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White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
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White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I whipped this up on a whim and it is so good, I just had to jot down what I did! This is one delicious dip! No cooking required with this pantry staple recipe.
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
Keyword bean dip, hummus, party appetizers, party dip, roasted red pepper, tahini, white northern beans
Prep Time 10 minutes
Author misangela

Equipment

  • Food Processor or Blender

Ingredients

  • 1 14 oz can Great Northern beans any white bean is fine
  • 1/2 12 oz jar Roasted Red Peppers or two if you roast yourself
  • 1/2 cup Italian Cherry Peppers, about 5-6 often labeled sweet and hot peppers
  • 1 tsp EACH, juice from red peppers and cherry peppers double the cherry pepper juice if you roast your own peppers
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbl tahini
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 2 Tbl olive oil (EVOO) stream in while puréeing
  • 2 tsp lime juice, about one lime to taste
  • S/P to taste

Instructions

  • Drain the beans and cut the roasted red peppers into 1" chunks. Mince garlic.
  • Put everything except olive oil into food processor and process on high until smooth.
  • Stream in EVOO with processor on.
  • When desired consistency is reached, add lime juice and S/P to taste.
  • This dip will firm up in the fridge.
  • Serve with EVOO on top. It is great with tortilla chips, crackers or crudité.
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The Fall of Afghanistan

So. Afghanistan. I agree with Biden’s decision to leave. I just don’t see what can be done at this point. It’s their civil war, it’s not our business to interfere. All we’ve done is stave off the inevitable for 20 yrs. It is a country of women and children. The men left yrs ago to escape death by the Taliban. It’s shitty.

I just read a book about what it’s like to live there and I don’t think we’ve done a damn thing to help in all the 20yrs we’ve been interfering. We’ve kept the Taliban from formal control of the government, but they still control the PEOPLE.

The book, if you’re interested in the plight of women in Afghanistan, is The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle T Lemmon from 2011.

I hate that the Taliban is going to get control, but there’s not a thing we can do about it. Best to just get out. Perhaps the men that left can band together to take back the country. I don’t know the answer, but I feel that it’s not our place to interfere.

The US has interfered with the Middle East since forever and look at the fucking MESS we’ve made. Also read Queen Noor’s book Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life if you’re interested in learning more about the Middle East and what has transpired there since the 70s. It ain’t pretty.

Afghanistan has been the hot potato for presidents for 4 administrations. At least Biden is willing to take the hit and do the right thing by getting out of there and letting that country mind its business. It is not our place to control a CIVIL war. We really need a Prime Directive. Sigh.

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Acupuncture for GERD #5

Didn’t feel all that great this morning, so I knew the session would be painful. YUP.

She left everything in place for twice as long as usual.

I am still on the same Death Tea™, which is not too horrible at least.

After a hard session, I usually feel tired, as I do today. So I’m going to take it easy today, do some light cooking and just chill.

I really wish my body was as compliant as Nick’s. He’s already feeling better after 3 sessions. ::sob::

Alas, my body is as stubborn as my mind, so onward we go with treatment.

SIGH.

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Angela’s Lamb Birria

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Angela's Lamb Birria

This is a traditional birria recipe with all lamb. Lamb or goat are the preferred meats, but you can do a mix of lamb and beef or only beef if that is what you have. I highly recommend spending the money on lamb! This is traditionally a special occasion dish, due to the lengthy marinating time and long list of ingredients, but it is completely worth it!
You could make this dish in a slow cooker, see notes. You can eat this as a stew or shred it for birriaqueso tacos (in notes). This is a small recipe, for about half a cleaned lamb shoulder. Double it for a whole lamb shoulder.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword birria, birriaqueso, lamb, lamb tacos, mexican lamb stew
Prep Time 1 day 30 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Servings 6 servings
Author misangela

Equipment

  • dutch oven or slow cooker
  • blender or stick blender
  • fine sieve

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb about half a lamb shoulder, in large chunks I like lamb trimmed of fat and silverskin, keeping just a small amount of fat for the braising, but you can leave all the fat and skim later if you wish. A typical boneless lamb shoulder is about 4-5# before trimming.

Dry Rub

  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp dry mustard optional
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp ginger powder
  • 1 tsp ancho powder Substitute smoked paprika.
  • 2 tsp garlic salt sub kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Braise and Sauce

  • 1 Tbl oil to cook chiles
  • 1 dried guajillo chile, cut open and seeded, remove stem see notes about dried chiles
  • 1 dried New Mexican chile, cut open and seeded, remove stem
  • 1 dried pasilla chile, cut open and seeded, remove stem
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 stick cinnamon about 2"
  • 2 tsp whole black peppercorns about 10-15
  • 1 tsp whole cloves about 6-8
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried marjoram optional, if skipping double the oregano
  • 1 tsp dried oregano Mexican if you can find it
  • 3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced about a cup
  • 1 small onion, diced about 2/3 cup
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 ½ Tbl apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp ginger powder
  • 1 tsp ancho powder Cayenne is NOT a substitute! Use smoked paprika if you can't find ancho.
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 cup water plus more if needed

Toppings

  • chopped cilantro
  • finely diced onion
  • lime slices
  • pickled radish or onion see notes
  • crumbled cotija cheese see notes

Instructions

  • The day before, mix up the dry rub and thoroughly coat the lamb. Put in a plastic zip bag in the fridge until you are ready to cook the next day. You can marinate for a few hours if you're in a pinch, but the longer, the better.
  • Heat a skillet over high with about a Tbl of oil. Sauté the lamb pieces on all sides. Set aside.
  • In a small saucepan, put about 2/3 cup water and bring to a simmer.
  • In same skillet, add more oil and turn down heat to med hi. Add the chiles. Cook until the chiles turn a little darker, it just takes about 2 minutes, do not burn the chiles.
  • Put chiles in the simmering water until they are called for in the recipe.
  • In the same skillet over med hi, add pepper, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon, thyme, marjoram and oregano. Stir until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
  • Add onions and garlic, turn down heat to medium and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
  • Add romas and chiles with the simmering water. Cook until the whole mixture is thickened. About 8 minutes.
  • Turn off heat and add apple cider vinegar, cumin, ginger and ancho.
  • Put this braising mixture in a blender and puree until smooth. Push through a fine sieve to create a smooth sauce for braising. Add 1/2 cup water if cooking in oven, if using a slow cooker, skip the water.
  • Put the lamb in a dutch oven and cook at 300°F for about 3 hours. OR put in a slow cooker on HI for 6-8 hours. If cooking in oven, check at halfway point to see if the sauce is too reduced; if so, add more water. It should be saucy, not dry.
  • Remove lamb from sauce and shred. I leave it larger for stew and shred small for tacos. You could even do stew for dinner and then tacos for leftovers. Check seasoning (salt) and adjust.
  • I keep the sauce separate to control the consistency of the lamb. Check seasoning (salt) and adjust. If it needs more acid, add a bit more vinegar. If you've got a lot of fat, skim fat before serving, otherwise it will be too greasy. The fat will come right off if you refrigerate the sauce.

Notes

I highly recommend seeking out dried chiles for this dish. There is not really anything that can substitute for dried chiles. Many chain groceries carry them now, and most towns will have an ethnic market of some sort. If all else fails, you can order from Amazon, but you'll end up with extra - which I hope will inspire you to try other Mexican dishes! You can store the dried chiles in an airtight bag in the pantry. 
For stew, I'd serve with rice and top with cilantro and onions.  Limes on the side. Add as much sauce as you like.
I really like pickled veg with this dish to cut the richness. I made a quick pickle of red onion and radish for the stew. Cut very finely about 2/3 cup veg and pickle in 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar,  1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 2 Tbl water, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar and a few whole allspice or pickling spices. Heat brine to simmer, take off heat and add veg. Let sit until cool. 
For birriaqueso tacos, add sauce to shredded lamb until nicely moist, but not too wet. I use small corn street tacos that I've charred over a burner just a little (ALWAYS cook the tortillas!). Assemble with a little sour cream, the shredded lamb, crumbled cotija cheese, pickled veg (same recipe as above), diced onion and chopped cilantro. Lime on the side. 
Photo courtesy @mylatinatable
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Acupuncture for GERD Session #4

Since the previous session, I’ve been taking the new Death Tea™ as directed, but the GERD is back in force. Last week I had several days where every single thing I ingested caused a GERD spike and I was eating Tums by the handful. NOT GOOD.

At the first of this week, I was feeling depressed about the GERD resisting acupuncture and just not in a great space. But the GERD did ease off a little bit this week. You have to remember that when it’s spiking badly, it will wake me up twice every night as well, and I have to eat a Tums. Once a night is bad enough, but twice is pretty bad for sleep quality.

I am tired and feeling gross today, so I knew the acupuncture was going to suck. I almost didn’t go! And I was not surprised when almost every needle hurt. Being overly tired will often read as anxiety to Drs because, for me, my heart rate is elevated when I’m overtired. So she gave me two scalp and a third eye needles today – which did help me relax. The needles even hurt coming out today – which NEVER happens. :(

No cups today, but I did get seeds in the ears for acupressure! They look like this:

acupressure seeds
Acupressure Seeds

I also got a new Death Tea™, since the one she gave me was clearly not working. She said she’s changing tack and give me a more supportive tea rather than trying to take on my issues directly. She said that this tea will support my spleen and help bolster my “good energies”.

WE SHALL SEE.

Next appointment is 3 wks, on a good luck Friday the 13th! I really hope this new tea works!