Meatless Muffaletta

During my trip to New Orleans this winter, I learned about a fabulous sandwich known as the "Muffaletta."

Shortly after learning about this so-called fabulous sandwich, I discovered that it would be nearly impossible for me to find a marvelously meatless version. Whereas most classic sammies have a vegetarian sister sandwich (Beanball Subs, anyone?), the Muffaletta boasts salami, pepperoni, capicola, and ham as its star ingredients.

With a filling that dangerously meaty, I quickly learned that a meatless muffaletta would look more like a grilled cheese.

But wait! The other hallmark of a Muffaletta is seasoned, marinated olive salad. I can make this work, right?

I am a lover of all-things-sandwich, and I refuse to be defeated by this New Orleans sammie that claims to have no meat-free counterparts. I will make this work.

Adam and I created a Meatless Muffaletta tonight, inspired by the pages of this month's Vegetarian Times. Our sandwiches feature a homemade Spinach-Garlic Hummus slathered on fresh bread, and topped with marinated Artichoke-Olive-Roasted Red Pepper salad.

Holy Moly.

I may have to re-vist New Orleans....and show that meat-happy Muff who's boss.

Meatless Muffaletta

Good news! If you're looking for a vegan Muffaletta, this sandwich is for you. Just omit the cheese and you won't even miss it. Also, If you're feeling industrious, make the Artichoke-Olive-Red Pepper salad from scratch (I wasn't feeling so industrious tonight...hence the pre-made salad).

Hummus Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 - 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. coriander
• 2 TBSP olive oil (or more, to taste)
• 1 cup (packed) chopped spinach leaves

Sandwich Ingredients:

• Homemade bread or sandwich buns
• Hummus
• Marinated Artichoke-Olive-Roasted Red Pepper salad (I cheated and purchased pre-made at the store!)
• Optional--Swiss cheese for topping (I went without; my cheese-head hubby loaded it on)

Directions:

1) To prepare the hummus, blend chickpeas in a food processor until thoroughly processed. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Add more olive oil, as needed to reach your desired consistency.

2) To assemble sandwich: Toast bread or bun. Slather with hummus, top with marinated salad.

The Savory-to-Sweet Switch

Converting a savory food to a sweeter variation is something my brain has a hard time with.

For example, onions have no place in a dessert.

Marshmallows do not belong in a dinner salad.

And for heavens' sake, please keep the chocolate off my pizza.

For these reasons, among many others, I was skeptical of dessert hummus. You want me to add sugar to my....beans?

Friends, after making a batch of dessert hummus earlier this week, I now recognize myself as its #1 fan. Seriously. I gobbled up a bowl-ful of this sweet, beany dip with a sliced apple and a bowl of banana soft serve for my Thursday night dinner. It was truly like eating dessert for dinner.

The creator of dessert hummus--Evan Thomas--suggests using it as a dip for graham crackers, fruit, animal crackers, or a sandwich spread.

Or, you can simply eat it by the spoon-ful (which I may or may not have been doing at my desk at work this week. What can I say? This girl needs bean-powered fuel to get through the day).

I'm now a savory-to-sweet believer. Just don't ask me to pour hot fudge on my garlic bread.

Cinnamon Dessert Hummus

(recipe adapted from The Wannabe Chef)

The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup pure maple syrup. I eliminated most of this because, well, I did make my dessert hummus for dinner. But by all means, if you don't mind the sweetness and you're looking for a truly desssert-y dip, go all out with the maple syrup!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups butter beans
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• a drizzle of pure maple syrup (the recipe called for 1/4 cup, but I used far less)
• 1 - 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• For dipping: apple slices, banana soft serve, graham crackers, and a big ol' hungry spoon

Directions:

Process ingredients in a food processor until desired taste and consistency have been reached. Go crazy with your dipping items :)

Hummus Surprise

Isn't hummus the best?

Smooth texture, heavy on the garlic, rich tahini flavor...when it comes to spreadable foods, it's hard to beat hummus (well, let's be honest: hummus is a close second to nut butter, right?).

Although we're all used to consuming hummus with the usual suspects--raw veggies, wrap sandwiches, falafel, and pita bread--tonight I enjoyed it with a most un-usual suspect: pasta.

Thank you, Clean Eating Magazine. They never fail to inspire the most innovative and fresh ideas when it comes to food. We paired sun-dried tomato pasta with roasted garlic hummus, roasted broccoli, and red bell pepper.

The result was absolutely delectable, and amazingly easy to assemble, rendering it the perfect menu to follow a long day of work. Bonus: This pasta dish definitely has a summer-time vibe to it, which is just what I need in the midst of this chilly weather and pumpkin insanity (don't get me wrong--I'm as much of pumpkin-head as the next girl right now. But isn't a taste of July in order every now and then?)

Save the falafel for another night. Tonight, go wild with your hummus and try it with pasta.

Do you have any unique or unusual pasta toppings?

Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Hummus and Roasted Broccoli

(adapted from Clean Eating Magazine)

Feel free to load up more veggies with this one--add whatever sounds good to you! Sorry there aren't any amounts on this one--we just added as we went along :)

Ingredients:

• Sun-dried tomato pasta
• Broccoli florets from one crown of broccoli
• a little olive oil
• Garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pre-made roasted garlic hummus (we went the lazy route and used pre-made batch from Aldi. Delicious!)
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 carrot, shredded

Directions:

1) Cook pasta according to package directions. Preheat oven to 420 degrees.

2) Place broccoli in a large bowl. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Roast broccoli in the oven for 12 - 15 minutes, tossing once halfway through.

3) To serve, add hummus and veggies to individual servings of pasta.

Dishwashing and Dinner Salads

Tonight I got to be dishwashing royalty.

Okay, maybe I over-glorified my role just a tad.

Regardless, I had an awesome time suds-ing up the dishes at the Taste of Home Cooking School event that premiered in Morgantown tonight.

Where did I get such a sweet gig, you ask? My mom is undoubtedly the #1 Fan of Taste of Home’s Simple and Delicious Magazine. So, when the local food panel I sit on was asked to volunteer backstage at Taste of Home’s event, I jumped at the chance to bring mom along for some behind-the-scenes fun.

And fun we had.

They cooked up a storm at the event, and raffled off every dish they created for audience members to take home (backstage volunteers excluded unfortunately!). This event was not for the faint-of-heart: For instance, "Upside Down Banana Pecan French Toast" was first on the menu, complete with 2 cups of half and half (even my eyes widened at this one!).

Prior to all the dish-washing mania though, I chowed down on a dinner salad that I knew would power me through the next three hours on my feet, elbow-deep in Palmolive.

This baby was loaded with plenty of stick-to-your ribs fixins.' Let’s be honest: there’s really no other way to eat a dinner salad.

This dish-washing chick is exhausted. Fortunately it's dress-down Friday at work tomorrow.... If only dress-down day meant sweatpants and a hoodie :)

Stick-To-Your-Ribs Dinner Salad

(a very simple Hungry Spoon original)

This salad was quick and easy to throw together, and filled me up with all kinds of happiness. I don't have amounts for anything, because I just threw it all into the mix!

Ingredients:

• Fresh spinach, stemmed and chopped
• chopped avocado
• Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• chopped broccoli
• chopped fresh tomato
• toasted pumpkin seeds
• Gorgonzola cheese
• Roasted garlic hummus
• Black bean salsa
• A little drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette

Directions:

1) Combine all ingredients in a big bowl, mix together, and enjoy your crunchy, satisfying dinner.

2) Enjoy your Friday!