Tempeh and hummus

[MrMadison]

I'm a big fan of hummus, but most of what I find in the store
seems to be quite high in fat. Do you think hummus will always be
naturally high in fat? Aren't they just chick peas?


Also, I've seen lots recipie ideas and products using tempeh, for example,
there was a product using it as a sub. for bacon. Anyone had this?
What's it taste like?

Thanks for all of your help!

Steve

[Scuttle]

Hummus is chickpeas at the base, but there's usually oils and other things mixed in with it. That's why some of it can be high in fat.

Usually you can find hummus in the deli area somewhere, sometimes with the 'gourmet cheeses' and other miscellaneous refrigerated items. They have a lot of different seasoned flavors, at least at my store. I think it's Athenos brand, but I forget the name. They might even have a low-fat type, but I don't remember it if so.

Fantastic Foods also makes a box mix for hummus. I guess it's dehydrated, ground garbanzo beans and spices, I'm not sure. It's pretty decent, and real easy to make. I think you add water and oil and... uh, I forget, but I remember it being easy. And it made TONS of hummus for two bucks. You could modify the oils you use there.

You can make your own hummus, too. There's a bunch of recipes for it, but I'm not sure which are good. I keep meaning to try some. You can try doing a search at Epicurious (http://www.epicurious.com) or at the SOAR database (http://soar.berkeley.edu/recipes/). Also, the Moosewood Restaurnt Low-Fat Favorites (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0517884941/o/qid=985136033/sr=8-1/ref=aps_sr_b_1_1/103-4087884-7565435) book has a recipe for hummus that works out to 35 calories, 0.5 grams of fat per one ounce serving. They only use a teaspoon of oil for the 2 cups the recipe makes, then chickpeas and onions and tomatos and some other spices and stuff.

Tempeh is soybean-based, and Indonesian in origin, I believe. I've never had it, but it's supposed to have a chewy texture, like meat. Like tofu, tempeh tends to absorb the flavor of foods around it. I've got a recipe for tempeh salad I've never tried. Usually I use tofu in something before I use tempeh, but I think it's sort of the same idea.

There. More on the topic than anyone probably wanted to know. :)

[Delia]

I make my own hummus all the time and I love it.

Go to veggies unite at http://www.vegweb.com and do a search, or try this:

1 can Progresso chickpeas
1/4 cup of tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 or 3 garlic cloves minced
juice of one fresh lemon
salt to taste

Mix it all up in blender or one of those mini food processors and eat with pita bread wedges or baby carrots.


Delia

[sunsmile]

tahini is VERY fattening (look on the back of the box, it has something like 16g of fat for 1 or 2 tablespoons, I don't remember the exact number)....

when making your own hummus, try to just put less tahini in it - it will probably taste almost the same if you use 1/8 cup of it instead of 1/4 cup.

[MrsJim]

http://www.vegsource.com/recipe/