Hummus

1 Cans Garbanzo beans (drained)
1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons Tahini (Sesame butter)
1 - 3 cloves Garlic (chopped)
1 Lemon or lime
1/3 cup Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Sauté the chopped garlic in oil over a low flame.

2. Juice the lime or lemon.

3. Place all of ingredients in a food processor. Blend well. This could take several minutes. Your hummus will be thick and have a dry consistency.

4. Add good water and blend until desired consistency is achieved.

5. Set the hummus in a service bowl. A few branches of parsley placed on the hummus adds a nice look to the dish.

6. Just before eating make an indent in the center of the hummus plate and pour a small amount of olive oil into the indent.

6. You can eat it right away, but the hummus improves if it sits overnight in the refrigerator.

(courtesy Beth and These People)

Sesame Noodle Sauce

This is the sauce I use for Cold Sesame Noodles. Toss the drained warm pasta with some sesame oil, slivered scallions, and chopped cilantro. Refrigerate until cool. Toss the refrigerated noodles with the peanut sauce, garnish with toasted sesame seeds and more cilantro.

6 garlic cloves
1 large bunch of cilantro, leaves and upper stems only
1 1/2-ounce piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 heaping tablespoon chili garlic sauce
1/2 cup peanut putter
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Whirl the cilantro, garlic, and ginger in a food processor until they are finely chopped. Add the oils, peanut butter, soy sauce, and sugar; process until well combined, scraping down the sides a couple of times. Add the vinegar. Taste and add more soy sauce if you want. This will keep for months in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.

(courtesy Monkeytoe. who we all love.)

Pink's Citrus Vinagrette

-6 garlic cloves, skins on
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tsp honey
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil (I use less)
salt and pepper to taste

Roast the garlic until soft. Squish out (crush it up some) into a small saucepan that has the OJ in it. Bring to a boil and cook five minutes, stirring constantly (watch out, it gets bubbly). Strain into a bowl, and whisk in the honey, vinegar, and oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Really good on greens with baked tofu (or roasted beets) and crumbled goat cheese.

(courtesy Pink)

Hazeli's Tomato Sauce

1 28-oz can whole or chopped tomatoes, drained (Hazeli recommends imported San Marzanos or Muir Glen chopped)
4-5 tbls. butter (not margarine! very important!)
1 whole onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste
Fresh basil if you wish

Combine tomatoes, butter, and onion in a pan over medium heat; bring to a simmer until the butter melts and combines. Lower heat so it simmers gently. Cook 45 min, discard the onion, and blend. If you like, a little fresh basil toward the end wouldn't hurt. Salt lightly at the beginning, then adjust at the end.

(courtesy Hazeli)

Place water and sugar in a small saucepan. If you want it to be somewhat thick and very sweet, follow proportions for a simple syrup (2 parts water to 1 part sugar).

I prefer it lighter, so I just wing it based on how much fruit I've got and how sweet it is. This time I probably used 1 cup water and about 1/4 cup sugar at most. If you don't mind it being thin, it really doesn't matter - you can always add more water or more sugar to taste.

Next, take a 1 inch knob of fresh ginger and slice thin. No need to peel. Peel the zest of one lemon in wide strips. Add to the water-sugar mix and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer uncovered for ten minutes or until slightly reduced and tasting nicely of ginger and lemon.

Let cool, strain, and pour over fruit of choice. If you have time to let the fruit sit in the syrup for a while, it will marinate and take on more flavor.

Bonus: syrup that pools in the bottom of the bowl can be re-used for other fruit or to flavor drinks of choice!

(Oh, and I used to make a version of this that included fresh mint, but the mint always ended up tasting stewed. Now if I want mint or other herbs - basil would be cool - I just chop them up and add later.)