Hummus

Just made this yesterday and it's fantastic! I'm kinda excited to see all the new uses I'm gonna find for this stuff. Made with fresh garlic from my garden, of course.

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and liquid reserved
3 tbs tahini
3/4 cups reserved bean liquid
3 tbs lemon juice
1/2 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
pinch cumin
pinch black pepper
1/4 tsp mediterranean seasoning (I have a gyros spice mix I bought in Germany to use for this)

Throw it in a blender and blend till creamy. You can use more or less liquid from the beans to make it the consistency you like. 3/4 was what I used which is about the minimum that my blender liked, I used Tommy's magic bullet blender.

So good... great with triscuits, veggies, and I'm thinking if I made a runnier one it would make a good pizza sauce... lots of good fats and healthy protein in this stuff, especially when eaten with a whole grain cracker or pita.

And it's CHEAP!

Mediterranean Farfalle with spinach and feta cheese

Made this last night, I kinda threw it together to use up a costco-size container of baby spinach but it was a big hit!

1 lb sausage (we used kielbasa, but you could also even use chunks of chicken or any other meat, or even omit)
1 box (8 servings) of mini farfalle (bowtie) pasta
10 oz baby spinach
2 cans of garlic diced tomatoes
Feta Cheese (amount depends on your taste)
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Greek seasoning blend

In a skillet, cook the sausage with a little olive oil and a generous amount of the greek seasoning blend. When it has browned, add the tomatoes, some of the feta and balsamic vinegar. Cook until reduced.

In the meantime, begin the water for the pasta.

When the sauce is reduced to the right consistency (whatever you want!) turn off the heat and add the spinach. Mix the spinach into the sauce and cover until the pasta is done. When the pasta is done, toss with the sauce & spinach and top with the remainder of the feta cheese.