Joseph Mauro's Bowl of Fire Hummus

Today Joey is sharing his hummus recipe. It's name is a reference and homage to all of Andrew Bird's excellent Bowl of Fire albums. It's a great name, but don't be worried, the hummus doesn't pack a lethal dose of heat. Rather, it has a wonderful rounded out flavor. The heat, and garlic combine nicely, but what I like the most about it is the texture, which unlike store brands, has chunks of chickpeas waiting to be scooped up with all the other yummy goodness.

What you need:

1 can of chickpeas, drained

sea salt, to taste

a rounded tablespoon of crushed red peppers

3 cloves of garlic

generous tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, don't skimp

rounded tablespoon of tahini

rounded tablespoon of Goya adobo

rounded tablespoon of cayenne pepper

rounded tablespoon of cumin

rounded tablespoon of chili powder

Note: You will do this in three rounds.

Round 1

Put 1/3 olive oil in food processor with salt and all of the garlic and pulse. Then add in 1/3 tahini paste, pulse again. Add a 1/3 of all the spices, pulse again. Lastly, add 1/3 of the chickpeas and pulse again.

Round 2

Repeat round 1 and omit salt.

Round 3

Repeat round 1 and omit salt.

Tart and Salty, but I'm Sure You're into It

Bringing good snacks to work is really a challenge, especially if you want to venture beyond cereal and oatmeal. When my mom visited me earlier this month, she brought me soap, dish towels and a bunch of oranges, all very practical gifts. The following week I ate an orange every single day at work. It was so good! I basically just cut them up and sprinkle them with salt. I like eating oranges like this so much that this week I didn't even buy orange juice. I've been eating two oranges a day. One for breakfast and one around 3 oclock.

There are lots of ways to eat an orange. I like slicing them and sprinkling them with salt because the wedges make it easy to eat without getting your hands messy, which is key when you're eating and working and I love how the salt sharpens the sweetness and tartness of the oranges. I hope you'll try it too. You'll be eating well and warding off your snarky cubicle-mate's cold. Win, win!

Green Plantains, Yum!

I am sure that if you have ever had Cuban or another Carribean food, then you have eaten green plantains. Usually they come as two squashed fried chips next to a meal of seared meat with beans and rice. Of course, they can also be seen in the supermarket next to ripe plantains. The other day I was in the supermarket and the green plantains were so cheap I could not help but snatch them up.

Last night after eating a sad dinner of ham on wheat bread I looked in the fridge for something else. I saw those large green plantains. I was reluctant to tackle them tough. They were large plantains, and I wasn't that hungry. I decided, however, that if I didn't begin to use them they would go bad or I would begin on a cycle of continually passing them over until they became inedible.

So I took one long plantain out and took the green peel off, below is what I did after that. To try it yourself you will need:

A large garlic clove

A neutral oil

Salt and pepper

The plantain, of course

Slice up the garlic clove as the oil heats. You don't need a lot of oil, just make sure you use a non-stick pan. Then heat garlic until it sizzles. Then lay out your slices in the pan. Turn when the slices 'pop' with a golden yellow. In a medium sized pan you will probably need to do two batches. Then season with salt and pepper and drink a coffee with warm milk. It's a great snack or savory dessert when you are curling up with a good book or a movie. Enjoy!

When in Greenpoint, visit this imp's sweet spot: Peter Pan Donut and Pastry Shop

With so many bakeries in Greenpoint, I wanted to know which bakery was worth going to. My friend, who lives in the neighborhood, told me to go to Peter Pan Bakery. He said they have great dounuts and looked at me as if I should be impressed. I nodded ambivalently and mumbled something about checking it out.

The day I had wanted to go with my parents, my plans fell through. A few weekends ago, however, I had the great fortune to go into the little storefront bakery with my sister by chance. I was instantly charmed. The decor is very old school. It screams establishment, in the good way, of course. I ordered a coffee with milk and sugar and a powdered jelly donut. A teenage girl in a retro coffee shop uniform gave it to me. My sister and I went and sat down at the undulating counter and I took a bite of a light powedery and perfectly sweet donut, then chased it with my coffee. I felt like I was inside of a weightless soapy bubble blown out by a child in the park: totally timeless, totally at peace, totally content.

I don't know that every trip to Peter Pan's Bakery will be as enchanting, but I'm convinced that its name could not be more apt.

Peter Pan Donut and Pastry Shop

727 Manhattan Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11211

(718) 389-3676