CSA & Hummus Recipe

I was lucky enough to be introduced to the wonder of the CSA a few years back and now each year as the weather warms, my family anxiously waits for the vegetable deliveries to begin. This year we joined Good Earth Farm and we received our 3rd delivery last night and it was a whole bunch of awesome, again! Our new CSA has several additional options like bread and mushrooms, so we're also splitting a fruit share with a friend. This week was the strawberry delivery and I am relieved to be sharing, because we received 7 quarts of delicious strawberries. I'm thinking of making a strawberry pico de gallo this weekend and maybe some jam and freezing the rest. Yum!

I made another a batch of hummus this week and wrote the recipe down since there were requests after my last batch, so here it is! I make a big batch, feel free to cut it in half if you want less.

Alisa The Yarnista’s Hummus

• 4 cups chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 2-4 garlic cloves (base on how much you love garlic)
• 1/2 cup Tahnini
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbs water or juice from beans

Add all ingredients EXCEPT chickpeas and water/bean juice to food processor and mix until coarsely pureed. Add chickpeas and blend to desired consistency - add water/bean juice as necessary. Enjoy with veggies, pretzels, on bread and spread on sandwiches!

I'm freezing some of this batch to see how it holds up. I think it will be okay since the beans hold up in the freezer after I cook them in the crock pot, but we'll see. Have you frozen hummus or do you have a hummus recipe to share?

Cheers!

Getting fresh

Summer is here and I'm inspired to freshen things up! Our CSA started a couple weeks ago so I'm happily enjoying fresh fruits and veggies. This is my favorite time of year for food and I'll share more on our CSA in another post, just know that it is fabulous! I do have a few things on the needles - shocking, I know - but a project has freshly come off the needles...

This last Sunday, hubby and I enjoyed breakfast and coffee at our favorite coffee shop while I knitted on my Cap Sleeve Lattice Top. I'm happy to share that it went into the bath on Monday night and as of this morning, it's dry! This was part of a KAL that I joined in May (I think), but I missed the deadline and I'm okay with that. I'm hoping for a Friday morning open knitting debut at the shop and I'll post the full details and photos soon.

So, now I only have 3 sweaters on the needles:

• one is in a time out
• another is a secret *muahahaha*
• the last is for the Beginning Sweater Workshop at Firefly Fibers.

Our class is getting a fresh new shop sample with Lamb's Pride Worsted by Brown Sheep - the yarn is new to the shop and it's a great fit for the upcoming class! This sweater class has it all and I'm really excited to create some new sweater monsters - umm, I mean knitters - this fall!

My knitting bag also contains the next Knitalong, my hexipuff pouch for my Beekeeper's Quilt and the Forest Floor hat from Botanical Knits for a shop sample. This almost seems too manageable, maybe I need to cast on a new project?

Cheers!

Margaritas

I love margaritas and a few months back I made homemade margarita mix for a get-together with some friends and they were delicious - like, really delicious. I concocted that batch in my usual manner of adding a little of this and a little of that, but then I had requests for my recipe - eek! Then, as luck would have it, my sister-in-law had a birthday, she mentions margaritas and this was perfect because I had a boatload of limes in the fridge just for this. It was meant to be, right?

Seizing this perfect opportunity - "perfect" meaning I got to be in the kitchen AND knit her the above  Canning Jar Sweater - I tried to recreate what I had done a few weeks back and kept track of the actual recipe. End result... It's really close and pretty darn good! First and foremost, use fresh limes. This requires some elbow grease, but they really make a difference and the little bits of lime pulp are wonderful. To avoid pulling a muscle to get as much juice as possible from each lime, I present my handy dandy:

Tips for juicing limes:

• Microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute and let set for 1 minute.
• Roll on the counter with pressure before cutting.
• Use a citrus reamer or fork to get every last little bit of juice.

Alisa The Yarnista's Margaritas

• 1-1/2 cups of freshly squeezed lime juice (8-10 limes)
• 2 cups Triple Sec
• 2 cups tequila
• 2 tbs Agave syrup (add more if you like a sweeter margarita)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Mix all ingredients and pour over ice - I also love mixing in some beer for a beergarita or seltzer water to lighten it up a little bit. These margaritas are so much tastier that the store-bought mix and I'm sure you'll agree! Cheers!

Do you have a homemade version of margaritas or another beverage that you'd like to share?