Halloween Graveyard

We went to a Halloween party a few days ago and this is what I brought for the potluck:

A Halloween Graveyard!

What is it you ask? Black Bean Hummus, sprouts, and whole wheat pizza crust. Here are a few more pics to help you get the idea:

Black Bean Hummus
I used the hummus recipe from FatFreeVegan Kitchen. I love a lot of her recipes. It's a cute idea what she did with the spider & web. You could just make that for Halloween too!

Here is my slight variation of her recipe:
2 cloves garlic
4 cups cooked beans (I seasoned them like this recipe) OR 2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoons ground sesame seeds
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (not Tabasco)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

With food processor running, drop in the garlic cloves and process until finely chopped. Add the black beans, and process until pureed. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Taste and correct seasonings, adding more as needed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sprouts
I grew my own sprouts. I need to do a whole other post about sprouting. That's on my to-do list. In the mean time you can just buy the alfalfa sprouts, or go to this website to learn more.

Whole Wheat Dough
I've used this pizza crust recipe for years. It comes from a friend who put it in a ward cookbook. I've only altered the kind of flour, which is almost always whole wheat.

Dough:
1 c warm water
1 T dry yeast
1/4 c oil (I use canola)
2 t salt
3 - 3 1/2 c whole wheat flour

Pour water in mixer bowl. Sprinkle in yeast and let dissolve. Add oil, salt and gradually mix flour in until a soft dough is formed. Let rise once (15-20 minutes.) Bake at 400 degrees for 12-17 minutes.

I had a cookie cutter that I never used so I reshaped it into a tombstone. I rolled out the dough, cut with the tombstone cutter, then sprinkled a mixture of 2 parts cumin, 1 part oregano, and 1 part paprika to give the bread a Mexican flavor.

Heather's Hummus

Heather's Hummus

Ingredients:
1 cup Garbanzo Bean Flour*
3-1/3 cups Water
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup Tahini (ground sesame seeds)
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Cumin, ground
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup Olive Oil

Bring 3-1/3 cups water to boiling on medium heat. Whisk the garbanzo bean flour into the boiling water. Cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Turn heat down to medium low and continue cooking 5 minutes. Let cool.

Add the garlic, tahini, lemon juice and mix until smooth. Then add the cumin, salt, pepper and slowly pour the olive oil and mix thouroughly.

* NOTE - I grind my garbanzo beans in my grain mill, but you can buy bean flour too, or probably just use canned or cooked garbanzo beans.

Cowboy Caviar & Wheat Berry Salad

My friend made this delicious salsa type dish. She calls it Cowboy Caviar. Here is her recipe:

Cowboy Caviar

6 TBS. red wine vinegar
2 TBS Hot Sauce (not Tabasco)
1 TB. Canola Oil
4 Cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp. black pepper

(Mix above ingredients and set aside)

Drain and mix together:
1- 10 oz. peg corn
1-10 oz. black-eye peas
Add:
1/3 Cup green onions
2/3 Cup Cilantro
1/2 lb. chopped roma tomatoes

Mix all ingredients together. Best made a day ahead
Add 2 large avocadoes (chopped coarsely) right before serving.

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I loved the dressing so much that I figured that it would work for other things too. I made up this wheat berry salad and used the same recipe for the dressing. I changed a few of the ingredients or measurements for the rest of the recipe since that's what I had on-hand and in my garden. This recipe is versatile and you could put anything in there! :)

Wheat Berry Salad

6 TBS. red wine vinegar
2 TBS Hot Sauce (not Tabasco)
1 TB. Canola Oil
2-4 Cloves minced garlic*
1/4 tsp. black pepper

(Mix above ingredients and set aside)

Mix together:
2 cups cooked wheat berries**
1- 15 oz. can corn (drained & rinsed)
1- 15 oz. black beans (drained & rinsed)
3 green onion stems (chopped or cut)
1 handful of Cilantro (chopped) (about 1/3 cup)
2 roma tomatoes (chopped)

Mix all ingredients together. Chill at least a couple hours before serving.

* Add garlic according to your taste, tolerance, or your plans for that day! Serve this salad with gum or breath mints if needed! :)
** I used red winter wheat berries since that's what I have for most of my food storage. If you still don't know what I'm talking about, they're just the cooked wheat seeds. Most people use them to grind into flour. Here's one way to cook the wheat: in a pot soak 1 cup dry wheat in 3 c water overnight, after ~8 hours of soaking, bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer for 50-60 minutes.