Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

A Twist with Hummus ~ Homemade Wheat Thins

I had one more butternut squash to use, and decided to make a recipe that is in one of my Root Cellar books.

Warning:  long blog post again (sorry)


Hubby and I took a road trip Sunday, and I took along my Root Cellar book.  He is motivated more now that ever to get things done around here.

Why?


Well, he put down a payment on his new motorcycle.  The plan is to go pick it up soon, when the weather is more conducive to riding it home.  He's a pretty happy man right now.  He even bought me a helmet.  I just need boots, but that can wait. 



Back to the recipe.  I found a butternut/onion/hummus recipe in the this book:

So I made it.  Monday was a long day in the kitchen.

You roast about 3 cups of butternut squash, along with garlic and onion.  Oh, and some olive oil.  The recipe states  "cloves of garlic" so I chopped them.  Not sure if I should have left them whole or not.  You let that cool, add some chickpeas, lemon juice and olive oil.  I had organic canned chickpeas, so I used two cans and rinsed and drained them.  You can use cooked chickpeas too (2 cups).

I tasted it and really didn't think it had the garlic taste I like with traditional hummus (using Tahini).  I ended up adding more minced garlic, then mixed it up again in the food processor.

The family love it.  I loved it.  I am so thrilled I found another reason for Hubby to dig that root cellar.  When I told him the hummus was from a butternut squash I could store in a root cellar, vs. buying expensive Tahini (which he can never locate in stores and gets upset I asked him to pick it up), he was shocked.

I had to put it into two containers so we could all share, but it was quickly gobbled up.  I bet it would make a nice sandwich spread too.  And to think you get your vegetables in it, and less fat.



That's not all I did in the kitchen.  Surprisingly, along with vacuuming, laundry (etc.), I whipped up a batch of homemade wheat thins to go with that delicious hummus.  The dough is a bit sticky, so I have extra flour on hand when I roll it.  So far, the extra flour has never hindered my cracker results.



I am sharing photos in case you have never made them.  I roll small bits at a time, because I roll them very thin.  I use long metal spatulas to move the dough to the parchment lined baking sheets.



I then use my pizza slicer, and cut the crackers.  I don't even sprinkle extra salt or prick the crackers.  I just put it right in the oven.  I rotate the pan half way through the baking time.



I let the baking sheet sit a few minutes before dumping the crackers into a container.  I reuse the parchment for the next batch, while another is baking.   I should really weigh or count these, but I get a good amount of them.   Even rolling these very thin, they do not break when we dip the hummus.



I got some more organic dandelion greens blanched and in the freezer.  By blanching, these taste delicious in my breakfast, and do not have that bitter taste.



And lastly, I made a batch of homemade  Thousand Island dressing for our salads.  This also tastes great on a grilled burger with bacon and jalapenos. 

7 comments:

Kim said...

Great recipe!

Susan said...

I've been keeping my eyes open for dandelion greens - now that the snow is gone (for now) and we've had a spell of rain, I'm hoping they will start popping up. That hummus recipe sounds wonderful - but a lot of work!

Mama Pea said...

You might not want to mention this to your hubby (the root cellar builder), but I find squash keeps much better NOT in the root cellar because there's too much humidity there and the temp is too cool and the squash tend to mold. I keep our squash, onions and garlic on lower shelves of a rack in our basement which stays about 52 degrees all winter. Occasionally, depending on the weather, we have to put on a dehumidifier in the basement when it gets a little damp.

Your husband found a motorcycle! Yay, I was hoping that would happen. Just in time for good riding weather. Vroom-vroom, off you go!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Kim!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Susan, yes the hummus was more work, but way less fat and more veggies. I'm really trying to watch that now that I'll be riding on the back of a motorcycle (ha ha!). I see a few dandelions up today, so I'm watching too. I need some flowers for a new recipe.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Mama Pea, I wondered about squash. I will be asking for advice once it's done. I think we are going to go with a dirt floor, block walls, etc. It will be big enough for a storm shelter too.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Mama Pea, ha ha! Forgot to mention, yes he found a motorcycle, and he is the happiest man in town. He has waited so long for this moment. The weather isn't great to ride it home, so we'll wait a week or so (if he can wait that long, ha ha!)