Emblematic of L.A. is its grand boulevards lined with palm trees. This month a purple upstart enters the scene -- the blossoming Jacaranda Tree. Stand under its branches at full bloom and the perfume is overwhelming.
May is the month that launches millions of blossoms carpeting large swaths of sidewalk; drive along 6th Street near LACMA and it's blue for blocks.
To keep the purple theme going I add cooked Purple Eggplant to a Hummus recipe. I used to find roasted eggplant in oil at my local 99c only Store.
But you can roast or saute a fresh eggplant, too. Just click here to see how I do it. Leave on the purple skin to add color.
My Sister, Denise, visited this cheap$kate brother and showed me her purplish Eggplant Veggie Burger Recipe.
Of course, we started with an ingredient shopping spree at my local 99c only Store. Click here to check out her recipe details.
For a soothing and creamy vegan dip go with my version of Baba GanoushBaba Ganoush. Of course, it's made with purple Eggplant. Get out the gluten-free, organic, multi-grain, low-sodium crackers for this one.
Eggplant Parmesan is a cheesy mess of deliciousness. I coat slices of eggplant in breadcrumbs and bake it with tomato sauce and cheese. My cheap$kate riff on an Italian Classic dish is here.
My Stuffed Eggplant recipe will float your boat. It's a purple shell loaded with ground meat, sauteed veggies, and, of course, cheese. More yummy photos and tasty text are here.
My Purple Hummus recipe is made with easy-to-get ingredients including canned garbanzo beans, lemon juice, olive oil, and ground cumin.
It all comes together easily in a blender or food processor, just blend until creamy.
I like to serve Eggplant Hummus with triangles of pita bread. You can use a favorite cracker or fresh chopped veggies like celery, broccoli, or carrots.
So watch my meditative recipe video below. To get things started I give you a tour of some favorite jacaranda trees and blossom sightings in Los Angeles, then the recipe follows.
Ingredients
Drain a can of garbanzo beans.
Add all ingredients (including oil from marinated eggplant) to a blender or food processor and blend for 20 to 30 seconds until hummus is creamy.
Serve with sliced pita bread triangles and/or fresh chopped veggies (carrots, celery, red/yellow bell pepper, etc.) 99c only Stores also sell roasted red bell pepper in a jar, so try that sometime instead of eggplant.
If your local 99-cent or dollar store is out of bottled roasted veggies make a plain one with the above-mentioned ingredients and the addition of a 1/4 cup of the 99-cent olive oil blend.
Hindsight
I use sesame seeds in this Hummus recipe. Usually, a paste called tahini is used, if you can find it then use it - about a tablespoon or two. Tahani tastes like bland peanut butter, so if you can't find sesame seeds or tahini then add a teaspoon of peanut butter.
I also have a recipe for Baba Gnoush that uses roasted eggplant. Just click here if you want to use fresh roasted eggplant, or if you can't find cheap marinated eggplant in oil. One eggplant should be plenty for this recipe. Eggplants are sometimes sold large-sized, but they shrink a lot when baked or sauteed. Below are Japanese Eggplants which are smaller than a regular Eggplant.
I like to serve Eggplant Hummus with triangles of pita bread. You can use a favorite cracker or fresh chopped veggies like celery, broccoli, or carrots.
So watch my meditative recipe video below. To get things started I give you a tour of some favorite jacaranda trees and blossom sightings in Los Angeles, then the recipe follows.
Eggplant Hummus & Jacaranda Blossoms - Video
Play it here. The video runs 2 minutes, 24 seconds.
To view or embed video from YouTube click here.Play it here. The video runs 2 minutes, 24 seconds.
Ingredients
- 1 small jar marinated grilled eggplant - Okay to use fresh baked or sauteed eggplant.
- 1 can garbanzo beans - 16 ounces, drained.
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds - or 2 tablespoons of tahini. Okay to substitute with 1 tablespoon of creamy peanut butter.
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic - fresh or from the jar.
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice - fresh or concentrated from a 99-cent plastic lemon.
- Pita bread slices - or favorite sliced raw veggies.
Drain a can of garbanzo beans.
Add all ingredients (including oil from marinated eggplant) to a blender or food processor and blend for 20 to 30 seconds until hummus is creamy.
Serve with sliced pita bread triangles and/or fresh chopped veggies (carrots, celery, red/yellow bell pepper, etc.) 99c only Stores also sell roasted red bell pepper in a jar, so try that sometime instead of eggplant.
If your local 99-cent or dollar store is out of bottled roasted veggies make a plain one with the above-mentioned ingredients and the addition of a 1/4 cup of the 99-cent olive oil blend.
Hindsight
I use sesame seeds in this Hummus recipe. Usually, a paste called tahini is used, if you can find it then use it - about a tablespoon or two. Tahani tastes like bland peanut butter, so if you can't find sesame seeds or tahini then add a teaspoon of peanut butter.
I also have a recipe for Baba Gnoush that uses roasted eggplant. Just click here if you want to use fresh roasted eggplant, or if you can't find cheap marinated eggplant in oil. One eggplant should be plenty for this recipe. Eggplants are sometimes sold large-sized, but they shrink a lot when baked or sauteed. Below are Japanese Eggplants which are smaller than a regular Eggplant.
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