Trudy’s Hummus

As regular readers may have guessed, I’m not exactly a spring chicken. At my age (double oh! 7), it takes more effort to entertain guests than it once did. I tend to suggest pot lucks and “easy” recipes. Here’s a delicious example. 

Trudy’s Hummus:

One 19 fl. oz. (540 mL) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 

2 heaping tbsp. (30 mL) tahini

Enough cold water to thin hummus, starting with 2 tbsp. (25 mL) and increasing as desired

Salt, to taste

Purée in a blender. Serve! That’s all there is to it!

Note: Trudy uses a hand blender (aka a “stick blender”) to make this - a great idea! The chickpeas fall to the bottom in a regular blender, leaving lumps and husks.

You may also want to check out the simply named Hummus or Hummus Wraps, also on this blog.

One Click: An Overview

This blog is 12 years old: Time to make your recipe search faster and easier! I’ll be the first to admit my Index is overly long and complex!

For some while (on and off), I’ve been working on a categorization system I’ve named One Click. Rather than suggest you check the lengthy, complex, and often frustrating Index in your recipe search, I’m partway through a process of providing quick links to the recipe you’re looking for as well as others in a similar categories. 

Feel like making stew? The post headed Stew: One Click will quickly take you to a listing of every stew recipe in this blog. No more scrolling: One Click will take you there. The Index doesn’t do that, because you’d need to search for Stew/Pork, Stew/Chicken, and so on. The search box won’t do that, either, because many other hits that barely mention the word “stew” also pop up.

I still have plenty of work ahead of me (and take l-o-n-g breathers because getting there is tiring), but that’s the direction in which this blog is heading. I’ve also been changing the teensy-weensy fonts in which I started this blog, as well as adding metric to the Imperial measurements already there. Unfortunately, Google’s Blogger platform has some bugs and instability that sometimes make the work unnecessarily difficult and frustrating.  

When I finally complete this lengthy process (not in months, but likely years), you’ll have a far easier and more interesting search tool at your disposal. To the best of my knowledge, no other recipe blog uses a system like this. 

Down the road, expect a greatly simplified Index, making it much easier for you to find what you’re looking for. Several One Click listings already appear in the Index. Examples:

One Click: Brussels Sprouts 

One Click: Chicken Wings 

One Click: Soups (Onion) 

One Click: Turkey 

These and other recipe categories will also appear in reverse. Try Chicken Wings: See One Click or Turkey: See One Click, etc. On the surface, not much has changed - except that Nicole Parton’s Favorite Recipes is gradually evolving into a more effective tool for your quicker and easier recipe picks. I hope you’ll feel as enthusiastic about these changes as I do! 

Cookie in a Mug

This delicious treat requires only a standard mug and a few basic ingredients. You’d think that - with no baking powder or other leavening - this recipe wouldn’t work, but it does (brilliantly), in a non-metallic microwave-safe mug that holds 10 oz. (310 mL) of liquid. 

The ingredients require far less room than that, but once the cake-like cookie rises, the finished product will be just right for the mug. Makes one yummy serving.

Cookie in a Mug:

1 tbsp. (15 mL) butter or margarine

1 tbsp. (15 mL) granulated sugar

1 tbsp. (15 mL) brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 tsp.(2.5 mL)  vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

 3 tbsp. (45 mL) all-purpose flour

Dash of salt

1-to-2 tbsp. (15-to-30 mL) chocolate, butterscotch, or peanut butter chocolate chips

Microwave butter in a mug until melted, 30 seconds to 1 minute. With a spoon, mix in sugars, vanilla extract and salt until well-combined. Mix in egg yolk until no traces of the yolk are seen. Mix in flour and chocolate chips. Microwave on high 40-to-50 seconds. Serve warm. 

Note: The texture and taste of this cookie resembles a delicious piece of cake. Because this makes just one serving, you won’t be tempted to eat more (and more and more …). The cookie is so quick and easy to make that no one will guess you’ve gobbled it down. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3! 

Mix butter, sugars,
egg yolk, and vanilla.

Stir in flour and
chocolate chips.

Eat! I’m almost finished!

This is so simple, you’ll probably want to rename it Smug in a Mug … You’re already halfway to hell. Why not add a squirt of whipped cream?

One Click: Soups (Onion)

With food prices going through the roof, these outstanding onion soups may just be a gourmet meal on a pauper’s budget.

Nicole’s Own French Onion Soup

Cream of Onion Soup

Nicole’s Cream of Onion Soup

Ron’s Cream of Onion Soup

Dry Onion Soup Mix

For even more decadence, top with Nicole’s Special Croutons.

As I’ve previously written, this blog has been gradually undergoing some changes. As I work through its earlier years, metric and a different font are appearing, and One Click: An Overview will include more categories, make more sense, and appear more frequently. 

There will eventually be One Click for many different types of soup. When project is complete, the Index will be far easier to navigate, with far fewer categories. 

Ron’s Oven-Roasted Yams

This is the single best yam recipe I’ve ever tasted. This super-great dish uses only three ingredients: Orange-fleshed yams, olive oil, and seasoning salt. One large yam yields enough for two adults. 

Even those not partial to yams will instantly become converts. The natural sugar in the yams caramelizes under the high temperature at which they bake. Don’t worry if a few pieces char ... They’ll taste even better!  

Ron’s Oven-Roasted Yams:

1 large yam, peeled and diced 3/4-in. (1.9 cm)   

1/4 c. (60 mL) olive oil

2 tbsp. (30 mL) Cajun seasoning or seasoning salt

Preheat oven’s convect setting to 400 deg. F.  on oven’s convection setting. Place prepared yams in medium bowl (see Note). Combine olive oil and Cajun seasoning or seasoning salt, pouring over yams and stirring until diced yams are evenly coated.

Use baking sheet with no parchment paper. Bake, uncovered, 50 min., flipping two or three times as yams roast. Omitting the parchment paper allows the yam to caramelize, rather than sweat and steam. Serves 2.

Flavor Note: Some like it hot! You can always add a shake of chili powder, another of onion powder, and another of garlic powder. But the recipe above is how Ron and I like it. 

History Note: In days gone by, orange-fleshed yams and yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes were considered distinctly different.  Today, everything seems to be called a sweet potato. Don’t use the yellow-fleshed kind for this recipe.