Back to the Lowcountry

September 24, 2011

Chillin' with Radar in Goose Creek

The wedding of Rebecca Alderman and Kurt Infinger

Cypress Gardens, Moncks Corner, SC

Spinning wool dyed with indigo at the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

Cypress Gardens. Moncks Corner, SC

Charleston Tea Plantation, tea bushes

The Angel Oak. John's Island, SC

Yep, that's me, hugging a 300+ year old tree!

Thanks Dave for this picture!

Sigh. I miss South Carolina right now. I'm sure you have read about the significant change in my lifestyle, with concrete all around my feet, and roughly 2 square feet dedicated for gardening inside my apartment.....so it comes as no surprise that going to Charleston for a weekend caused a certain amount of homesickness.

It was a great weekend, homesick or not. I got to see many friends from the Animal Medical Clinic of Goose Creek, eat wedding cake, and even Miss Jerri from Hilton Head came up to Charleston to hang out with me!

I want to thank Dr. Janette Blackwood of Goose Creek (JB!), her husband Dave Zook, and their dog Radar for being excellent hosts. I had a great time with them exploring Charleston and the surrounding 'burbs that I did not know were in existence. They also made the pilgrimages with me to long-time favorite spots like Bojangles, Sesame Burger, and the Charleston Tea Plantation.

Janette also was gracious enough to let me hold her kitchen hostage and make home-made hummus for the covered dish wedding reception.

Below I have listed my recipe for hummus, a slight derivation from Alton Brown's recipe, for all to try!

Simple Hummus for the Masses

This is a great recipe for a party, or to keep in the fridge all week for your husband to snack on.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

3 cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

3 cloves of fresh garlic

1/4 cup of tahini paste (ground sesame paste...you can get it at Publix)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon of table salt or sea salt

juice of 1 large lemon

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method:

This is best done with a food processor fitted with a steel blade. You can do it by hand with a potato masher and some elbow grease, but it takes a while and your arms will hurt at the end.

Put the garlic cloves in the food processor, pulse until chopped fine.

Then add the 3 cans of drained chickpeas, the tahini, the salt, pepper and lemon, and blend until smooth.

If the mixture looks a little dry, add 2-4 tablespoons of water, and pulse together.

Lastly, turn on the food processor, and drizzle in the olive oil as the blade is spinning.

Voila! You have authentic hummus to feed an army.

Turn out your hummus into a bowl or tupperware, serve with pita bread, chips, and/or veggies.

For an extra authentic flare, pour a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil on top of the hummus, to make a little "lake", and then sprinkle on some sumac. Enjoy!