
Tahini
Add 1 cup of sesame seeds into a dry fry pan and warm until the seeds become fragrant. Do not brown. Add the seeds to a small food processor. Blend until the seeds are chopped pretty good. Add 4 TBSP olive oil and puree a long time until the Tahini turns into a thick wet paste. It is almost like peanut butter but a little more fluid. It will be added to the hummus and the Baba Ganoush. Place into a container, cover and set aside.

Roasted Red Pepper and Jalapeno Hummus
Slice the four side off 2 red bell peppers. De-seed. Cut a jalapeño down the center and de-seed. Brush on olive oil and cook in the center rack at 450° oven, the bell pepper for 35 minutes skin side up and the jalapeño skin side up for 10 minutes. Let cool then remove the skin from both the pepper and the jalapeño. In a large food processor add the peppers, jalapeño, 1 can drain Garbanzo beans (Chick peas), 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp smoked paprika, ½ small lemon juice, ½ tsp cumin, 4 TBSP Tahini, pinch of cayenne and S&P. Chop into a thick rustic blend. Refrigerate a couple of hours before serving. The flavors need to meld.


Baba Ganoush (Roasted Eggplant)
Choose a male eggplant. Look for a round navel. The long thin navels are female and have too many seeds. Poke holes in the eggplant skin. Cut the eggplant in half long ways and place cut side down on a cookie sheet. Roast in a 450° oven 35 minutes. Scrape the eggplant meat into a large bowl and discard the skin. Add minced garlic and salt and with a potato masher mash the meat. Then add 1 TBSP lemon juice, 1 TBSP Tahini sauce, a dash of cayenne pepper and 1 TBSP olive oil. Taste and add more of what you think it needs. Take a whisk and whisk all together. Place in a covered container and refrigerate a couple of hours. The flavors need to meld.

Roasted Chicken Thigh
Trim the skin. Cut 2 slices into the skin side of the chicken perpendicular to the bone. This helps the chicken cook faster. Cook in oven at 450° for 1 hour. Remove and cool. Save the chicken juice for the Vinaigrette. When cool cut the chicken off the bone and into pieces to top the salad.

Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 6 TBSP olive oil
- 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
- 1 TBSP Dijon mustard
- 1 TBSP Worcestershire
- 1 TBSP honey
- Salt and Pepper
- Add the chicken juice
Add all ingredients in a bowl and whisk.
Brown Rice
Cook 1 cup of rice in a rice cooker, following the directions.
Saláta
- Canned corn drained or fresh
- Diced tomato
- Diced cucumber
- Spinach leaves with stalk removed
Assemble the Saláta
Add the brown rice, veggies, chicken, a spoon full of hummus and a spoon full of Baba Ganoush. Pour Vinaigrette onto the salad one TBSP at a time.
As of 3/19/23