Link: Big Hummus wants the government to regulate your hummus

My dad shared this article on facebook and I thought it was pretty amusing. Apparently the company Sabra Hummus wants to regulate what is defined as "hummus". They propose that hummus should be legally defined as a food made mostly of chickpeas and tahini (sesame butter), with tahini making up at least 5% of the hummus by weight. They are outraged by hummus impostures who sell "hummus" made of lentils or edamame (soy beans) or who don't include tahini as an ingredient. I'm not sure that I'm such a hummus purist as Sabra. I don't mind creative twists on classic hummus; I think they can often be tasty. What do you think? Are you a hummus conservative or a hummus liberal? Is it false advertisment/cultural appropriation to call, say, lentil "hummus", hummus?

Advertising by the hummus orthodoxy 

Guest recipe: Falafels

My dear cousin Brad wrote to me to tell me about one of his favourite recipes: falafels. I too am a big fan of falafels, the fresher the better. And what's more fresh than straight from your own kitchen? I'm looking forward to trying his recipe -- it looks delicious!

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Hey Shaun! I was checking out your blog and figured I would make a contribution. 

Ingredients:

-4 cups canned chick peas drained and dried

-1 small onion chopped

-1/4 cup fresh parsley

-3 cloves garlic chopped

-1/3 cup flower

-2 teaspoons salt

-2 teaspoons cumin

-1 teaspoon coriander

-1/4 teaspoon pepper

-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

-2 tsp baking soda
-1 tbs water

Blend together all the ingredients except for baking soda and water

Dissolve 2 teaspoons of baking soda into 1 tablespoon of water and mix in.

Pat mixture into golf ball sized balls.

Fry in oil at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes, moving the falafels around every once in a while. 

I like to eat them on a wrap with babaganoush, lettuce, onion, tomatoes and peppers. 

Recipe review: Oh She Glows Thai-inspired Cucumber Salad

I'm really on an Oh She Glows kick lately! All of her recipes are so delicious. I just wanted to make a quick post to recommend her Thai-Inspired Hydrating Cucumber Salad with Roasted Spiced Chickpeas. I made it tonight ahead for a potluck party I'm going to tomorrow. I sampled some for dinner tonight, and I think it'll be a great crowd-pleaser. The only modification I made to the recipe is adding some unsweetened coconut flakes. It was a good idea and really adds something to the recipe, I found.