Carrot Hummus

Last fall, Mike and I ate at a local restaurant that boasted a vegetarian/non vegetarian menu. The idea was that there were entrees that were totally vegetarian (or even vegan) that you could have as is, or you could add a protein to. I thought it was a really great concept, especially since Mike and I are not vegetarian but have friends who are. That particular night, we also had friends who kept Kosher eating with us (not a lot of acceptable restaurants once you throw both those aspects into the mix, although Boulder is better than other places).

The restaurant, sadly, closed not long after we ate there -- and I didn't even have a chance to go back and try to figure out some of the dishes I wanted to replicate in my kitchen. We ordered an appetizer of various spreads with cheese, veggies, and breads. The restaurant also had a house dip that they served as well. I had thought that there were two variations of hummus, but now I'm not so sure. I do know that they served a carrot hummus that had a distinct cumin flavor.

Having never made hummus on my own, and with great local brands at the stores here, there's really no need to, but I thought that the carrot hummus would have to be my first shot. I found this recipe at a fat free vegan blog and set it aside.

Today, with my sparkly new engagement ring, my various OTC beauty products in hopes of avoiding more expensive actual procedures (teeth whitening!), and very aware that both Mike and I need to eat better (i.e. less cream and cheese!) so that I can lose some weight before trying on wedding dresses, I whipped out the carrot hummus recipe for a healthy attempt at lunch.

Now, the two major changes I made to the recipe were these:

No fresh ginger -- not a bit of it on hand

Cumin, cumin, cumin!

In the end, after fighting with a blender and a magic bullet to get the smooth hummus texture I wanted (note there is no oil in this recipe -- I have a sneaking suspicion that might have helped the blending situation, but not my waistline. I added more lemon and a bit more water to try and help the fight in the end), I spread the mixture over some whole wheat bread, cut up a tomato, added some lettuce and mozzarella and made a hopefully lowfat and healthy sandwich that will tide me over 'til supper.

What that meal will be, I'm not sure. But I can tell you it will include butternut squash and chicken breasts!