Toasted Sesame and Fresh Turmeric Hummus ready for the Leaf’s 2013 home opener

Hello Hockey and Wellness Fans,

Yes, you can live in the same house.  The hockey fans just likely don’t get chips that often anymore.  So what is a wellness advocate to do with the Toronto Maple Leaf’s home opener on TV and there are no chips to eat with the game?  And combine that with my hubby playing hockey three times a week and complaining of pains due to inflammation of his muscles – well make a healthy snack of course.  And make it super anti-inflammatory with fresh turmeric.

A few weeks ago, Julie Daniluk tweeted “Healing Turmeric: Not Just For Curry –   When’s the last time you held a piece of turmeric root in the palm of y… http://ow.ly/2ua2Bb“.  That got me thinking about the fresh Turmeric root I had just purchased at Organic Garage.  That night I tried it in my weekly hummus recipe and it was great.  So this week, I started to make my usual recipe and took the pictures to show you how the fresh turmeric root looked and then realized I did not have any olive oil to finish it.  I did have a new bottle of Toasted Sesame Seed Oil and thought, well I have to finish the recipe so let’s see how it tastes.  And guess what – the oil change-up was a great idea and worked really well with the turmeric.

Turmeric is a great anti-inflamatory.  Drop by Julie’s site to read the 4 reasons she suggests to give turmeric a place of honour in your kitchen.

My favourite story about Turmeric which I read in the last week and can’t recall where, was a story that some company wanted to patent that anti-inflammatory aspects of it.  Luckily the Indian government intervened as it has been used for centuries in India as an anti-inflammatory aid.  The bright yellow hue, which does stain, is used to colour silk, mustard, butter, margarine and other foods.  But don’t let the stain scare you, this is a good food that is worth the try.

Toasted Sesame and Fresh Turmeric Hummus

Ingredients

• 1 can of Eden chick peas
• 2 organic lemons – juice and rind
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1 inch of peeled fresh Turmeric root
• 1/3 cup toasted sesame seed oil
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt

Directions

1. Take out your food process and use the “S” blade.
2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
3. Add chickpeas to food processor.
4. Grate rind of lemon and add to food processor.
5. Add juice of lemon (seeds removed) to food processor.
6. Add tahini to food processor.
7. Squeeze the turmeric root through a garlic press directly into food processor.
8. Mix ingredients.
9. Using top opening in food processor, add in oil and vinegar slowly while machine is mixing.
10. Stop food processor, open the lid, add the salt.
11. Mix thoroughly.
12. Let stand covered in refrigerator for an hour for flavours to blend or if the game is about to begin, serve right away so you don’t mess with the hockey fan’s karma.

You can serve this hummus with carrots, cucumber, peppers and celery.  Or if the hockey fans still want a chip like crunch, try Mary’s Organic Crackers (which are on my list of gluten-free products).

May your day be filled with tasty anti-inflammatory foods.

To the Leaf’s having a good year,

Jo-Ann Blondin, your 9CupChallenge partner