Cooking Floyd: Michael Does Dinner

The Salem Museum Herb Faire was exciting, exhilarating, and a rousing success!  There were people roaming everywhere in the museum, about the grounds and gardens, and snapping up good looking herb starts from the Master Gardeners.  Our demos were full and people were very interactive so the demos became more of a discussion instead of a lecture which I really liked.  But it was all very tiring, and we didn't have a chance or the desire to eat while we were working.  So I dragged my exhausted, hungry self home to find this:

Mixed Spring Greens with Avocado and Strawberries

...and this:

Socca (chickpea flatbread)

...and this:

"Hillbilly" Hummus made with black-eyed peas and peanut butter

...and also this:

Butternut Squash and Quinoa Soup

...waiting for my arrival.  All made by Michael.  I love my husband!

The Socca and Hillbilly Hummus recipes are from Crescent Dragonwagon's Bean by Bean: A Cookbook .  We've liked everything Michael's made from it so far but be warned; her recipes are large enough to feed the family, the farm hands, and anyone the kids dragged home with them!

Hillbilly Hummus
2 cups (one 15 oz can) well-cooked black-eyed peas, drained, at least 1/2 cup of the liquid reserved
3-5 tablespoons of peanut butter (make your own here)
2 cloves of peeled garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried sage or 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh, minced
dash of cayenne or to taste
2 teaspoons - 2 tablespoons cider vinegar to taste
salt and pepper

Combine the black-eyed peas, peanutbutter, garlic, sage, cayenne, 2 teaspoons vinegar and s&p to taste.  Whirl until smooth.  Begin adding reserved bean liquid, more peanut butter and vinegar until the texture is smooth and the seasoning is to taste.

Refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to 2 days.  Bring to room temperature to serve.

Socca
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons chickpea flour (aka besan, gram, cici, chana flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil
freshly cracked pepper (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450F.  Make sure the oven is really hot before putting the socca in to bake.

Whisk together the flour, salt, 1 2/3 cups water and 1 tablespoon olive oil until smooth.  Thebatter will be thin.

Place a cast iron or other heavy skillet on medium heat.  When it's hot, pour the remaining olive oil on the bottom.  The oil should ripple with heat but not smoke.

Give the batter a stir and pour into the skillet.  It will pop and sizzle a little.  Sprinkle with the optional cracked pepper and, using a pot holder, place the skillet in the oven.

Bake until the edges pull away from the pan and the bread is golden and browned in spots, 25-30 minutes.  To remove the socca, run a knife around the edge between bread and pan.  It should release easily and slide out.

Let cool just slightly, cut in wedges and serve.