What do you cook when you come home?

For once, I did a smart thing and cleaned out the fridge before we went on vacation so we didn't come back to liquefied vegetables in the crisper drawers and containers of mystery foods that had sprouted hair.

But more significant than what wasn't in the fridge was what I wanted to be there. I don't know about you, but after a vacation where I accommodate lots of factors (picky kids, restaurant ignorance, lack of kitchen) and only occasionally get the food I want to eat, I have massive cravings for my kinda food. The In-n-Out Burgers were good, as were the fish tacos, but I rarely get enough vegetables when traveling. There was a reasonable quantity of salad, but I also want cooked vegetables and not just as a wee side dish next to a hunk of protein.

The first thing I made was Sarah's Hummus (recipe below). I thought I had blogged about it before, but can't find any record of it.
This is my favorite hearty hummus. It isn't the stuff we get at the Lebanese restaurant and have dubbed "white velvet" for its smoothness--this stuff is chunky and substantial. It has an extra dose of texture from the roasted sesame seeds and lots parsley that get whirred in at the end (I'm not sure why the green of the parsley isn't showing up in the photo above. I guess I over whirred...). And it makes a lot--enough for sharing, or in my case, enough for the lunch pictured above and plenty left over for dinner.

To go with the rest of the hummus for dinner tonight, I bought a jumbo quantity of spinach to make a recipe for spicy greens and bulgur featured on Warda's blog 64 sq ft Kitchen. (You should go see her beautiful photos, then you'll want to make it too.)

Since I'm overcompensating for a perceived vegetal lack, I also roasted some eggplant and some beets (separately) today to be made into (separate) salads. The eggplant will get a simple feta/lemon/olive oil/mint dressing. The beets will get an even simpler olive oil/red wine vinegar/orange zest/parsley dressing.

And after consuming all of the above this evening, I expect I'll feel a little more open to non-vegetable dishes. But, just in case of continuing cravings, I picked up some asparagus and Brussels sprouts that will get roasted on another day.

Sarah's Hummus
2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained (about 4 cups)
1/2 C tahini sauce
1/3 C warm water
1/3 C olive oil
juice from 3 lemons
4 garlic cloves
1 1/2 t salt
2 t cumin
black pepper
3 T roasted sesame seeds
1/2 C packed Italian parsley leaves

Blend everything but the sesame seeds and parsley leaves in the food processor until smooth-ish. Then at the sesame seeds and parsley and pulse a few times just to mix and chop up a little.