Sympathy food

My best friend's father died this weekend, so while we were emergency bunny/guinea pig sitting, we decided to make them a surprise Sunday night supper. (There's nothing worse than coming home from an exhausting weekend, only to have to do dishes and make food.)

Soup is always good, especially when the day started out cold and rainy. We made White Bean Soup, with some changes. My mom had given me this giant bag of navy beans, and even after an art project, we had plenty left. We substituted those, used regular vegetable broth instead of the fancy schmancy broth they suggest, added chopped carrots and mushrooms, extra potatoes and no lemon. Because Angie can't eat gluten, garlic or much onion, we omitted the garlic and used leeks instead of the onion. Light but hearty. We'd blend 1/3rd of the batch next time to make it thicker, add more kale and take out the mushrooms.

Also good for soothing life's woes is Flourless Chocolate Cake.
Jeremy had made a different version of this cake before, having problems with the texture due to not tempering the eggs enough. This recipe worked better, although the batter could be stirred a bit more. The whole thing poofs up like a souffle, then collapses. We flipped it out, flipped it right-side up, then smooshed the whole thing down so that the edges weren't sticking so far up from the middle. We then made a simple chocolate sauce (semisweet chocolate, a little butter, sugar and honey) to pour on top to cover up the crazy smashed-up top. SO GOOD. Not perfect, and the texture was more like rich brownies than heavenly flourless chocolate cake, but we're getting closer.

With the leftover navy beans, we made White Bean Hummus.

The recipe is down deep into the blog, so here you go:

2 large garlic cloves, or more to taste

1 20-ounce can or jar white beans, drained and rinsed well

2/3 cup well-stirred tahini

¼ cup lemon juice, or more to taste

1 tsp salt

Cumin, to taste

Water

Extra virgin olive oil, for serving

Pita

In a food processor, pulse the garlic cloves to mince them thoroughly. Add the white beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt, and a pinch or two of cumin. Puree well, scraping down the sides of the food processor bowl with a spatula as needed. Add water a couple of tablespoons at a time, until the hummus is as thick or thin as you like (I use about ¼ cup). It should have a very smooth, light, almost whipped consistency. Taste to check for seasoning, and adjust as necessary. Serve the hummus at room temperature, drizzled with olive oil, and eat with pita.

Jeremy added two leaves fresh sage. Light, tasty....who knew navy beans could be good?