georges' blog

2 cups chickpeas (cooked)
5 Tbs tahina
6 Tbs lemon juice
3 cloves garlic (pressed/crushed)
1/2 Tbs cumin powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper (optional)
2 Tbs olive oil

Mix and grind together the chickpeas, tahina, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, salt, and white pepper in a mortar until it is smooth as you like. Transfer to a serving dish. Smooth and swirl the top of the hummus as you like. Cover with the olive oil and garnish with paprika or parsley or whatever. Serve cool.

Just FYI, hummus means chickpeas in Arabic. Where you get your chickpeas is your business. You can cook them yourself from dry or just use a can. If you use cooked chickpeas, let them cool before using then. Hummus is not meant to be served hot.

Also FYI, tahina means ground as in with a mortar or mill. In this case, it refers to ground sesame seeds. Tahina is bit like peanut butter, but made with sesame seeds instead of peanuts. You can get it at most health food stores or Mediterranean/import deli/markets. You’ll want to stir it up before using, because like natural peanut butter, it will separate if it sits.

I’m sure you could use a blender or a food processor. The hummus in the Middle East tends to be very smooth. It is also heavy on the tahina. And I’m fine with that, however, when I make it myself, I like it a bit more “organic.” So, I like to use a mortar even though it is more work.

Generally hummus is eaten by scooping it up with pieces of warm pita bread. For a real treat, cut pitas into tortilla chip sized pieces and toast in the oven until crisp. For a healthy alternative, you can also eat hummus with slices of cucumber, carrot, and celery.

1 lb lean ground beef (turkey or chicken)
1 clove garlic
1 tbs sweet basil flakes
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 can of tomatoes (or 2 cups fresh tomatoes diced)
1 12 oz. can of tomato paste
2 cups water
2 tbs minced onion flakes (or like half an onion diced)
1/2 tsp Oregano

14 lasagna noodles
3 cups Ricotta or low fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Roman cheese
2 tbs parsley flakes
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lb Mozzarella cheese, grated

Brown meat, add the remaining top ingredients. Simmer uncovered 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Cook the noodles in a large amount of boiling water. You can salt it and add oil, per your personal superstitions. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Combine the remaining ingredients except the Mozzarella cheese in a bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Using half of the cooked noodles or whatever is necessary, cover the bottom of a 13X9X2 inch baking dish. Overlap the noodles slightly. Spread half of the cottage/Ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles, thoroughly covering the noodles. Reserve a bit of the Mozzarella cheese to garnish, otherwise sprinkle half the Mozzarella cheese over the cottage/Ricotta cheese mixture. Spread half the meat sauce over the Mozzarella cheese layer. Repeat the layers: noodles, cottage/Ricotta cheese, Mozzarella cheese, meat sauce. Sprinkle the reserved Mozzarella cheese over the whole thing for visual effect.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes to allow filling to set before cutting into servings.

This is the recipe for my father’s legendary lasagna. It is among his greatest, most treasured, and most enduring legacies. I have made only a very few modifications to it to suit my personal tastes and philosophies. Ultimately the spirit of my father’s lasagna is fully preserved. The thing that distinguishes this lasagna from most others is that the final product stands up nicely and is not at all runny. I can’t stand runny lasagna.

I like to use fresh ingredients when ever possible. So I will use fresh tomatoes when I make it. They really require no special preparation, you don’t even need to peel them. Just dice them into chunks and throw them entirely… juices, seeds, and peels… into the skillet. They will cook well enough during the simmering time. I also like to use fresh onion. I don’t really believe that there is such a thing as too much onion, but half a fresh onion will probably be enough for most people. I dice it into relative small pieces and cook it with the meat as it is browning. Similarly I don’t believe there is such a thing as too much garlic or oregano. The measurements given are just starting points. I probably use double. Also I use a garlic press. Some people might have lengthly reasons why they dice rather than press or vice versa, but I have better things to do with my time than dicing garlic. Besides, that garlic smell lingers on your hands if you dice it. If you prefer to take a healthier direction with the lasagna, as I do, you will want to substitute low fat cottage cheese and lean ground turkey or chicken. I cannot say that these changes do not alter the final taste of the dish, but in the end it will still taste fantastic. Oh and not runny.

4 cups wine
2/3 cups fresh sqeezed orange juice
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup sugar
fruit slices to garnish

Fill a large pitcher with ice cubes. Add wine, orange juice, lime juice and sugar. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Garnish with slices of orange, lime, or apples.

I’ve always felt that sangria was just a way to serve up cheap wine. Well that is not necessarily the case. I use non-alcoholic wine so everyone can enjoy a glass. And non-alcoholic wine is generally not cheap. Some people recommend using a dry red wine. I’ve tried it with a variety of wines, and bottom-line is that they’re all good.

2 cups cold water
1 cups ice
2 cups fruit (cut into 1 inch pieces)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbs fresh lime juice (1 lime makes about 2 tbs)

In a blender combine all the ingredients and blend on high until completely smooth. Pour through a fine sieve into a pitcher. Adjust sugar to taste. We actually put in a bit more than a 1/4 cup, but less than 1/3 cup. Also, garnishing with fresh mint is nice.

You can use just about any kind of fruit to make this drink. We like to use watermelon. This is an especially good use for a “bad” watermelon. When I say bad, I don’t mean rotten. But you know how you sometimes get a watermelon and it is too white or grainy. Well rather than throwing it we redeem the thing by turning it into a delicious and refreshing beverage.

Ingredients:

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups cold water
ice cubes
lemon slices

Combine lemon juice, sugar, water, and ice in a large pitcher. Stir. Garnish with lemon slices. Enjoy in a tall glass over ice.

You can add more or less sugar to taste. I’ve seen similar recipes with as much as a cup of sugar, others with half a cup. I’ll tell you right now half a cup is too little. Unless you like to make that sour lemon face. Some people make a big deal about disolving the sugar in the lemon juice first and then adding the other ingedients. I think that’s nuts. It all disolves eventually.

There are a bunch of recipes based on making a lemon syrup by simmering the lemon juice with the sugar. But the whole idea of cooking the lemon juice just doesn’t say fresh to me.