Garlicky Hummus

A tasty hummus recipe that's easy to whip up in your blender or food processor. Bonus: WAY cheaper than store bought and yummier too!

What you need:

2 heads of garlic, roasted (you can reduce this if you aren't a huge garlic lover, but roasting makes the flavor much more mild, so it isn't quite as excessive as it seems)

         NOTE: To roast, simply snip off the very top of the heads to slightly reveal the cloves within.  Drizzle or spray with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes, or until completely softened.

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2-3 tablespoons tahini

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Small handful sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1/2-1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons garlic powder 

Water (or more oil)

Add chickpeas, garlic, tahini, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, jalapeno, salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic powder to blender or food processor.  Drizzle in the water (or olive oil, for a more traditional, but fattier recipe) until it blends smoothly but is still thick.

I served it with a big dollop of chile garlic hot pepper sauce in the center.  Try the same yourself or enjoy how it it is with some chips, bread, or baby carrots and cucumber if you're like me!

Goat Curry

Goat curry is a traditional Saban dish and ever since I came here, I've been wanting to give it a try.  I finally got a hold of some local goat- here's what I came up with!  It was delicious.  And the bones really make you have to work for your food.  This will make a lot, so you may want to cut it in half.  I just wanted to go ahead and use all of the meat I bought since I already defrosted it.

What you need:

5-6 pounds bone-in goat meat, chopped into pieces
Vinegar
Jamaican curry powder- a lot of it, probably 1/4-1/3 cup in all

3 cups EACH chopped pumpkin and carrots
1 large onion, chopped
2/3 cup chopped hot peppers (find something with about the same heat as jalapenos, or maybe a little milder)
2 tablespoons red curry paste
2 tablespoons Sambal Badjak (an Indonesian chilli paste)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Ketjap Manis
1 cup coconut milk
4 + cups water
32 ounces stewed or diced tomatoes

Start by washing the goat meat and rinsing with vinegar.  Season with curry powder until you lightly covered all of the meat.  Place in the refrigerator and let sit for a while- a did 8 or so hours.

Grease one HUGE pot or two fairly large pots and heat on high.  From now on out, if you are using the two pots (which is what I did, because I don't have one that is big enough on its own), just throw half of the ingredients listed into one pot and the other half into the other).

Add goat to the pans and sear, tossing every few minutes to make sure all sides are seared.  If everything is sticking too much after a few minutes of this, add a splash of water to the pan and scrape up the browned bits. Then add the carrots, pumpkin, onion, and peppers, curry paste, Sambal Badjak, garlic, and Ketjap Manis. Brown this a bit, stirring every minute or so.  Add the cup of coconut milk,4 cups water, and canned tomatoes.  Turn heat to low, cover partially, and simmer for a couple of hours.  Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and add water as necessary.  Season with additional curry powder, garlic, or Ketjap Manis if it still needs a little something at the end.  If you're looking for an extra kick, add some Matouk's hot pepper sauce or calypso sauce.

I served it with naan bread for my boyfriend and just with a salad for myself.  Yum!  Rice would also be a good accompaniment.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Coconut (and lots of veggies) Chicken Curry

I just finished eating this, and am trying to do this post as soon as possible to try to get things accurate.  Even so, this post is going to be a lot of estimation and open to a lot of personal interpretation.  Also, I'm still sweating from eating it, so if you don't like spicy, you'll want to cut the heat.

What you need:

1 pound of chicken cutlets of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil spray
Splash of white wine
1 large onion
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2- 2/3 cup roughly chopped Fresno peppers or jalapeno peppers (reduce this or use milder peppers to cut back on the heat)
1-2 teaspoons soy sauce or Ketjap Manis
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
3/4 cup to 1 cup cooked pumpkin (I used canned because that's what I had)
1/2-1 cup coconut milk
1 can chicken broth (or equivalent water and chicken bouillon)
1 can diced or stewed tomatoes


Start by cutting the chicken into 1 and a half inch chunks.  Toss in a bowl with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (I used about a teaspoon of salt, a couple teaspoons of pepper, and a couple teaspoons garlic powder).  Heat a large pot greased with the olive oil spray on high.  Throw chicken in the pan and sear, stirring every couple of minutes to make sure all sides are browned.  Toss a splash of wine in the pan to loosen up the browned stuff at the bottom of the pot.  Dump chicken into a bowl (it does not need to be cooked through at this point, just browned).  Place pot back on stove, grease again, and add the onion, ginger, garlic, hot peppers, eggplant, soy sauce, and curry paste.  Saute until slightly browned and slightly softened, then add the bell pepper and the chicken.  After a couple minutes, add the coconut milk, pumpkin, chicken broth, and tomatoes.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

After tasting, if you think it needs something more, try fish sauce, more soy sauce or Ketjap Manis, or some Sambal Badjak (type of chili-based sauce used in Indonesian cooking).

I served it over a bed of lettuce for me and rice for my boyfriend.  Topped it off with a cilantro-mint sauce I made.  Yum!