Chip Dip. Nachos. Cheeze.

I'm not the biggest fan of stats.

All those numbers and variables and exactness. I don't like it. It's the opposite of cooking. Even if you screw up and add a T of cumin instead of a t (not a t-test, mind you), it will come out fine, mainly because, in my housemate Ana's words: "The more cumin, the better." You can improvise and still have a great result. You cannot do this in stats. Believe me, I tried. I have the exam grade to prove it. However, improvising culinarily can show 'great success' [/borat] in the end. This is my story.

Yesterday, I woke up late and decided to have, as my breakfast and lunch, 3 bowls of cereal. 2 bowls of Lucky Charms, and 1 bowl of Frosted Flakes. However, due to the lack of fiber (don't we love those sugar-loaded cereals? I certainly do), I was hungry again in about an hour. I was all cereal'd out and wanted something savory. I thought of something I had made last semester that was totally improvised--Pumpkin Black Bean TVP Enchilada Casserole. But I was out of TVP. And didn't have tortillas. What I had? Pumpkin, black beans, refried beans, onions, garlic, a can of tomatoes, green chiles, and tortilla chips. And spices, of course. I had no recipe. So, I attempted to make that same casserole, just without TVP.

I did not succeed at making an enchilada casserole.

What I did succeed at, however, was making a delicious chip dip. One reminiscent of my Aunt Ro's seven-layer dip with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, hormel chili (....), sour cream, and I really don't remember what the last 2 layers were. Scallions, maybe?

Anyway, Caligiuris were all over that whenever we went to Aunt Ro's. It was warm, it was creamy, it was gooey, it was cheesy (I'm such a poet). It was a classic. However, seeing as I cleaned a good 1/3rd of the 9x13" pan of the dip last night, I think this is on par with the Banks's 7-layer dip (it's not).

"Aunt Ro will you PLEEEASE make the magical 7-layer dip????"

Pumpkin Black Bean Green Chile Dip

note: ingredients are amounts are highly customizable--this is just what I used and liked

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 15oz. can pumpkin
• 4oz. can green chiles
• 15oz. can black beans
• 15oz. can fat-free refried beans
• 15oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes (feel free to add another if you want)
• 3 T cheeze sauce (optional, see mac & cheeze post)
• 1 c shredded cheese
• tortilla chips (I like the 'bite-size' ones from Tostito's)
• cumin
• chipotle chili powder
• paprika
• adobo seasoning
• salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. In a large pot, fry onion in some olive oil. Add garlic and spices; sauté until fragrant.
3. Add black beans, green chiles, and pumpkin. Add more spices.
4. Add refried beans, cheeze sauce, and 1/2 c shredded cheese. Stir.
5. Add fire-roasted tomatoes and stir. Let cook on low for a few minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
6. How you want to eat it is optional. I personally like to throw the chips in there or layer them and then scoop the chips&dip into a bowl and just eat it with a spoon. All about personal preference!
7. Bake for about 10 minutes, and then sprinkle on remaining 1/2 c cheese and bake for another 5-7 minutes.
8. Devour, and make again.

Really, it's quite good. And healthy. Pumpkin, beans, and tomatoes! No sour cream or dairy in this batch (unless you use dairy cheese). I used Daiya, of course. You can even omit the cheese and it'd be delicious, I'm sure. You can even omit the chips and just eat the dip with a spoon! I think I'll do that the next time I make it.

That entire pan was gone in less than a day. Granted, there are only 4 people in my house. I'm sure if you were at a party it'd be gone in about 7 minutes. Approximately.

Another alternative: midnight nachos!

"We killed TWICE that amount in under two minutes." -the lovely Debbie

Okay I've gotta go make a ton of baklava, falafel, and mjaddara for the kick-off to WeSJP's Palestine Awareness Week!!

Song of the Day-- gorgeous orchestral rendition of an awesome song in the Phoenix Wright series. I still don't understand how a game can be that amazing.

Recovery Link of the Day-- great article and great picture. "Don't let your mind bully your body."

Cheezily,

Carina

Hummus, Pizza Pockets, and a Whirlwind

It seems it's been a while since I last posted.

The last week or so has been a whirlwind of events. A good whirlwind, mind you (except for the fact that it seems to have destroyed my room). Classes were good, friends were visiting, games were played (intensely), food was consumed. Lots of it. The reason why I haven't posted in a while is because...well, I've been on a mac & cheeze kick. I've made it at least 7 times this last week, still trying to perfect the recipe. Which I did (recipe to come in a future post).

Another thing I did last week was finalize my summer plans. Half of them, anyway. All that remains is buying the plane ticket. See, I'll be in Lebanon from the end of May to mid-July. And I could not be more excited. Family, beaches, friends, margaritas, Lebanese food, arghile, and WARMTH--something I miss dearly on this dreary day, since April spoiled us last week.

Anyway, realizing that I had mac & cheez for lunch (...) I'm debating what to make for dinner, as I should probably have something different. I knew I wanted something with marinara sauce, but I was out of pasta. So I searched the fridge. Leftover cheez sauce, check. Marinara sauce, check. NaSoya wonton wrappers, check. (Pepperoni....unfortunately, not check.) So, what do these make?

Pizza pockets.

Delicious, crispy on the outside, molten-hot on the inside, pizza pockets. Those little pizza pockets we knew so well as children. I associate them with The Cluefinders game, as my mom would always microwave them for my brother and me while we played. Except in the microwave, it would always become kind of soggy, probably because they were frozen. Making them fresh and baking them instead seems to have solved this dilemma. I'll just be linking you to the recipe, since I didn't make any changes. It's from Dashing Dish, although it seems their website is under construction now. I hope I remember the recipe adequately enough.

"It's like my childhood is coming back to me..." -numerous people

Delicious as these are, I've only made them twice. A recipe that I have made easily more than 20 times, however, is a hummus recipe. A divine one. One that has converted hummus-haters to hummus-lovers. No, it is not traditional, but it is packed with flavor. The recipe is from Cara's Cravings, and since the recipe is perfect as it is, I'll just link you to it: Thai Peanut Pumpkin Hummus. So many ingredients that I love are in this hummus. Peanut butter, pumpkin, scallions, cilantro, chickpeas...the only thing missing is eggplant, really.

"Please make this hummus every day. EVERY. DAY." -my family

Anyway, I'm off to make my pizza pockets and eat this hummus (I made it yesterday. And the day before. That's how quickly it runs out). Enjoy the recipes!

Song of the Day-- Turnabout Jazz Soul- The Fragrance of Dark Coffee. This is a jazz rendition of the theme song of one of my favorite games: Phoenix Wright. I highly recommend you all play it. Assuming the majority of you don't have a DS, the first game is on the iPhone. Anyway, you can't really get classier than this song. Add some rainymood, or some real rain, and a glass of wine, and you've got yourself the classiest evening ever.

Recovery Quote of the Day-- "Not to spoil the ending for you, but everything is going to be okay." I should keep that in mind myself.

Listen to the song, remember the quote, and make the recipes (!).

With class,

Carina