Step by Step Easy Hummus Dip

Easy Hummus Dip with drained chickpeas, lemon juice, lemon zest,
fresh garlic, tahini, olive oil, salt & pepper.

Now that the summer season has finally arrived here in Alberta, like many of you, I've found myself attending various work functions, BBQs and visits with friends. One of my favourite things to bring is a flavourful, yet easy to made hummus dip. I've found that this hummus dip works great when you're trying to come up with meal ideas for a potluck or work function. 

Creamy hummus dip

Hummus Ingredients

• 1 can of chick peas drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup of tahini (tahini paste)
• Juice of 1 lemon & zest
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• sea salt to taste
• freshly ground pepper to taste

kitchen equipment needed: food processor or blender, strainer

Directions

1. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas and then place into the food processor.
2. Zest the lemon, then set aside.
3. Juice the lemon.
4. Add the tahini, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic cloves, olive oil, salt & pepper (to taste) to the chickpeas in the food processor.
5. Puree until it is smooth. It should look creamy.
6. Add more olive oil, salt & pepper as needed.

This hummus dip makes about 2 cups. Typically, I bring one cup to the function I'm attending and save the other cup at home in the fridge.

This hummus dip is super creamy and has a decent garlic flavour balanced with the lemon along with a hint of tahini. Tastes great along side home made pita chips (brushing olive oil on pita bread cut into wedges & baked) or if in a rush grab a bag of sea salt chips from the local store. Feel free to adjust the lemon, tahini or garlic amounts to your tastes.

Lastly, if you end up with leftover hummus dip use it to make baked hummus chicken! I will certainly blog about this the next time I make it, as it was a last minute inspiration (see below). Not only does baked hummus chicken tastes similar to baked chicken made with panko or bread crumbs, but it's gluten free! Pat dry the chicken, then slather on the hummus. Bake the hummus encrusted chicken at 375F for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Gluten free oven roasted hummus crusted chicken

Smashing Good Time at Smashburger - Sherwood Park

Smashburger opened July 3, 2013 in Sherwood Park

On July 2, we were invited to preview Smashburger in Sherwood Park before it opened for the public on July 3. Smashburger is originally from Denver, and this Smashburger location in Sherwood Park is Smashburger's third opening in Alberta; with its first two in Calgary. While Dan & I were waiting for our friends to arrive, we ended up meeting Scott Crane (President) and Greg Creighton (COO) which was pretty neat to say the least. They mentioned that they had recently opened a Smashburger in Kuwait, and were currently in town for the opening in Sherwood Park.

So, you are probably wondering, what makes Smashburger different then others? First off, Smashburger wants to give you a "better burger" experience. All of their burgers are made fresh from 100 per cent never frozen Certified Angus Beef smashed on a 400 degree flat grill. For the restaurants in Alberta, they hope to have a menu that is regional - such as having an Edmonton Smashburger, Edmonton Smashchicken and Saskatoon Berry shakes.


There is the option of creating your own burger, but most of the signature choices or classics had what we wanted. We ended up ordering 4 burgers and almost all options of sides possible. They weren't ready with the fried pickles yet; so maybe sometime in the future you will see them at this location.

In order to truly test the flavours of each burger, we split each burger up. Of the burgers we ordered, I enjoyed the Classic Smash and the Avocado Club. The meat in both retained its juice and went well with the rest of the condiments - ketchup, lettuce, tomatoes etc.. on the Classic Smash and avocado, bacon, tomato and ranch dressing on the Avocado Club.

Avocado Club: fresh avocado, applewood-smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, ranch
dressing & mayo on a multi-grain bun (reg size- $6.99). Veggie frites on the side ($3.99)

Classic Smash - cheese, smash sauce, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, 
pickles, onions all on an egg bun ($5.99) with smashfries ($2.49)

While the meat is certainly prepared the same way on each burger, the meat on the BBQ, Bacon & Cheddar seemed to be a tad dry and comparatively more salty in comparison to the other two burgers. I'm thinking that the dryness and saltiness likely came from the combination of the cheddar, bacon, and haystack onions. There were also samples of Smashburger's delectable shakes going around so those went quite nicely with the burgers. 

BBQ, Bacon & Cheddar: BBQ sauce, applewood smoked bacon, cheddar and
haystack onions on an egg bun ($6.99) with sweet potato fries ($2.99).

Last but not least was Dan's Spicy Baja burger. Definitely packed a punch for me. However, Dan felt that it was the perfect burger for him: juicy, good balance of guacomole to spice content and flavourful.

The spicy one- Spicy Baja - fresh Jalapeños, guacomole, pepper jack, lettuce,
tomato, onion, chipotle mayo on a spicy chipotle bun ($6.99) with smashfries ($2.49). 

Now for the sides. The winner of the night at our table was most definitely the sweet potato fries (pictured above with the BBQ, Bacon & Cheddar sandwich). Perfect crunch, not too much oil or salt. It also stayed crispy while we dined. The next favourite was the classic smashfries. Like most people have mentioned, the addition of rosemary, olive oil and garlic are a perfect combination. We also had the poutine. Like all classic poutines there was a good balance of cheese curds to gravy. Unfortunately, the gravy and the salt on the fries, made this particular side rather salty.

Canadian themed pictures up on the wall at Smashburger

Last but not least, were the delicious shakes. We didn't get a chance to try their full sized shakes, but of the flavours we tried - strawberry, vanilla and saskatoon berry we all enjoyed the strawberry and saskatoon berry shake. When asked what kind of ice cream they are made with, the owner said that he decided to use Nestle (the sister company of Haagen-Dazs). The Saskatoon Berry Milkshake was really tasty and was made with real saskatoon berries which made it a bit difficult to drink with the regular-sized straw we were provided (we got around this by simply drinking the shake from the cup).

Overall, everyone had a good meal at Smashburger in Sherwood Park. I would definitely go back if I was in the area. Hopefully there will be plans for a Smashburger in Edmonton in the future as that would make it way more accessible the next time I'm craving a fresh burger.

If you're wanting a chance to try out Smashburger you can find it at #535 5000 Emerald Drive, Sherwood Park AB. Truthfully, finding it at first can be tricky. Since I'm a visual person, this Smashburger location is in a small food complex across from the Winners and Bulk Barn.  

You can also a look at these other reviews from fellow food bloggers to see what they thought of their Smashburger experience:

What Would Argenplath Pay
Baconhound 
Little Miss Andrea
Mr. Moo's Adventures

Smashburger 
535-5000 Emerald Drive
Sherwood Park, AB
menu: http://smashburger.com/menu/edmonton/

My Homemade Thin Pizza Crust Recipe - Step by Step

Homemade pesto, bocconcini, tomatoes and mortadella on a thin pizza crust. 

I've had lots of questions about our homemade pizzas. Making homemade pizzas are much easier then you think. Plus, the benefits are amazing! The pizza recipe that we use yields a nice thin pizza crust and is crispy. As for the base of the pizza I use either a red tomato sauce base, a pesto, or a simple fried garlic and olive oil. As for toppings anything is possible! Some days my topping inspirations come from whatever pizza-like ingredients that are in the fridge; which means some sort of cheese, cold cuts, and a veggie or two. Other days, we actually have leftovers on our pizzas! I know, this sounds interesting but having stir-frys, barbecued pork, steak etc.. from last night's dinner and topping it with cheese is completely fine in my books! When we have guests over, we tend to make pizzas with traditional ingredients.

What are some pizza toppings that you enjoy on your pizzas? 

Thin Crust Pizza Dough (makes 2 medium sized thin crust pizzas)

Preparation Time: 1.5 to 2 hours

Ingredients

• 1  1/4 Cups of lukewarm water
• 1  1/2 Teaspoons of fast rising yeast
• 1 Tablespoon of honey
• 2  3/4 Cups of all purpose flour
• 1 Teaspoon of salt
• 2 Teaspoons olive oil
• Corn meal to cover baking surface

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine water and honey evenly then stir in yeast. Let stand until frothy, for about 5 minutes. (I place mine in the microwave as it is free from drafts). 
2. In a different bowl, mix the flour, salt and oil. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add the yeast mixture and mix until a soft ball is obtained. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead for a few minutes while flouring to avoid sticking to work surface.
3. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour in a slightly warm area, away from drafts.
4. Divide the pizza dough into two equal parts to make 2 pizzas.
5. You can use the dough immediately or lightly oil before storing in a plastic bag. It can be refrigerated up to 12 hours or frozen. 
6. Preheat your oven to 240C to 260C degrees (460F - 500F)
7. You don't need to pre-bake your dough. Stretch and roll out the dough to however thick or thin you like. 
8. Sprinkle corn meal on a sheet of parchment paper large enough for your pizza. 
9. Place your stretched out pizza dough on top of the corn meal (see notes)
10. Add your preferred base sauce (pesto, garlic oil, etc..) and the pizza toppings.
11. Bake the pizza (which is sitting on the parchment paper) at the lowest rack on a tray or on a pizza stone for around 15-20 minutes or until your crust is lightly browned. 

Notes: 

• To activate yeast, the temperature of the water and the honey is important. The temperature must be between 41C and 46C degrees (105F and 115F degrees), which means that the water must be heated a little. The liquids should not be too hot as this will kill the yeast and not too cold, as the dough will not rise.
• Corn meal prevents the pizza crust from sticking to the tray and turning the dough soggy. 
• I've found that using parchment paper makes it easier to transfer the pizza in and out of the oven. Less messy and sticky. 

Pictures of various pizza toppings that I've tried at home pictured below. Some of these were made with fellow food friends. 

Smoked Salmon, capers and arugala. For this pizza I find that placing the smoked salmon  & capers
after making is best. Squeeze some lemon juice on before serving. 

Artichoke, arugala, tomatoes and mozzarella. 

Tomato sauce based pizza with mozzarella, sopressata, mushrooms, garlic and chili flakes

Quebec cheese, black olives, anchovies, hot oil and capers

garlic olive oil base with bocconcini, roasted red peppers, artichokes, pancetta and pecorino

Dessert pizza: bananas & home-made nutella

There are so many more toppings you can have on your pizza! Have fun trying out classic and new pizzas.