Better Than Store Bought Ranch Dip from The Weekday Lunches and Breakfasts Cookbook

A bottle of dressing. So un-photogenic.

Sometimes I am such a dork. I saw this recipe for ranch DIP and made it and wondered why it was so thick because in my head I was making ranch DRESSING.

Such a dork.

But I digress.

A while back, I got and reviewed The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook by Mary Younkin and I loved it. The recipes were creative, but easy. I literally could make a really good dinner in a short time.

Yeah, I work from home and in theory I could start cooking at noon if I wanted to, but when I get wrapped up in work, I often don't think about dinner until hungry happens.

So when I realized that Mary had another cookbook coming (The Weekday Lunches and Breakfasts Cookbook), I pre-ordered it on Amazon because I couldn't wait to get my grubby paws on it. And then I got another copy from the publisher to review. Oh well. I have plans for that second copy, no problem.

My usual lunches are either leftovers from a previous dinner, or I'll make something simple, like a sandwich. So the idea of a cookbook devoted to lunches wasn't entirely in my wheelhouse. Except that pretty much anything that's deemed a lunch meal (or even a breakfast) is perfectly acceptable for me any time of the day.

Tortilla Eggs with a side of pickled spicy vegetables.

I dived into the cookbook and came up with Tortilla Eggs, which is basically an egg cooked on a tortilla with some cheese and ... well, yum. I made it a couple times because it was so freaking simple and so satisfying.

But then I saw the ranch recipe.

I love making home made salad dressings of all kinds, and I'm always looking for new variations. Can I make a little confession? I never really had ranch dressing until I was an adult. When I was growing up, we made all kinds of vinaigrettes as well as Thousand Island. At restaurants, I'd order creamy garlic. But ranch was never on the radar.

But once I tried it, I admitted it was pretty good. And home made versions are just so much better.

So, I saw ranch, thought it was a dressing, and combined the ingredients. And there it was, too thick. But I fixed that with the addition of some buttermilk that I had on hand, and it suddenly became a very tasty salad dressing.

The recipe notes that you should add the dill to taste, and I think that's a good caution. When first made, the dill wasn't very bold, but after the dressing had time to rest, the dill flavor came forward a bit more. It wasn't bad at all, and of course it depends on how you're serving it. And I guess it depends on how fresh your dried dill is. So anyway, you might want to start with a bit less and you can always add a bit more.

Better Than Store Bought Ranch Dip
From The Weekday Lunches and Breakfasts Cookbook by Mary Younkin

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dried dill weed, adjust to taste
3/4 teaspoon dried parsley
3/4 teaspoon dried chives
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon finely ground pepper, adjust to taste
1/2 to 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or plain white vinegar

Whisk all of the ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

The flavors will intensify after the dried herbs hydrate, so it's a good idea to make this in advance.

Note: to turn this into a dressing like I did, just add buttermilk or even plain milk until it's the consistency you like.

I got a copy of this book from the publisher at no cost, but also bought my own. 

Hummus and Perqs

Did the word "perqs" confuse you?

How about "perks"?

Same thing. Perks is a friendlier spelling of perqs which is short for perquisite, which I think is an interesting word. It rhymes with requisite, but it's not something that's required. It's (according to Google's definition) "a thing regarded as a special right or privilege enjoyed as a result of one's position."

I also like the short version, perq, because it has a q that isn't followed by a u. So that makes it unique. I also like it because absolutely no one uses perq any more, and I'm quirky like that.

One of the perqs of being a blogger is getting free stuff. This is in addition to the work of being a blogger, which sometimes includes being paid to write stuff. The pay is not a perq, since it's earned. The free stuff thrown in, though, is very perqy.

Another perq is getting invited to events. Recently, the folks at Sprouts (a local grocery store chain, if they're not in your area) invited a bunch of bloggers to an event at Hope Foods, a local maker of hummus. And now guacamole. But mostly hummus.

(Note: Of course people who provide the perqs ((I love that spelling!)) hope that it will result in bloggers writing about their products. They're not being charitable; they're savvy marketers. But there's no contract. No one is obligated to write. So ... it's up to the blogger to decide whether something is of interest to their readers or whether it's worth a post on social media, or whether it's just another meh that goes in the pile of stuff that's donated to charity. I only write about stuff that amuses me and/or that I think my readers will be interested in.)

So, at the event we bloggers mingled, chatted, and sampled. Hope has a chocolate hummus that I'm still trying to wrap my head around. When I think of it as hummus, my brain says, no, hummus is tan colored and has lemon and garlic or herbs and spices and you eat it with pita chips or vegetables. But it's not chocolate.

But when I don't think of it as hummus, it reminds me of brownie batter. It has that sort of texture ... not smooth like Nutella. It tastes good. I licked the spoon. And then I wondered what I could do with it.

I could eat it with a Ritz cracker or graham cracker. But something about that chocolate hummus makes me want to cook with it. It has potential to be the secret ingredient in something.

I'm just not sure what, yet.

Another interesting sample was their guacamole. Let's be honest here. I don't buy guacamole, I buy avocados. That are never ripe enough, so I have to let them sit a while. It's always this balancing act between when I buy them and when I want to eat them, and I don't always win. Sigh.

I've tried a few store-bought guacamoles, and some are just plain horrible. They don't even resemble guacamole. They're weird and slimy and even if the flavor is acceptable the texture is all all alllll wrong.

But the Hope guacamole was pretty close to home made. Not exactly how I make mine, because we all have our special recipes. But the texture was right, and that's really important. The secret is how they sterilize all their foods. Instead of heat-processing, which changes the texture and flavor of foods (I mean, seriously, you're cooking it!) they use a cold water method that subjects the packaged food to super-high pressure so that the nasties are killed without cooking the food. Cooked guacamole is no bueno. Pressurized guacamole tastes like guacamole.

I'm not going to stop buying avocados, because they have so many uses beyond guac. And I'll still make my own guacamole. But if I'm ever in a guacamole emergency where I don't have a ripe avocado nearby, I'd be more than happy to pick up a container of the Hope guacamole. Or to keep one in the fridge for potential guacamole emergencies, since it lasts quite a while before it's opened.

We also took a tour of the facility, where we saw the mixing, packaging, and preserving process and learned a little about the company. They make everything they can on-site, including their own sriracha. They get dried chickpeas (grown in the US) and they cook them on-site. They don't use a co-packer to do any of their work. They started out making hummus by hand and selling it at the local farmer's market, and they want to stick as close to those roots as possible, even though they now have a factory instead of a blender in someone's kitchen. It's a young company, and they're all very hands-on and enthusiastic.

So anyway, besides mingling and tasting and taking a tour of the facility, we were also given two different guacamole bases for us to make our own hummus flavors.

I wasn't all that fond of the sweet base as-is, but I added almond butter, cherry preserves, ginger, lemon, a hint of cinnamon, and some red pepper flakes. And, hey! It was pretty good! Still a tad on the sweet side, but the ginger and red pepper added heat and the almond butter mellowed it out, so it wasn't all sweet. I might actually get on this sweet hummus bandwagon.

The savory one got lime, sesame seeds, roasted red peppers, and chili powder. Maybe something else. Oh! Garlic. I didn't write it down, I just added a bit here and there and mixed it all up. The roasted red peppers could have used a blender to break them up, but I was happy with the combo. And then we put our hummuseseses (hummi? Hummipotamuses?) into cute little jars that they had labeled just for us. Awwwwww. And we stole the spatulas. Yup, right into the goodie bags they went.

Okay, fine. They said we could take them.

It was an interesting couple hours, I saw some local bloggers I haven't seen in a while, and met some new friends. And I came home with a bag full of hummus, guacamole, and other goodies supplied by Hope Foods and Sprouts, who sponsored the event.

I don't know how far Hope Hummus is being distributed yet, but if you see it in your area and you're a hummus fan, give it a try. They have lot of creative flavors, and they're working on creating more. And be sure to check out the guacamole!

As for the chocolate hummus... look for that to appear here in a recipe. As soon as I figure out what the heck I'm going to do with it.

Thanks to Hope Foods and Sprouts for sponsoring a fun event! And stuff! I got stuff! 

Red Pepper Hummus

You can't tell it from this blog, but I've been working my tail off in the kitchen. Most of it won't be published here, because I'm writing recipes for other people. But ... I just happened to make a hummus recipe based on one in the book My Life on a Plate by Kelis.

This book is one that's circulating in the Cook My Book group I belong to, and it's got some really interesting recipes. I picked the hummus because I had the ingredients on hand. Or I thought I did. But when I reached for the chickpeas ... oops! I didn't have any.

No worries, I had to run to the store to buy other things, so I grabbed canned chickpeas.

Then, when I looked at the recipe, I decided to tweak a few things. Or, to be honest. I tweaked a lot of things. I added a fire roasted red pepper and cut back on garlic, salt, and lemon juice. I used a red onion instead of yellow one, and I used white pepper instead of black.

Okay, fine, I changed a lot of things. But it was still inspired by the book, right? And it was really good.

Red Pepper Hummus
Inspired by My Life on a Plate by Kelis

2 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas, drained
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
1 red bell pepper fire roasted, peeled, cored, and seeded

Place all ingredients (I suggest starting with just 1 teaspoon salt and adding more, to taste) in a high-powered blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Taste for seasoning and adjust as desired. If the hummus tastes "dry" add more olive oil, as needed. Blend well again after adding any extra seasoning.

Serve with pita chips or vegetables. Refrigerate the leftovers.

Three-ingredient blue cheese dressing

Blue cheese dressing seems so fancy, but it's really pretty simple. The flavor is mostly from the cheese, so you want to let that shine.

This dressing has only three ingredients, and it takes just a few minutes to prepare. I think the flavor is better after it's been refrigerated for a while - the blue cheese flavor seems to infuse the creamy dressing rather than just being bits of blue. But it's not a bad thing that it improves with age. If you're making this for a party or event, you can make it the day before, so it's one less thing to do on party day.

I was tempted to add herbs or other flavorings to this - a pinch of hot pepper or perhaps some other spice. But then I realized that additions would just take away from the blue cheese flavor. And if I wanted something else, I could simply add those flavors to my salad. Some fresh chopped parsley, perhaps?

You can make this as smooth or as chunky as you like. Just blend longer for a smoother dressing. But I do like the little pops of blue cheese, so I left it a little bit lumpy. The dressing gets thicker when you refrigerate, and the thickness depends a little on how this your Greek yogurt is. If it's too thick, just mix in some milk or buttermilk to thin it - or you could even add water to thin it. Or, you can leave it thick and use it as a dip for vegetables.

Blue Cheese Dressing

1 cup Greek-style yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise mayonnaise
4 ounces blue cheese, cut into chunks

Blend the yogurt and mayonnaise in your blender until combined. (You could also do this in a food processor, or by hand, but a blender makes it sooo easy.)

Add the blue cheese and pulse until the blue cheese is in bits as small as you like. Or keep blending until it's smooth, if that's what you prefer.

Taste and add salt or pepper, if desired. I liked it the way it was, but, hey, it's your taste buds you need to please.

Transfer to a container and refrigerate until needed.

Buddha's Hand Citron Feta Yogurt Dip

This three ingredient savory dip is delightful with chopped vegetables or crackers. Decorate the Buddha's Hand to make it even spookier for Halloween!

Disclosure: Melissa's Produce sent me the Buddha's Hand Citron to play with.

Thanks for having me over, Donna! No no, please don't go to any bother--let me take care of you. I brought a snack to share with you and your readers today and I'll do my own introduction.

Hi Donna's readers! I write Farm Fresh Feasts where I provide practical support for local eating. I share recipes using ingredients from my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, the farmer's market, my garden and volunteers from the rogue compost bins. To help other folks like me use all those local veggies, I've created a Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient--including more than 50 recipes on the Kohlrabi page alone--shared from other bloggers on the web. Stumped by farm share produce? Check it out--you're sure to find something for every eating style.

While I was exploring Cookistry I found oodles of Halloween treats. From Donna's interview with Nadia G filled with spooky party treats, to her Chocolate Bats, Coffin Cookies, Cuddly Monster Chocolate Mayonnaise Cupcakes, and GingerBoo House--Donna has a bountiful spread of Halloween goodies here.

I'm going to add another one!

When Melissa's Produce sent me a box of #FreakyFruits last year I was amazed at the weirdness of nature and inspired in the kitchen. The Buddha's Hand citron looked like a suitably spooky item to use for an upcoming Halloween party.

Since I'm always looking for more Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks (for my Pinterest boards) I wanted a savory appetizer. I thought of the lemon feta dip that my mom discovered at my local grocery store and decided to try my own version. Since there are only 3 ingredients it's easy to play around and add more yogurt if you want a creamier dip, or more feta if you're looking for a saltier tang. This is a little thinner than the store's version and we like it a lot.

Note: we particularly like this dip with Wheat Thins because the slightly sweet cracker is a nice combination with the tangy feta. It's also good with sliced veggies and pretzels.

Buddha's Hand Citron Feta Yogurt Dip

Ingredients

• zest from 1 Buddha's Hand citron (or lemon)
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup plain yogurt (I prefer a thick Greek style yogurt)
• dippers (see Note above)

Instructions

1. If you're planning to display the top half of the Buddha's Hand in the center of your dip, cut the citron in half and zest only the base. You'll need about 2 to 3 tablespoons of zest.
2. Combine the zest, feta and yogurt in a food processor, pulsing until well-blended.
3. Chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.
4. Taste, and see if you'd like a creamier dip (add more yogurt) or more feta.
5. Add the upper part of the Buddha's Hand just before serving.

Disclosure--Melissa's Produce sent me the Buddha's Hand Citron along with a bunch of other #FreakyFruits.

Homemade Chip Dip Mix

I've been on a bit of a chip-dip binge lately. I've tried pretty much every brand of onion soup mix and dip mix that's out there.

Some of them were good, some were nostalgic. And unfortunately, some tasted way too raw-oniony for me. But buying little packets of soup mix to make chip dip seemed silly, considering I wasn't making soup, and I had a whole cabinet full of spices that I could use.

The idea was in the back of my head when I saw a recipe for onion soup mix on a blog called Save with Pennies. I was about to try that recipe to make chip dip when I thought, gee, lets skip the soup and go straight to the dip.

So I went into the kitchen, opened the world of spices, and started mixing. After several tasty tries - none of them were bad, really - I came up with something I liked.

This is a LOT of spices, but when they're mixed together and added to a creamy base, you don't really pick out the individual flavors of every single spice. It's just a very tasty dip.

Chip Dip Mix

1 tablespoon dried red and green bell peppers
1 tablespoon dried shallots
1 tablespoon dried romano cheese powder
2 tablespoons dried chives
2 teaspoons dried dill
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried horseradish powder
3 tablespoons dried toasted onion flakes

Combine all the ingredients in a spice grinder (I use a small coffee grinder) and blend for a few seconds. Add the toasted onion  and pulse a few times. I liked this best when there were small bits of onion rather than having it all powdered - but you can do what you like.

You could also simply mix the spices, but the shallots, onions, red & green bell peppers, and chives are all fairly large and you'd end up with a chunky dip, and that's not what I wanted.

If you don't have a spice grinder, you could go old-school and use a mortar and pestle to crush the spices, or you could try using a blender or food processor. I can't guarantee how well those methods would work since I haven't tried them - but from previous experience, the food processor doesn't seem to work as well with really small quantities.

To make the dip:

Add 1 tablespoon of dip mix to 1 cup of sour cream, yogurt, or a mix of sour cream and yogurt. Mix well.

While I love Greek yogurt, I think a little sour cream is needed for dip. A 50/50 mix of sour cream and yogurt is my preference, but when I'm short on sour cream and I have a lot of yogurt, a mix of 1/4 sour cream and 3/4 yogurt is pretty darned good.

But of course you can make it with all yogurt to cut the calories.

It's best if you make this an hour or so in advance and refrigerate it until you need it, so the dried herbs and spices have time to hydrate.

Sources:
For spices you can't find at the grocery store, check out Penzeys and Savory Spice Shop - that's where I got mine, but there are also other sources, I'm sure.

Shishito Guacamole

There was an avocado sitting on the kitchen counter, glaring at me accusingly. I had plans for it the day before, but plans fell through. I knew that if I didn't use it soon ... like now, it would be ugly inside, and I'd be mad.

For a fleeting moment, I thought about adding the avocado to the mashed potatoes I was planning, but shifted gears when I remembered the shishito peppers I recently received from Frieda's Specialty Produce.

Avocado with shishito peppers sounded like a really good idea. And, it was. They added a nice roasted pepper flavor and just a little bit of heat.

Shishito Guacamole

6-8 shishito peppers
Splash of olive oil
1 avocodo
1 teaspoon finly chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon lime juice
Salt, to taste

Remove the pepper stem and slice the peppers in half, lengthwise. Heat the oil in a skillet and add the peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are browned in spots and beginning to smell fragrant.

Remove the peppers from the pan and chop finely.

Remove the flesh from the avocado and put it in a small bowl along with the peppers, chives, lime juice, and salt. Stir to combine, while chopping and mashing the avocado to your desired smoothness. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lime juice, if desired.

Serve.

Frieda's Specialty Produce occasionally sends me food items for use on my blog. I'm not required to post.

Spicy Mayo from Fire and Smoke

The lastest book from the Cook My Book group that I'm in was Fire and Smoke: A Pitmaster's Secrets by Chris Lilly.

The idea of the group is that at the beginning of the year, we each choose a book that we want to share, and we send the book to the next person on the list. Every few weeks, we all mail that book ... and it continues until each book has passed through everyone's hands and ends up back with its owner, with notes, comments, drawings, cartoons, messages, and food splatters that memorialize all the dishes that the cooks have made.

I didn't get very far in my browsing when I found a recipe for artichokes with a spicy mayo.

Well, I already had the artichokes - I'd already cooked them, so I didn't need the recipe for grilling them, but the spicy mayo sounded good. I usually stuff artichokes, but sometimes a little dip is good, too.

This mayo was perfect for my artichokes, but it would also be good on warm potatoes or mixed into a potato salad. Or smeared onto a sandwich or a burger or dolloped onto asparagus. Or on fish tacos. Or pretty much anywhere that mayonnaise and spice go together

I only made half of the recipe because I knew I didn't need quite that much. I also used less cayenne because, while I like spicy foods a lot, I didn't want to overwhelm the flavor of the artichoke.

This is the half-recipe, the way I made it. Taste it and add more cayenne if you want it even spicier.

Spicy Mayonnaise
Adapted from Fire and Smoke by Chris Lilly

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons ketchup
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon dry dill weed

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Refrigerate until needed.

You can use this immediately, but I always like these sorts of dips or spreads after they've had time for the spices to hydrate and for the flavors to mingle.

A fresh, healthy, tasty green dip - that isn't guacamole: Fake-amole for St. Patrick's Day!

With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, you'll be seeing a lot of green. Maybe you should add this one to your list. A pretty green dip that tastes fresh, earthy, and rich all at the same time. It looks like it might be guacamole, but it's not.

The funny thing is that it tastes just a little like guacamole - the slightly nutty flavor is similar, and the color is almost perfect. If you wanted to switch it up a bit with chopped cilantro, a bit of lime, and a few chopped jalapenos or some salsa, you might actually convince a few people, even though the texture is a more like hummus.

For St. Patrick's Day, guacamole might not fit the menu - but this is endlessly versatile.

This can be used as a spread (omit the water to keep it thicker) or as a dip (add water as needed to get the consistency you're looking for. It's great with crackers, raw vegetables, as a spread on sandwiches, or with pita or tortilla chips.

Meanwhile, this is loaded with vegetables, herbs and fiber. And it can be made well in advance, since the bright green won't fade or go brown - so you can make it well in advance for parties. Just keep it refrigerated until needed.

The Mazola® Corn Oil in this particular recipe provides the tiny bit of fat needed to help carry the flavor and add richness, and it doesn't add any assertive flavors - the rest of the ingredients really shine. While I like flavorful oils for some applications, sometimes the oil needs to step back a few paces and just be ... well, oil.

While preparing this recipe, I also learned that a recent research study found that corn oil helps lower cholesterol more than extra virgin olive oil. You can learn more about the study at Mazola.com.

Pea and Chickpea Dip, AKA Fake-amole

1 cup frozen peas
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh parsley
A few leaves fresh thyme (optional)
2 tablespoons Mazola Corn Oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1-2 tablespoons water (optional; as needed)

Combine all the ingredients in your food processor or blender. To be honest, I started with my blender, then moved to my food processor, since I wasn't getting quite the smooth result I was looking for - but blenders differ. Yours might do just fine.

Blend until the mixture is as smooth as possible, scraping down the sides of the container as needed. If you start with completely frozen peas, it might take a little longer to blend, but it's fine to use them frozen or thawed. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

If the mixture is too thick for your purposes, add water, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach the consistency you're looking for.

Serve with crackers, chips, or vegetables. Or use as a sandwich spread.

Visit Mazola.com for more information about the benefits of corn oil and for more recipe ideas. This post is sponsored by Mazola.

Chipotle-Pumpkin Sauce #PumpkinCan

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of LIBBY’S Pumpkin. All opinions are 100% mine.

I make a lot of sauces and salsas and marinades and dressings. Usually, they're for a specific purpose. But when I made this sauce, I started using it on everything.

What couldn't I use it for?

Huh? Huh?

Okay, maybe not ice cream.

But ... hmmm ... given the bizarre ice cream flavors there are, maybe this could work. I'm not going to try it, but feel free to experiment on yourself.

For starters, I used this as a marinade for steak. Then I slathered it on a pork roast before it went into the oven.

I think my favorite use - and the one where it really showed off - was as a salsa substitute on tacos.

If pumpkin seems odd paired with a Mexican dish, think about this. The earliest pumpkin-related seeds were found in Mexico, and they dated back to between 7000 and 5500 B.C.

But this isn't just for use as-is. It makes a great base ingredient that you can build on.

Mixed with an equal portion of sour cream or Greek yogurt, it makes a great creamy-smoky-spicy dip for chips or vegetables. Add some mayonnaise, if you like.

Blend this sauce with cream cheese to make a cracker spread. Or add a spoon full to your favorite cheese ball recipe.

Mix it with more ketchup (or tomato sauce or paste) then add some allspice to make a smoky barbecue sauce for ribs.

Stir a spoon of this into soup or stew to kick up the flavor. Add a small dollop to your deviled egg, potato salad, or macaroni salad recipe.

Add a tiny bit to a salad dressing recipe, or toss some with hot pasta.

Add it to guacamole or salsa. Mix it with cooked vegetables.

Seriously, you're going to keep making this over and over and over, because it has so many uses.

And it's so simple.

Chipotle-Pumpkin Sauce

1 15-ounce can LIBBY's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1/4 cup canned chipotle in adobo
1/4 cup ketchup
Salt, to taste

Put the pumpkin, chipotles (and the sauce that goes with them), and the ketchup into your blender or food processor and blend until it's as smooth as it can get.

If you want a completely smooth sauce, without the pepper seeds and skin, strain it though a fine strainer. Taste and add salt as desired.

Refrigerate until needed.

For more ideas on what #PumpkinCan be used for (get it, pumkin can ... canned pumpkin?) check out the website or LIBBY’S Pumpkin on Facebook or LIBBY’S Pumpkin on Twitter or LIBBY’S Pumpkin on Pinterest ... or check out the pasta I made, or the peanut butter and pumpkin cookies or the pumpkin and vegetable pancakes.

Excuse me now, while I go contemplate pi. Or maybe pie.

Three dips: Olive oil bread dip, Horseradish chive chip-dip, and Three-pepper vegetable dip

A simple dip can turn chips, bread or vegetables into something a little more special. Vegetables with a dip makes them appealing as a snack or an appetizer. Bread and butter is great, but an olive oil dip makes it something to linger over.

And chips and dip? Well, that's a natural pair.

These dips can all be made ahead of time, so you can have them waiting in the refrigerator for company or for snacking.

Dip Some Bread

This olive oil dip is perfect for bread sticks or for crusty French bread, or for dinner rolls. Got leftovers? It also makes a great salad dressing.

The Garlic Gold Nuggets are dry, crunchy garlic bits that I found in the spice aisle. They can be used as a topping on salads or baked potatoes or vegetables. They added a nice garlic flavor to the dip without making it overly garlicky. A small pinch of garlic powder would be an acceptable substitute.

Olive Oil Bread Dip

1/4 teaspoon Garlic Gold Nuggets
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1/4 teaspoon dry rosemary
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar
Several grinds cracked pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil

Put the Garlic Gold Nuggets, oregano, rosemary, salt, sugar, and pepper into a small shallow bowl. Add the lemon juice and sherry vinegar. Stir to combine and let sit for 10 minutes for the herbs to hydrate.

Top with the olive oil. Taste for seasoning, and add salt, if needed. If it's too tart, you can add a touch more sugar, or add more olive oil, as desired.

Horseradish-Chive Chip Dip

This dip is great with chips, and it's also perfect with vegetables. If you have leftovers, this makes a great salad dressing - just thin it out a bit with some buttermilk or milk to a pourable consistency.

If your horseradish is very fresh and strong, you might want to start with 1/2 teaspoon and and more after you taste it. Horseradish loses its potency over time, so if you've had that jar of prepared horseradish for a while, you'll need more in the dip. Or just buy a fresh jar next time you're at the store.

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1 teaspoon dry chives
1-2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar
Several grinds black pepper
Pinch of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt, if desired.

Cover and refrigerate until needed.

You can serve this immediately, but I think it's better after an hour or so.

Three-Pepper Vegetable Dip

If you can't find piquilla peppers, fire roasted red peppers are a good substitution. This isn't a spicy dip, but if you want a little heat, a pinch (or more) of chipotle powder or cayenne would work well in this dip.

1/2 cup piquillo peppers
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 hard-boiled egg (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add salt, if needed. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Bacon, tomato and chipotle guacamole

I never thought I'd make guacamole from a recipe. I mean, why bother? I know what I like in my guacamole, and most of the time, I like it fairly plain - and sometimes completely austere. Onions, a squeeze of lime, cilantro, and a bit of salt, and I'm happy.

But fate let me to this recipe. I happened to have exactly enough leftover bacon to make it, I had all the other ingredients at hand, and chicken mole was on the menu. And I brought tortilla chips home from the farmer's market. How could I not try it?

This recipe makes enough guacamole for a crowd, but it's fairly easy to cut down to size. Chipotle peppers are easy to find at the grocery store. They come in cans, and a little goes a long way. Most recipes only need a pepper or two, but once you've tried them you'll find other uses. They'll last a while in the refrigerator, or you can freeze them for later use.


Bacon-and-Tomato Guacamole  
Adapted from "Fiesta at Rick's" by Rick Bayless

1/2 medium white onion, chopped
3 ripe avocados
2 or 3 canned chipotles in adobo, stems and seed removed, and chopped
1 tomato, cored and chopped into 1/8 inch pieces
5 strips medium-thick bacon, cooked until crisp, drained, and crumbled
1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro, thick stems removed and chopped
Salt, to taste
1 or 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

To take some of the bite out of the onion, put the chopped onion into a strainer and rinse it under cold water. Shake to get rid of excess water, and let it drain well.

Remove the meat from the avocados and put it into a medium bowl. Mash the avocado lightly, leaving some chunks. Add the onion, pepper, bacon and cilantro, setting aside some of the bacon and cilantro for garnish, if desired. Stir gently to combine. Taste and add salt as desired (about 1/2 teaspoon) and half of the lime juice. Taste again and adjust salt and lime as desired.

If you aren't serving this immediately, lay plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate until serving time. Garnish with the reserved cilantro and bacon for serving.

Hummus with Cashew Butter

The first time I encountered hummus, I had no idea what I was eating, but I liked it. Later, I found it pre-made at grocery stores. I still didn't know what was in it, but it was interesting. I might have glanced at the ingredients list, but back then I probably didn't know that garbanzo beans and chickpeas were the same thing.

And then I forgot about it.

The next time I ran into hummus, it was one of those slap-yourself-in-the-head moments. The dip that I thought was so mysterious and exotic and probably difficult to make was little more than mashed chickpeas.Sure, there are flavorings added, but it's not a difficult dish, particularly if you've got a food processor or blender to do the work.

Recently, I've seen all sorts of things called hummus. Green pea hummus, for example. Okay, if peas can be hummus, what about using other beans? Butter beans? That might work. Pinto beans? Um, isn't that sort of like refried beans?

I've also read recipes that claim if a hummus doesn't include tahini, it's not real hummus. And I've also read recipes that say it's fine to leave out, but you shouldn't substitute.

Tahini, if you're not familiar with it, is a paste made from sesame seeds. Personally, although I love sesame seeds, I have a love-hate relationship with tahini. Sometimes it's too bitter. And even when it's good, I always end up with too much of it. Hummus recipes use just a little tahini, and I don't make hummus often. So no matter how much tahini I have, it's too much.

Sometimes I add sesame oil to the hummus, but lately I've been leaving it out and going with other flavors.

This was my most recent mix:

Hummus with Cashew Butter

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Cashew butter
Roasted garlic olive oil
Meyer lemon olive oil
Salt

Chickpeas went into the food processor with a nice pinch of salt, and I started whizzing them up. I added the cashew butter - about a quarter cup, and then added water until it got close to the right texture, then added just a little bit of both the olive oils for. It was about a tablespoon of the oils all together, and more lemon than garlic.

If I had made the chickpeas from dried, I would have used the cooking liquid, but I don't care for the liquid in canned beans, which is why I used water. If you like the liquid in the can, use that; If you use freshly cooked chickpeas, use the cooking liquid.

I tasted it for seasoning and added just a bit more salt. And that was it.

I served it with the wedges of the tomato flatbreads I made yesterday.