basic hummus

• 2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
• cumin
• adobo
• fresh cilantro
• juice of one lemon
• pita chips

Place all ingredients but pita chips in food processor, pulse until smooth. Serve with pita chips.

The dish: There are times when I see some truth in the old saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree", and then there are other times I think that my family's tree must be planted at the top of a large hill in an area that's prone to heavy winds. I was thinking this over just recently when my parents joined Kim and I for a weekend away in Wilkes-Barre PA to see The Royal Scam, the best Steely Dan tribute band out there. I invited the rents figuring that my dad would love to go as he went to King's College in Wilkes-Barre and has been a fan of Steely Dan for longer than I've been alive. My mom is not a fan of SD and for that reason alone I felt the hill next to the orchard grow steeper and the winds strengthen. Kim and I decided to make a pit stop in Scranton to look at fireworks (we didn't by any silly, that would be illegal) and have lunch at one of the last surviving Ground Round restaurants remotely within driving distance. The Ground Round holds lots of happy memories for us and we were so taken with nostalgia that I asked our waitress if we could purchase the ramekin our spinach dip came in as a memento. She happily brought us out our little dish wrapped up and ready for travel, a gift from everyone at the Scranton Ground Round. Later that night at the River Street Jazz Cafe (an awesome place to see a show with great music, food and staff), we all agreed that the plate that held our delicious hummus was unique. I must have gotten wrapped up in Steely's melodies after that, because next thing I knew our waitress was bringing out our dish wrapped up and ready to travel back to New York. Turns out my mom asked the same question I had a few hours earlier and the good folks at the jazz cafe were happy to see their plate go to a good home. Playing with my new food processor, hummus seemed like an obvious thing to make and what better way to photograph it then using the dish and the ramekin that suggests my family tree might just live in a flat orchard with only a gentle breeze.

gateway bean salad

• 2 cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans chickpeas (or garbanzos for those of you that kill time in the Goya aisle), drained and rinsed
• green onions, chopped fine
• white wine vinegar
• olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Whisk together equal parts oil and vinegar with lemon juice, pour over remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Add sugar and salt to taste if you really want to.

The dish: We are officially into the time of year where the weather is great and the trails are muddy for those of us that love to rip through the woods on bicycles. Every chance Kim and I get to be on the bikes we seize it, even if it means pushing a few tasks to the back burner (read: blog not updated so often). This year we're doing an okay juggling job, but three years ago we did NOTHING other than work and ride. We pretty much ate out every night and had leftovers for lunch, leaving the red room as nothing other than a transfer station for coffee cups and doggy bags. Our favorite haunt was the Gateway diner, an oasis of cold air conditioning and cheap, plentiful food. Each huge dinner comes with soup and salad bar, which means that you take home more food than you eat, even after being famished from a long day of pedaling through the greatest trails in Hudson valley. The Gateway salad bar has many high points; stuffed grape leaves, carrot salad, hard boiled eggs, and their famous (to Kim and I at least) kidney bean and chickpea salad. Filling up on bean salad meant getting plenty of protein and carbs for next day's ride, and there was always a ride the next day. This year we are not riding quite as often (but plenty), and we're still doing our best to eat at home, so refueling with our rendition of this beloved salad feels as great as you would expect it to.

orzo and chickpea salad

• 1lb orzo
• 4 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• fresh dill, chopped
• juice of one large lemon
• high quality extra virgin olive oil
• honey
• adobo

Cook orzo according to package, then drain and rinse with cool water. In a separate bowl whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil and honey. Combine orzo, chickpeas and dill to taste (I used a lot). Toss salad with dressing, season to taste with adobo or salt. Serve chilled.

The dish: Orzo is basically rice shaped pasta, and it works perfectly alongside the chickpeas. The flavor of the dressing is dependent on plenty of fresh lemon juice. Remember, in a dish this simple, using lemon juice out of the bottle (or plastic lemon shaped thing) will yield less than desirable results. To get the most out of each lemon, use them at room temperature and roll them a little under your palm before you slice it. I squeeze the juice before I add any of the other ingredients so that if I get a seed I can easily pick it out.