Hummus Made Easy

I saw this at the store the other day and tried the black bean version: very good! Best hummus I've ever had. (click headline above to go the product website)

I made it using an electric mixer, so the beans weren't completely mushed, there was some nice texture to not having them completely blended.

I read somewhere that hummus is made better by adding sour cream, and that works even for packaged hummus, and also for this.

I made another batch with refried black beans, and some chopped onion and only light mixing, and that is maybe the best batch so far.

I read a Tweet once that said "I feel good knowing I've put so many of the Sabra kids through college." :-)

I have no affiliation with Bush's, an have received no recompense for this post; I'm just a person who has tried to like hummus, and now knows how to make really good hummus. 

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In 2 parts:

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Could have been phrased better

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Really? The best they could come up for that question is "Are you an unmarried spouse of a person who was 65 or older at the time of their death"?

An  unmarried spouse?!

It took me a while to figure out that it means "Was your spouse 65 or older when they died, and do you remain unmarried?" At least I think that's what it means. No help/explanation anywhere.

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My food invention of the day: Eurotoast

I've been a fan of some British food for some time, especially beans on toast, which I find makes a nice savory breakfast. I recently bought a nice jar of Amish sauerkraut, and decided to try it as the topping of the day on my beanie toast, and it is a great combination. (I also found this recipe for baked beans and sauerkraut, which I'm going to try soon, although I may just add the sauerkraut after it's cooked, so as not to kill the sauerkraut's probiotics by cooking them).

Here's the recipe:

1. Make some toast: I prefer to use a nice hearty sourdough that won't wimp out when covered with wet foods... one of our local stores sells Stone House bread, and it's worth the drive there just for that.
2. Butter that toast... I know we're about to put other things on it, but this is important for mouth feel and taste.
3. Add a respectable layer of baked beans... I prefer the firmer, more savory nature of Grillin' Beans to traditional, softer/sweeter baked beans; I use them room-temp out of the can or cold out of the fridge.
4. Layer on some sauerkraut, letting some of the liquid drain back into the container before putting it on the toast (I use a fork for this).

I have dubbed this creation Eurotoast, because it's a British food base with a German twist (although many other European countries also include sauerkraut as part of their history/heritage).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAIGb1lfpBw

I think I could watch this happy little tune for 10 hours.

So it’s lucky someone made a 10-hour version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejpMgF1pugQ

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Notes from a flood

Heavy rains today, and the water table got a little high (click the pics for full size):

 And the storm drain system was overwhelmed:

And this is why they say not to drive into standing water:

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And here's the new carpet we just had installed after The Great Flood of August 2013:

Basements are great, until they're not. :-(

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You may have to click on the list-image once or twice to see it at regular size.

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