Pizza on the Grill!

Ahh spring is FINALLY here!! Along with the random bursts of amazingly nice weather we've had here in Baltimore recently, you know how I know when springtime has officially graced us with its presence? When asparagus starts popping up at the farmers' market (marking the start of the growing season, yesss!) and I have the sudden urge to be outside and grill everything. Both of these things hit me at once last weekend when I bought my first bunch of asparagus at the market and then had a spontaneous barbeque with my roommates on a gorgeous warm evening - amazing! I decided to try something that I had only ever seen Bobby Flay do on the Food Network and never tried myself, and that is: cook a pizza right on the grill! Who knew you could just oil up the dough, throw it right on the grill, cook for a few minutes on each side and then top with your favorite pizza toppings? So easy and brings pizza to a whole new level of deliciousness. I cheated a bit and used Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough and just kept my toppings simple and seasonal with mozzarella cheese and local mushrooms, scallions and asparagus. What could be better than sitting outside on a gorgeous spring night, grilling some food and sipping some cocktails with friends?

ASPARAGUS AND MUSHROOM PIZZA ON THE GRILL

Ingredients
Whole wheat pizza dough (store bought or make your own!)
Olive oil and a bit of flour for rolling out the dough
1 can of crushed organic tomatoes (or pizza sauce)
Shredded organic mozzarella cheese
Mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced thinly
Asparagus, washed and chopped
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
Salt/pepper and other herbs (basil, oregano)

Directions
1. Turn the grill on to medium-high.
2. Gather the sauce and cheese, and prepare your toppings so they are ready to go.
3. Roll out the dough using some flour until it's pretty thin; brush top side with some olive oil.
4. Throw it right on the grill with the oiled side down. Brush the top side with oil.
5. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the bottom has some nice golden brown grill marks, then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
6. It's easiest to take the dough off the grill really quickly at this point to throw on your sauce, cheese and toppings. Once everything is on, put the pizza back on the grill and cook until the cheese is nice and brown and bubbly.
7. Carefully slide it off the grill, slice it up, serve it up, grab yourself a beer or cocktail and enjoy!

 

DIY Hummus

Helllooo everyone! Yes I am alive and still blogging- just been on a bit of a hiatus with school, finals, spring break, birthday, yadda yadda yadda. But enough with the excuses and onto the food! Hummus, oh hummus... where do I even begin? Hummus is one of my favorite go-to snacks that I make probably at least once or twice a month to just have on hand to snack on, spread on wraps/sandwiches, etc.  I was introduced to the art of making hummus in college by a fantastic roommate of mine, Kayla, who made the best hummus ever and even made hummus as part of a job interview activity (yes, true story).  I love it so much now that just recently I was paid in homemade hummus to dog-sit a coworker's dog (also, a true story).  It's super high in protein and fiber thanks to the almighty chickpeas, so it's a great, healthy, filling snack anytime of day or year. I know there are tons are store-bought brands of hummus out there that are pretty decent, but why buy it from the store when you can make it so cheaply and easily and personalized at home?! My favorite thing about making hummus is that it is such a flexible and forgiving recipe that you can change in so many different ways based on what you have on hand or what you like (think- extra garlicy, roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato & basil, spicy hot, and the list goes on and is only limited by your imagination!). So below is just my recipe for the super basic hummus, to which you can add nothing and keep it traditional; or add any number of other ingredients to spice it up a bit. You definitely gotta try this and once you do- you'll never buy hummus from the store again! 

BASIC HUMMUS RECIPE

2 cans chickpeas, drained

1 clove garlic, minced

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1-2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tblsp tahini (this is just sesame seed paste, of which you can find a big tub at the grocery store for about $5-6 that will last you a long time)

Water (add as need to thin out, maybe about 1/2 cup or so)

Dash of cumin

Salt/pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. If you have a food processor or blender, put the chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and tahini in and begin blending/processing, adding water as you go to thin out the hummus. You can also put all these ingredients in a large bowl and use an immersion blender to get the job done (my favorite kitchen tool!) 

2. Continue blending until the hummus has reached a smooth, creamy consistency. Add salt, pepper, and cumin to taste. Et voila! Dip with some fresh, chopped veggies or pita chips! 

Other add-ins
Any kind of herb (parsley, basil, cilantro, etc.)
Extra garlic
Caramelized onions
Mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash
Sun-dried tomatoes
Mexican spices (chipotle chili powder, cumin, red chili flakes)

Any other favorites/suggestions? What is you favorite kind of hummus??