Black Bean Hummus with Squash
Black bean hummus on squash is a great end of summer treat.
I have been eating so much hummus lately. I simply can not get enough of it. A few weeks ago I had a hankering for some hummus, but had no chick peas. No problem. I used black beans instead and discovered the culinary joy that is black bean hummus!
SOLE challenge: Strawberry Lime Sorbet
This is fruit week at the SOLE challenge, which seemed like a good time to make some strawberry sorbet. I have to confess though: I made this several weeks ago when local strawberries were at their peak here in Northern Va. I decided to hoard this recipe because I’m…not here! At the moment of this posting, I am SCUBA diving in Mexico.
But back to the sorbet. I used local strawberries, organic palm sugar and organic lime. This is super easy to make and you don’t need an ice cream maker. I’ll expect full reports when I get back 
Recipe: Strawberry Lime Sorbet
Summary: light and refreshing sorbet made with local strawberries
Ingredients
- 4 cups strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- 3/4 cup palm sugar
- 1.5 cups water
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
Instructions
- In small sauce pan, heat the water and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.
- Cut the tops off the strawberries. In a food processor blender, puree the strawberries. If you’d like, reserve 1/2 cup of the berries to puree only slightly at end (the little chunks of strawberry look pretty in the sorbet).
- Toward the end of the processing, add the Xanthan gum.
- Pour the pureed strawberries into a mixing bowl (or directly into the freezer container). Stir in the cooled sugar water and lime juice, and stir.
- Taste. If it’s too tart (which will depend on the berries and limes), add a few drops of liquid Stevia. Don’t add too much. I suggest adding three drops at a time until the sorbet is sweet enough.
- Put the sorbet in a freezer container, cover and freeze for 45 minutes. Stir well, then return to freezer for 2 hours (or possibly longer) until firm.
- If it’s rock hard when you take it out of the freezer, let it thaw for 10 to 15 minutes. It will soften enough to serve.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 10 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 8
Copyright © Susan Rose.
SOLE Challenge: Broccoli and Shrimp Salad
This summer salad will cool you down on hot, hot days.
It’s great having a larger garden this year—I have so many more fun things to choose from (assuming I get to them before the [swear word] beetles do). We pulled up the last of our broccoli, and I wanted to do something with it a little more exciting than just steaming it, although I really love steamed broccoli. It was so bloody hot outside that I thought a nice cold salad would be the ticket.
