Have you ever felt for a particular snack or meal, but somehow you don’t have all the ingredients on hand? What do you do? Well, there a few options. Wait and go shopping for the ingredients or like me who is a little impatient, sometimes I improvise.

I will share with you two great recipes that I love and have tweaked a little and they still taste great and satisfying. Let us dig in.

Salsa- Jamaican Style?

Making homemade salsa is fun and easy. Get all your ingredients as fresh as you possibly can, avoid canned ingredients if you want great flavor

• Fresh plummy tomatoes – use the nice and red ones, avoid anything soft.
• Cilantro– fresh cilantro is best, but you can substitute with the packaged cilantro
• Jalapeno/ scotch bonnet pepper – original recipe calls for jalapeno, but scotch bonnet does the job well.
• Garlic– this adds a nice flavor to it. Fresh garlic is best.
• Onion– red or yellow onion can be used.
• Escallion– if you don’t want to use this, you can omit and add more onions.
• Lime/Lemon– this gives the salsa a nice zesty taste
• Salt– this adds flavor and a nice kick. Sea salt or pink Himalayan salt is great.
• Sugar/honey – A small amount balances out the tomatoes and lime.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ripe plummy tomatoes (about 4-5)
• 1 lb pureed ripe tomatoes
• 2 stalk escallions
• 1/3 cup chopped onion (1 medium-sized)
• 1/2 Jalapeno pepper/1/2 scotch bonnet pepper chopped and deseeded – leave the seeds in if you want an extra kick
• 1 jalapeno / 1 small scotch bonnet pepper for roasting
• 1/4 cup cilantro (about a handful)
• 4 large clove garlic,2 should be finely chopped and leave 2 for later
• 1Tbsp fresh lime juice/ equivalent of lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp sugar/honey (optional)
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Set aside 1 scotch bonnet pepper, 2 cloves of garlic and, 1lb tomatoes.
• Roughly chop and combine all other ingredients in a food processor/ blender and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped. Or finely chop all ingredients with a knife the old fashion way and set aside.
• Roast the scotch bonnet pepper, garlic and, tomatoes in a pan until they have browned. (This step is important as it adds the smokey salsa flavor that you are looking for, ensure that some air is passing through your kitchen when doing this).
• The garlic and pepper will roast first, so remove those and let the tomatoes continue to roast
• When the tomatoes have roasted, add all three ingredients to a blender and puree them until you achieve a creamy consistency. (Remove the seed from the pepper before blending).
• Combine all your chopped ingredients along with your puree and your salsa is ready to serve.
• Serve with tortilla or any chips of your choice. Remember salsa tastes better the next day, or after it has marinated a few hours, so yes a little patience is still needed.

Hummus- Without Tahini

Hummus is a nice protein-rich dip, for one of those days when you just want something cool and nice. It’s a very child-friendly treat and is fun. Quite a few recipes call for tahini (sesame seed paste). However, how many persons can just walk into their local food store and find tahini just of the bat? With that said, you can either make your tahini or do without I have enjoyed my hummus with and without tahini so it really doesn’t matter.

It is best to use cooked chickpeas that you have boiled from the dried state, instead of canned beans. It gives your hummus a better flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans/chickpeas (drained)
• 1/4 cup olive oil (replaces the tahini)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 clove of garlic (can be removed if you don’t like garlic)
• 1 teaspoon cumin (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste (sea/ pink Himalayan salt and cayenne pepper are my choices)
• Water- add as desired

Instructions

• In a food processor/ blender blend your chickpeas.
• Add all other ingredients and blend together until smooth and creamy.
• Serve with pita bread or chips. I usually serve with sweet potato chips-my favorite.