Red pepper hummus, and quinoa with purple kale

Thank you for your well wishes regarding my migraine, general 'wrongness', and overall finish to last week. I am pleased to say that the weekend brought happier times and this week things have been smoother - and migraine free.

The red pepper hummus featured today wasn't made last weekend, but it was a happy contributor to the one before. It stems from Mel's generous gift package including more than just liquid smoke. Her smoky paprika and chile chipotle powder are both new additions to my kitchen, and I suspect my experimentation with them will continue for some time yet.

Red pepper hummus - note the scrap of paper which allows me to tell you what I put in it...

My first 'experiment' was to add some of each powder to a bowl of chickpeas and vegetables. I realised afterwards that Johanna's kale and chickpea bowl on Green Gourmet Giraffe featured cayenne pepper (chilli pepper), and I may have benefited from modelling my ingredients on hers. She used a pinch of cayenne pepper, whereas I used a very generous dash of both the smoky paprika and the chile chipotle powder. This is how I discovered that chile chipotle powder is spicy! For some reason it hadn't dawned on me that it was actual, smoked jalapeño chilli, with all the heat that brings. It was an enjoyable bowl, but a warm one...

After this impromptu creation, I was a little more cautious. I was still stuck on chickpeas, though, and red pepper hummus seemed like a good way to bring together the chickpeas with modest chilli tones. There are a few sources of inspiration out there if you want to make a red pepper hummus of your own - I did recall Johanna's version this time around, as well as Angela's recipe on Oh She Glows, and a Google search brings up many more varieties.

My hummus probably drew inspiration from all of these places, but didn't follow one particular recipe. It included half of a large roasted pepper and just one-quarter teaspoon of the chile chipotle power, as well as half a teaspoon of smoky paprika. It worked well and I really enjoyed the twist on regular hummus, as well as the colour of the dip. However, I think my caution may have led me to over-compensate and under-season, just slightly. I would probably increase the spice again next time, particularly for the paprika.

I enjoyed this dip as a dip, but something about it called 'quinoa'. I don't know why. My tastebuds just wanted it to be placed on top of a pile of grains and vegetables, and I was quite happy to indulge them. This also gave me an opportunity to use the purple kale I had discovered. After not having any kale for months and months, my local markets now seem to have it in green and purple varieties, much to my delight. 

The quinoa mix was simple, with nothing more than quinoa, vegetable stock and vegetables, but it provided a perfect base for the smoky dip. My taste buds were happy. It was a great dinner for one (quinoa and chilli and kale aren't really Mr Bite's sorts of foods...) and very enjoyable to take to work for lunch.

And if you happened to have some of those smoky almonds? Throw a few of them in too. Highly recommended.

Red pepper hummus with a dash of smoke and spice, served with quinoa with purple kale

Red pepper hummus

With inspiration from Johanna's smoky red pepper hummus and Angela's ultra creamy red pepper hummus

Makes about 1 cup

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Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (1 tin) cooked chickpeas, drained

1 small or 1/2 large red pepper, roasted or grilled and then cooled (I grilled mine as part of dinner preparations the evening before, in medium slices for 6 - 8 minutes on each side)

1/2 - 1 tsp smoky paprika

1/4 - 1/2 tsp chile chipotle powder

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp maple syrup

Dash of salt and pepper

Method

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Note. I used the lower end of the ingredient ranges for the paprika and chipotle powder, but would increase them in future.

Quinoa with purple kale

Makes 2 serves

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Ingredients

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 cup vegetable stock

1 small or 1/2 large red pepper, diced

1/2 large zucchini, diced

4 leaves kale, roughly chopped

Method

Place the quinoa and vegetable stock in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add the vegetables and cook on low heat for a further 5 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just cooked and the quinoa is fluffly.

Serve as a side dish or topped with red pepper hummus and optional almonds.

Seriously, wonderfully, brilliantly good.

As for the rest of the hummus? It's been a versatile dip, and I've enjoyed it in a number of ways - one of the more notable being as a zucchini stack.

I am definitely fond of these new spice additions to my cupboard.

How do you like to use dips - for dipping, or as part of meals? And have you ever caught yourself out with spice quantities?!

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Liquid smoke, tofu bacon, smoky roast almonds - and a thank you

Sometimes, things happen that make life (and people) seem really, truly, genuinely nice. Things that restore my faith in the world and which make the days seem brighter.

I was fortunate enough to have this experience a couple of weeks ago, when Mel from Veganise This! emailed and offered to send me some liquid smoke. As you may recall, I omitted liquid smoke when I made her tofu bacon last month, as it seems to Just Not Exist in Perth.

I had figured that liquid smoke may cross my path one day, somewhere in the future, and had resigned myself to not experiencing it until that time. Thus, I was really touched by, and grateful for, Mel's offer.

When her package arrived, I got to experience that gratitude all over again. You see, not only did Mel send liquid smoke, she also enclosed smoked paprika, chile chipotle powder, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. 

It felt like Christmas, only better, by virtue of it being a surprise.

The first thing I wanted to do was make tofu bacon again, this time with liquid smoke. I followed Mel's recipe exactly, with the exception of marinating the tofu for only 2 hours, as I put this together after work. Johanna has noted that shorter marinating times work for her and it does help if you decide you want tofu bacon on short notice.

I also grilled the tofu this time, in contrast to the pan-based stir frying I did previously. Some pieces were a bit chunkier than they might have been, and I found they were crisper if cut thinner (as Mel notes and recommends in her original post), so I will pay more attention to my slicing in future!

I wanted to really taste the tofu, so I used the slices to make wraps, along with grilled red pepper (coated in the leftover tofu bacon marinade) and baby spinach leaves.

The flavours really were smoky. There is no other way to describe them! Deliciously, amazingly smoky. I kept taking extra bites of the tofu with a sort of wonderment. It truly is a wonderful way to prepare tofu.

The grilling method worked well for this meal, but I am looking forward to trying the stir fry approach again too. I felt like that gave slightly crisper results (although that may also reflect the difference in the size of the tofu pieces) and I think I will have fun adding this to all manner of meals.

First, though, I want to talk about another way to use liquid smoke.

Smoky roast almonds.

These were made with a serious nod to the tofu bacon marinade ingredients, with the coating including maple syrup, soy sauce, liquid smoke and nutritional yeast.

I rarely eat roast nuts of any form, and have never made my own. However, on the basis of this one batch, I am now a convert.

The flavours are intricate, deep, and with plenty of smokiness. This is offset with a little sweetness and a little saltiness, giving an amazing umami  experience. They made my taste buds glow with happiness. 

I recommend them. Wholeheartedly.

Smoky roast almonds

Inspired by Mel's tofu bacon
Makes 1 cup

Easy, delicious, and guarranteed to leave your kitchen smelling smoky - in a good way

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp nutritional yeast

Method

Preheat your oven to 175'C and line an oven tray with baking paper.

Combine the marinade ingredients (maple syrup, soy sauce, liquid smoke and nutritional yeast) in a medium bowl, and whisk with a fork to combine.

Add the almonds to the bowl and toss to coat. Then pour the almonds and extra marinade on to the baking tray. Use a spoon to spread the almonds out.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, checking at the 10 minute and 20 minute marks. The nuts will be golden when done, and the marinade will have set.

Mel, thank you again for lifting my day (and week, and month) with your generosity, and for allowing me to experience the wonder of liquid smoke!

What has made your kitchen sing recently? 
And have you tried liquid smoke - any other suggestions for how I should try it out?

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