Living Recipes - hummus, wraps, and walnut cream

Winter still has a grip around here!  The low temperature was in the teens last night and is expected to not get above freezing today.  While we wait for the warm weather to return and thaw the soil for Spring planting, we're making use of the dehydrated and frozen produce we harvested last Fall for such a time as this.  

The first recipe I want to share with you today is a rendition of hummus using zucchini that (we think) is better than the bean version.  We usually make use of the fresh zuchinni from our garden, but today I'll be using zuchinni from our freezer.  I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I'm very pleased with the results! 

Zucchini Hummus:

2 cups zucchini, chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup tahini

1 tsp. sea salt

2 Tbsp. parsley leaves, chopped

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Process all in a food processor until well blended. This is a wonderful filling for lettuce or cabbage wraps!

We use the leaves of swiss chard, cabbage and romaine lettuce as a substitute for bread.  It's fun to experiment ways to fill the wrap!  It always make a pretty presentation, making even the simplest lunch seem special.

When the swiss chard is in full swing, I'll rub each washed leaf with lemon juice and sea salt and stack in a covered casserole dish in the fridge, ready to be used through out the week.  Today, I'll be using store-bought romaine lettuce leaves (I miss Summer!).

First, cut the lower third out of the spine of the washed leaf.

Next, firmly roll a glass jar or rolling pin down the center of the spine.  This breaks down the cellular structure and will ease the wrapping of the leaf.

Fill the wrap with hummus or some other creamy spread.  Layer with cucumbers, peppers, avocado, sprouts, etc.  Be creative!

Roll the leaf tightly and cut down the center.

Serve with organic tamari sauce for added "zing".

We aren't milking any of our goats right now; we're letting them take a break before they have their babies this Spring.  It's always a struggle this time of year - we refuse to buy store-bought milk.  We've tried soy milk and rice milk, but have a difficult time finding any that isn't genetically modified (another no-no in this household).  Almond milk is a good alternative, but can be expensive.  While pondering our milk-less-ness, we recently stumbled upon another alternative that was right under our noses this whole time!  WALNUTS!  We have an English walnut tree that drops it's load by the buckets every Autumn. 

This nut-milk recipe will work with just about any nut you would normally consume, so you can make adjustments depending on the nuts you have available.  Be sure to soak the nuts in filtered water for about 8 hours and then drain off the soaking water before making the milk.

 Luscious Walnut Milk

2 cups soaked and drained walnuts

2 cups filtered water

2 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbsp. honey

1/2 tsp. sea salt

Blend together until smooth and creamy. 

Strain the milk into a cheesecloth lined bowl.

Squeeze out any excess liquid....

Mmmmm....all we need are some carob coconut cookies!

WAIT!!! Don't throw out the leftover walnut pulp!  With a few more ingredients and a few more turns with the blender, you'll have a luscious whipped cream that is better than we ever imagined whipped cream could be!

Luscious Whipped Cream:

2 cups walnut pulp

3 Tbsp. raw coconut oil, gently melted

2 tsp. vanilla

1 Tbsp. honey 

Walnut milk, as needed

Whip together in the blender, adding walnut milk to reach the right consistency of whipped cream.  

You won't believe how wonderful this cream tastes! 

That's it for now.  Tomorrow I'll be featuring several smoothie recipes that we've found to be easy and packed full of energy.  Later, I'll share our system for sprouting seeds and making sprouted bread and crackers.  

May you be blessed today!