonderful.
Basically, what we're trying to say is, you can't always have it all together. Sometimes you eat pancakes for lunch (and dinner) and sometimes you have to post a recipe from two months ago just to get back into blogging. And sometimes, even though you really believe in eating good food, you have to come back to the kitchen with a fresh perspective.
Spicy Moroccan Hummus
3 cups cooked chickpeas (1 cup dry or 2 cans, roughly)
6 - 8 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp tahini (sesame seed butter)
2 Tbsp Moroccan seasoning*
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sriracha (or other hot sauce), to taste
1/4 - 1/2 cup water
*Moroccan seasoning is a mix of several Middle-Eastern spices like cumin and coriander. The seasoning we used was a gift from Kimberly's mother, who discovered this particular spice mix at a spice market and has been crazy about it ever since. You can find recipes for Moroccan spice mixes such as this one or this one online, but you can also buy it at specialty spice markets or online - I believe this is similar to what Kimberly's mom has)
1. Combine all ingredients except water in a food processor. Blend thoroughly.
2. Add water and blend until hummus is your desired consistency.
3. Enjoy on sandwiches, with cut veggies, or with salted pita chips! :)
