One seemingly simple recipe that alludes me constantly is hummus. It sounds so easy: chickpeas, some Middle Eastern spices, olive oil, tahini, lemon – blend, season and presto. But no. Somehow my hummus is always in need of something or other, forever missing that je ne sais quoi that takes food from decent to decadent. And for a hummus-lover like myself, this is pretty upsetting.
When my Israeli cousin recently offered to show me how it’s done, I couldn’t resist. We were on a roll with the usual ingredients, his little tricks were already showing me the error of my ways. Then he pulled out a wild card: a raw egg. I did a double take before recovering enough to stop him with the fact that pregnant women like myself can’t eat raw eggs. But, more importantly, I thought of my vegan friends who rely on hummus based on the well-known fact that it is completely free from animal products.
It appears, however, that this is not always the case.
Strange as this unexpected addition sounded but curious about the results, I agreed to give it a try. We cooked the egg, threw it in and I have to admit that the hummus did benefit from an extra layer of richness. However, I would like to keep my own homemade version vegan and so am still experimenting and trying to come up with a non-ovo solution in my quest for the perfect hummus.
It did get me thinking about all the ingredients that pop up in places we don’t expect.
Like eggs in hummus
Or wheat in soy sauce
Or casein (a component of milk) in “vegan” cheese
Or sugar in honey
These are just a few examples of why it’s so important to read the labels on absolutely everything -- you can never know what surprises you’ll find. It reminds me of that game we used to play in pre-school when we were shown four items – let’s say a sheep, a horse, a cow and a lawnmower – and had to point to which one didn’t fit.
When you’re trying to eat healthily a rule of thumb is: the simpler the better – so try to find foods with as few ingredients as possible, and definitely try to stay away from those foods that contain all sorts of things that don’t seem to “fit.”
Be well and enjoy,
Gabriela Garay User
P.S. Interested in a new twist on an old mushroom cap? Check out this week’s Friday Night Dinner Blog for a great and easy stuffed mushroom recipe.
P.P.S. Thank you to the guys at Leon restaurants for featuring my Green Smoothie Recipe in their January newsletter. Personally I tend to use almond butter rather than peanut butter, but both yield great results.
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