Open Sesame

When I was up in Maine 2 weeks ago visiting Rooms*, she took me to this totally kick-ass Asian market – Tran’s. I fucking love Tran’s. We combed through aisles of amazingness. Although I love my neighborhood Hispanic market, I’d totally welcome a Tran’s to the ‘hood.

Here’s the list of shit I stuffed into my suitcase, all $40 worth:

• Noodles: Buckwheat, Udon, Corn
• Oils: Sesame, Chili with chili flakes, Szechuan pepper
• Curry Pastes: Penang, Red, Green
• Sesame Seeds
• Coconut Milk (Sure, I could get this in DC, but would it only be $1.29?)
• Whole Peppercorn Blend (Huge container!)
• Sesame Crisp Flakes (Haven’t tried yet, but it was a Rooms suggestion. It’s like a snack or something.)
• Curry Powder (Indra brand)
• Thai Coffee Grinds (Ingredients: roasted coffee beans, soybean, brown rice, caramel. Unfort, my last coffee maker got broken before I moved into my current apartment and because 80P doesn’t drink the Joe, I never ended up replacing it. Now though I really want a French Press – any suggestions on brands/sizes?)
• Onion Flavored Naan (Who knew that naan is also an amazing vehicle for fried egg with cheddar cheese.)

I think that’s it, but maybe Rooms can correct me. Oh, and Tran’s also carries avocados, so really, it’s perfect. Now that I have all of these new Asian flavorings, I recently took an old standby and made it, um, Asiany. Wow, that’s incorrect.

Recipe post jump.

Actually, I have a bit more to say before I get into the recipe. This July fourth, BS kicked fucking ass as he was interviewed on a nationally broadcast sports radio show. I made this dip to go to Julie and Elizabeth’s BBQ but ended up having to miss it so 80 and I could prep BS with talking points. I then served the dip to the ES editorial crew, plus Alex, and then snacked on leftovers the rest of the weekend. The dip is really rich, without having to be creamy, like hummus. I was impressed.

Chickpea and Sesame Mash

Drain/rinse a can of chickpeas. Add maybe a tablespoon+ of sesame oil to the c-peas and mash with a potato masher (this kind, not that kind, although clearly I own both.) Feel free to leave some of them whole; this is rough mash – not hummus. While mashing, toast sesame seeds and when slightly browned, add to mash. Next toast cumin seeds in that same dry pan, when fragrant, add to mortal and pestle and manually grind. Then add that to the mash. Also toss in lots of chopped FRESH garlic, chives, parsley, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix to combine. Serve with torn pieces of whole wheat pita.

*Rooms is actually her real name and not just a cutesy “handle” or whatever they call blog nicknames. See, Rooms and I were frosh/sopho year roommates, so obviously, I named her Roommate, which quickly turned into Rooms. And, the chives and parsley were from Rooms’ garden. But more on her field of greens later.