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. Voilà!

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