Hummus: Quick Chickpea Spread

For most nights that I get home from work, I would usually check the fridge if there's anything quick to eat. I normally leave the office by midnight at the earliest and by then, everyone at home, except my chihuahua, is asleep. It's always convenient to have something quick to grab and eat in my case without having to bother anyone and spending a lot of time preparing food. I usually eat my dinner (either sandwich, salad or soup) in my desk while reading my emails just so that I can finish off the never-ending pile of work. I know this is not a good habit but do feel free to sue me that I just want to finish as much as I can in a day's work (since I turned off my office emails in my iPhone for about half a year already) and go home as early as I can (factoring in the queue of our car service). By the time I get home and depending on the dinner I had, I would likely have a light snack while reading anything non-work related before I call it a day.

I love hummus. Bring me to any restaurant that has hummus in its menu and I'll definitely order one to try. I can't recall how Cyma's was (and I'm sad that the ATC branch has closed down because I won't have my Roka Salata fix every weekend anymore), but I love Cafe Mediterranean's and Don Limone's because they taste like they are freshly made. I have tried those that seemed like canned or store-bought, and fresh ones always prevail. It is normal in our family that we try to replicate recipes and have the same done at home.

I found Tahini sold at Santi's but it's quite expensive so I tried to make an alternative from scratch since we also have a big bag of sesame seeds at home. Here's my version of homemade hummus. It makes for a healthy snack for summer or a nice appetizer if you have someone dropping by. For me, this is a good midnight snack.

Cilantro Onion Dip

One of the many things I look forward during the Christmas holidays is the annual get-together with my UP friends. Despite the hectic menu-planning, grocery shopping and the actual kitchen work (thank God for our angels), I find genuine happiness in putting myself (and the whole household) into this stress. It is the playground of my wannabe career (sorry debits and credits, you are starting to be such a bore and a pain, haha) and nothing compares to the positive reviews and the contented smiles by these guys who stuff themselves with the food prepared every get-together at our home.

Photos by Sierra. 2012 Christmas Dinner.

Years ago, I've written a post about the concept of "small hours" which I picked up from Rob Thomas' Little Wonders. I believe that our lives are mainly made up of these "small hours" like all those meet ups over coffee and dessert, laughing over lunches and dinners while reminiscing our silly old days together, the overnights and the trips that become bonding moments, the friendly competitions as to who did the better case project, our booboo episodes, and merely anything that we still get to remember years later.  It is in these “small hours” that we are real, being our simple selves, and more than willing to take in every moment that leaves us happy deep down inside. It is because that they happen once, so unplanned, but so brief that you choose to recall them as accurately as possible, that they become so special because they will never happen again the same way they did but they are indeed worth reminiscing. With this group of friends, we probably have millions of "small hours" over the years that somehow defined us as to who we are today. Despite that almost half of the group are overseas, no amount of months apart makes us forget about these moments of our lives. So, with rare occasions like Christmas when most make it in town for the holidays, we just have to level it up from the usual restaurant meet-ups. In my world, home-cooked food prepared just for that occasion makes everything more special.

For our 2012 Christmas dinner, the starters took the spotlight. Among the platters of tapas and cheese and chilli beef in wonton cups (recipe for this coming soon!), this simple dip was literally wiped out. They were even surprised how easy it is to make. I've picked this up from my aunt who served it a while back and since then I got hooked with this dip. Even if there's no occasion, I whip half of the recipe just so that I have something ready in the fridge.