Thursday, May 7, 2020

Happy Hour Apps

Recipes: Fried Almonds, Curried Ceci (Garbanzo Beans), Pesto-stuffed Mushrooms

Every day during this Shelter at Home period, now in its 56th day for us, my boyfriend Wayne and I have celebrated Happy Hour at 5:45p.m. I make a small appetizer, and pour a mixed drink for him and a glass of wine for me. One of us puts jazz, or classical music, or blues on the stereo. We sit in the living room, with the front door open now that it's warmer, and we talk - about anything and everything except coronavirus and contentious politics. It's kind of the highlight of our day, and not only because of the drinks.

I've never felt very creative around apps, but since we've been home I've discovered some easy ways to provide a little bite to go with the celebration of the day, without seriously impairing our ability to save room for dinner. Here are a few delicious examples.


Fried Almonds

We keep big bags of raw whole almonds around for their nutritional value. They're good, but kind of bleh on their own as an appetizer. Easy to fix! Heat a couple tablespoons olive oil in a small frying pan. When it is hot, add one cup whole raw almonds, skins still on. Sprinkle sea salt over. Fry, stirring, for 3 or 4 minutes. When you see the almonds start to get dark, turn the heat off and scoop the almonds onto a paper towel with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle more sea salt.
Serve the almonds in a pretty dish, with a napkin. I like to add a pungent taste as a counterpoint, in this case with pickled okra.


Curried Ceci

Ceci and garbanzo beans are the same, ceci is the Italian name, and in this case canned garbanzo beans work beautifully. Rinse and drain a can of garbanzos. Dry them with a paper towel. In a small frying pan, heat one tablespoon olive oil. Put the beans in and fry them, stirring. Add sea salt and about a teaspoon of curry powder, or to taste. More is better than less, to my mind! Fry for a total of 3 - 4 minutes, then pop the curried beans into a pretty dish. Serve with napkins. Yum!



Pesto-Stuffed Mushrooms

OK, this one almost isn't fair. I have a jar of already made pesto, so how easy is that? Pesto is also easy to make, but one might not have all those ingredients while sheltering at home. I went with the jar. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take white or brown cultivated mushrooms, good-sized ones work well. Pull out the stem and put it in the composter or save it for a vegetable stock. Fill the cavity with pesto, and sprinkle a bit of grated Parmesan over the top. Pop those guys into the oven for 20 minutes. Done and delicious!


More next time! Be safe, stay home, take good care of yourselves!

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