Raw Sunflower Red Hummus

This one tastes great and is just too easy to not share with the world. With just a little preparation, you can whip up some great tasting raw humus that will fill you up for lunch yet not make you feel like a nap is in order in just a few minutes. I like to call this my Sunflower Red Hummus.

The other day, I was pressed for time yet wanted this hummus. I’d already soaked the sunflower seeds and let them sprout overnight so they were ready. I looked at the clock and saw that I had fifteen minutes to prepare and cleanup before I had to run. Well, the total time was twenty minutes (including the quick cleanup) so I had to run really fast to make up that time!

Recipe:

  • 2 cups sprouted raw living sunflower seeds
  • 1 sweet red, yellow or orange bell pepper
  • 1 medium tomato
  • 1 carrot (or a few small garden carrots that you just dug and cleaned up!)
  • ½ a Myers lemon
  • ½ clove raw garlic
  • 2 tablespoons raw cold pressed olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or a little less)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cyan pepper!

All the wet ingredients go in first. And, well, you probably already know this from the picture below, but you’re going to blend this in a high powered blender until it’s creamy and smooth. So, if you put the wet ingredients o the bottom, they bill break down quickly and create volume that will carry down the rest. You might need to help some of the seeds and be careful not to get the seasoning on your plunger (if you need to use one).

This is a pretty heavy mixture so you’ve got to have a heavy-duty blender in order to keep it from bogging down. But it will. It will also heat up pretty quickly so watch out for that. I usually start out just fast enough to get the fruit (veggies) to spin and then turn the blender up as high as it will go and still turn the contents of the blender. If you flip the machine all the way to high, it all just lifts up and, well, you’re no longer ‘blending’ at that point. 🙂

The little cup on the left is exactly 1 cup. I like to fill it ¾ the way and it’s just the right amount for lunch. The bigger container just happened to work with my time constraints for the other little containers needed washing!

Once prepared, it easily lasts for a few days in the fridge. You’ll see the top darken (oxidize), but the rest should stay just made fresh.

This one is so easy that it’s hard to get wrong. My only real advice is to go light on the garlic. The picture shows a whole clove. I cut it in half before adding it. Too much raw garlic tends to overpower the other subtle flavors that really make this hummus shine.

It’s been a long winter and just a couple days ago I started to notice the spring air. It blew in and within about 24 hours all the plants that had been waiting to bloom sprung into early spring pinks, yellows and greens. We’re well past the equinox, so it feels a month late. Whether it’s early or late, it’s still warmly welcomed!

Quick and Easy Garden Hummus

Some days I feel more creative than others. Yesterday’s creativity has bleed over into today and I have to admit that this Hummus is just as good today as it was last night. Yet this time, I’ve got pictures and the recipe to share!

Last night I wanted a heavier salad. I wanted something with substance that would last a few hours for I didn’t want to find myself snacking throughout the evening. Thus, I reached for one of my favorite things: sunflower seeds! I figured I’d just blend them up in a salad dressing and pour it over my salad.

Well, it turned out pasty and it sat like a pile of green **** in the center of the bowl. Lori looked at it and shook her head no without even giving it a try. I think the light green color turned her off. After a little convincing, she gave it a try and, even though she doesn’t like hummus (and that’s what she called it) she took a big spoonful as her salad dressing.

And it was great!

I made this again for lunch today and it tasted just as good. Yum. So, I’m writing it down so it will be around for next summer.

Recipe:

1 small (normal) zucchini pealed

  • The tops of 7 or 8 basil plants
  • 1 cup course chopped carrots
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds
  • 2 Tbs cold pressed olive oil
  • ½ Tb balsamic vinegar
  • Bit of salt (little bit on spoon)

As you can see, I’ve got oil, vinegar, salt and Basil as if it’s a salad dressing. But the rest gives it body that makes it more hummus like than salad dressing like. So, place it all in the blender.

I put the zucchini in first for the bulk of the water is going to come from there.

Now, blend. You’ll need your tamper for this is just like making hummus…  Well, it is hummus! Press the veggies down into the blades until it starts to turn. At that point, you’re going to let it blend for about 30 seconds on ‘10’ (if you have a Vita-mix). During this time I make sure the blender doesn’t suck air down to the blades stopping the spin. To do this, you hold the tamper right down to where the mixture turns over. The temper gently plugs the hole preventing air while letting the blender turn the ingredients.

As you can see, I got just a little over two cups from this ingredient list. And it’s wonderful!

The best part about this is that it’s really easy and fast. If you don’t mind the green color, you don’t even have to peal the zucchini. The sunflower seeds are also straight out of the bag – no soaking or sprouting! From start to finish it’s probably 10 minutes.

Also note that the ingredients were mostly from the garden – that is, the carrots, zucchini and basil. I love it when I get the opportunity to eat suck fresh living foods. I can basically pick the produce, wash, blend and enjoy in the matter of minutes. The vitality contained in the plants never gets lost. Eat living foods and you’ll find your own vitality will increase.

Good day!

Mike Blongiewicz’s Raw Home-Made Hummus

I’m pretty impressed. Turns out it’s really easy to make this version of home-made Hummus and it tastes good enough to eat! In fact, I got a couple comfortable nods just like Mike did in his video. It’s smooth – flavor wise – yet comforting. I’m sure I’m going to enjoy this the next couple days for lunch.

And thanks Marie for the query (See comment here), for when I found this video I felt inspired to sprout some garbanzo beans.

Making your own raw home-made hummus by Mike Blongiewicz:

I like how easy he laid out the ingredients. I only added two cloves garlic for I like it a bit more mild. The lemon I went heavier with for I like that tang. For the veggies, I just added one medium tomato, almost all of one large carrot and three stocks of celery. I like to figure that it’s close enough.

To all that, I added 36 hour old sprouted garbanzo beans. I like to wait until the roots are about as long as the bean.

Sprouted Garbanzo beans

Just like Mike, I added the liquid first.

Everything ready to go

When I powered on the blender, a swear I saw the lights flicker! This mixture sure did bog down that vita-mix. I’m sure if you’ve got a light duty blender, you’ll want to use a food processor instead.

After about 60 seconds, it was rolling like a vanilla shake (just like the video) so I figured it was done.

Lunch for three days

This made about 6 cups – or three lunches. I love how the basil flakes shine through. That big dip in the center was the taster. I’m absolutely positive that this will go well with carrot sticks and celery.

Overall, I’m thinking this is a really good raw hummus base. I’ll really know in a couple days when it’s all gone!

Give it a try, I think you’ll like it too.