Healthy hummus and seductive sangria!

Summer holds us in thrall - a judicious mix of rain and blistering sunshine prevails. I've turned to Sangria for refuge. I asked for Sangria at a few restaurants in my whirlwind travels over the last couple months but drew blanks. I took this as a sign and made my own pitcher of sangria!

Heres what I did:

1. Added half a of cup of sugar, a cup of rum, a cup of orange juice to a bottle of red wine in a pitcher. Slice a lemon, a lime and an orange and let the mixture chill for a few hours. VoilĂ !

Judicious sipping at regular intervals suggests that the sangria is ready in four hours ... and gone in about 48 hours!

I found myself feeling a little peckish the other day and turned to one of my new favorites: roasted red bell pepper hummus. The public market is awash with red bell peppers. Enough to make Edward Weston move to Rochester!

Heres what I did:
1. Roasted two red bell peppers with garlic and olive oil.
2. Toasted a quarter cup sesame seeds with a teaspoon of olive oil till the seeds were fragrant.
3. Soaked a cup of chick peas (garbanzo beans) overnight and pressure cooked them to mush-ness.
4. Blended all of the above. Added salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste and red pepper flakes to add heat.

It turned out pretty good. Its a low-fat recipe and I was stingy with the olive oil. I'm sure a more creamy result may be achieved with a. More olive oil, b. Tahini. I've been using it as a dip, to serve with crackers and such. Quite honestly, this is a healthy hummus, one that is good to have handy when making wraps and sandwiches for self. It will not win me any adoring fans at a potluck, but thats what the Sangria is for! Enjoy!



Links:
1. Original recipe for Spanish Sangria
2. Original recipe for Red Bell Pepper Hummus

Comments

FH said…
Red bell pepper Hummus is great,I always see the brown uninteresting Hummus! Delish.
And Sangria..slurp...!:)
Saju said…
both recipes are so tempting, a glass of sangria, hummus and pita bread would be a lovely supper
Lata said…
Actually I tasted this hummus somewhere and it tasted awesome. I never tried it at home though, thanks for the recipe.
Manasi said…
Wow, Sangrai is seductive, all right!!!!
Unknown said…
Bah! You've reminded me that drinking plenty of sangria is the one thing I told myself to do while in Spain. Needless to say, I forgot!
bee said…
both look luscious. enjoy them!
TheCooker said…
'judicious sipping at regular intervals' is essential part of the sangria making process!
Great picture.
Anonymous said…
The pic of the Sangria is too good. It must be tasting wonderful too!!!
It looks like a perfect choice to beat the heat off!!!
Suganya said…
I am gonna try that hummus. Sounds great. Did you pan roast the bell peppers?
ServesYouRight said…
OMG - thrilled to bits to have y'all stop by!! Hopefully you've all gotten my replies at your blogs. Keep those posts coming!!

Cheers,

Smita

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