Friday, December 4, 2020

Open Sesame

 Tahini (sesame paste) is a staple in Middle Eastern cuisine.  It's one of the main ingredients in hummus (along with chickpeas) but can be used in so many different ways.

Sesame is high in phosphorus and manganese, which is good for bone health; is rich in antioxidants, has anti-inflammatory properties, and is a healthy fat containing a variety of vitamins and minerals.

I like to make vegan pancakes and store them in the freezer.   It's easy to take one or two out to pop in the toaster in the morning for breakfast.

During lockdown, I ran out of maple syrup so started putting tahini and powdered sugar on my pancakes and that's pretty much how I enjoy eating them all the time now.

For the pancakes I put 1/4 a cup of oatmeal in the blender along with a cup of water, 1 TBS coconut sugar, 1 TBS sunflower oil, a dash of vanilla and a good sprinkling of cinnamon which I blend for about 30 seconds; then add to 1 cup of wheat flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp baking powder.  Mix and cook in a heated, dry pan.

I also like to make a salad dressing with tahini and serve it over romaine, tomatoes, onions and roasted potatoes.  (For the dressing I mix a TBS of tahini with lemon juice, s&p, cumin powder, garlic powder and water til I get a creamy, pourable consistency.)

The containers the paste comes in are a nice, thick plastic and since there's no recycling here, I've been saving some of them which I recently used for planting coriander seeds.The sprouts really started to grow after our first rainfall.


(I love when the seed shell still clings to the sprout as it grows.)  
The sprouts could be eaten now but I prefer to wait for the final stage of growth which is cilantro.

I like making a salad of chopped tomato, onions, cucumber, cilantro and chickpeas dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, s&p, cumin and garlic powder.  It goes really well with spicy toasted pita chips.

(It's close to my bedtime now so I really have to stop talking about food. :)
Have a fabulous Friday!
Bee kind!

8 comments:

Dee said...

We love hummus. I really *should* make my own rather than buying it already prepared.

Love the jars with the coriander. Good use of the jar.

kathyinozarks said...

Hi Tammy, I enjoyed your post with recipes. I love tahini too. I was a vegetarian back in the'70s but I had to go off it because I got down to nothing to eat-and I was into the clothes as well-no leather, some back then didn't even use wool although that doesn't harm the sheep to shear off. I got down to if I ate the seeds from the veggies and fruits than I was killing that plant off if I didn't sprout the seeds. It was getting too much for me at the time.
beautiful photos Happy friday and weekend

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Tammy,
What a yummy post, did save your Vegan Pancakes with link to. this post on my Pinterest. They are so healthy and yes, the Tahini is perfect.
Your Cilantro is quite a crop in development, looks so wonderful and would be hard for not pinching off some leaves prematurely...
LOVE your bee photo, and funny that we both mentioned natures worker bees in our post. For Pieter a fond memory and that life museum was so much fun to watch.
Pieter was in his element, explaining it all to me; loved those moments of joy!
Hugs,
Mariette

Betsy said...

This was such a yummy post. I always enjoy tahini. Mandy introduced me to hummus years ago and it's one of my favorite snacks. The pancakes sound, (and look) so delicious too. Dennis and I tried to eat more plant based last year for health reasons. He did great but I have some stomach issues and it was way too much fiber for me no matter what I tried.
Take care my friend.
Blessings,
Betsy

linda said...

I love tahini too it has so many uses, I love the make health balls and the tahini makes them lovely and most. I'll have to try the pancakes they sound yummy.

Derya said...

Hello Tammy,
I love sesame, the main ingredient of tahini, I keep spooning the slightly roasted form for a few months :) hummus is also one of my favorites. I was curious and would like to try the vegan crepe. I'm not very good with the egg :) the coriander is growing, the plants that sprout and grow from the seed are a miracle. Stay healthy ..

Linda said...

Your recipes are interesting, not really our type of thing but they look good just the same. Your garden is looking wonderful!! I adore your use of the old containers - I love to repurpose as well.

Angie said...

Tammy - I never would have thought of tahini for pancakes, but it looks delicious!

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