Sweet Potato Hummus

FGWRC's Women's Night of Culture was last Thursday and it was fantastic. We had a great turn out at The Park Theatre and despite a few hitch's here and there, everything went really well. I even won a draw prize that had some very nice treats inside, including a 10-class pass to a near-by yoga studio and Great Tastes of Manitoba: Celebrating Delicious, Local Food put out by Food Manitoba. I haven't had a chance to use it yet but it's put together beautifully and looks like it will be fun to use. One of the great things about the layout of this book is that the cover is hard, but rather than a traditional book binding, it's bound with coil on the inside so you can lay it down flat without the pages flipping around.

This weeks box, picked up on Wednesday - before splitting with our box buddies (who have decided to stay in for a bit longer).

As usual, my cooking plans changed when I came down with a really bad cold that had me mostly bedridden on Friday. I've felt better the last couple of days - better being out of my housecoat and not sleeping for two hours in the afternoon - but still not great. I've been wanting to get outside and have some fun but I'm just not feeling up to it, so today I had a cooking day.

Hazelnut spread in the jars, Honey Spice Almonds (both from The Whole Kitchen), Sweet Potato Hummus, and Root Veggie Red Curry Soup (sweet potato, carrots, onion, garlic, kale, red pepper, broccoli, cauliflower).

I've been wanting to make homemade hazelnut spread for years but just never got around to it. We picked up some hazelnuts at the bulk store and I whipped it up in the food processor today. It was really really easy and tastes amazing. I've been making the Honey Spiced Almonds frequently since Jenn posted them. They're delicious and a great snack. They don't have any added oil, just a touch of honey and spice.

The sweet potato hummus was inspired by the one sold at Grass Roots Prairie Kitchen. We've picked it up a few times from The Forks but when sweet potatoes came in our Fresh Option Box this week I figured I'd give it a go. I think mine was probably less sweet potatoe-y and definitely more spicy but I really liked the way it came out. A touch of sweetness and nutmeg mixed in with the regular delicious hummus taste.

Sweet Potato Hummus

• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1 small sweet potato or 1/2 a medium/large (ours were quite small)
  
• 3-4 cloves garlic, depending on taste
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp tahini paste
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp nutmeg
  
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Peel and chop sweet potato into cubes and toss with a sprinkle of olive oil on cookie sheet. Roast for 15-20 minutes until tender. Let cool thoroughly when finished.

In a food processor or blender place all ingredients. Make sure sweet potato has cooled down enough. Turn on blender or processor until ingredients are well blended. I actually like pretty chunky hummus so I would even use a potato masher if I had to. Serve with veggies, pita chips, or for those of us eating gluten free, corn tortilla chips.

I had planned on posting a recipe for the soup, but it needs perfecting still. I think part of the problem is that I don't have good red curry. There's an asian grocery store right near my office so I think I'll stop in some time and pick up a quality red curry paste. It isn't spicy at all and just doesn't taste right. By the time I tried to make this soup I also had less sweet potatoes left than I had planned on using. It still tastes good but it needs more.

And lastly, our V-day dinner from last night.

Local MB sirloin tip roast beef from The Forks, gluten free yorkshire pudding, homemade gluten free gravy, sweet, yukon, and red chieftan potato mash, and lightly steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and kale tossed in salt, pepper, and butter.

Like The Carver's Knife, The Forks meat shop seems to focus mostly on local rather than additive free/humanely treated. But I had been too sick to go to Frigs like I had planned so this was the next best thing. I've never cooked yorkshire pudding or roast beef before but it went pretty well for the first time. I screwed up the yorkshire's a bit and they burned on the bottom and were too dense but still tasted just as good. The potatoes were fantastic again - I love the extra sweet potato taste. All in all, fantastic.

For dessert we had two gluten free cakes from Goodies bakery. I don't know about other people, but when I order chocolate cake at a restaurant I have this vision in my head of what it should taste like and I always feel like I'm left disappointed. But the cake from Goodies, despite being gluten free, is the best chocolate cake I've ever had. I urge you to give the GF diamond chocolate cake a try if you ever stop in.

Happy snacking!