Edamame Hummus

Was I the last to know that edamame grow locally? I don’t ever remember seeing them at markets before and suddenly I see edamame and okra everywhere. Living alone, I sometimes have really odd meals and I can tell you with only a touch of shame and sprinkle of embarrassment I ate a massive plate of edamame for dinner. My phytoestrogens were singing and now- as I think about this post during a week that should be leading up to my Cooking Demo at the Veg Fair, where I talk about Doing It Veggie Style With Compassion- and part of that is avoiding loads of soy, all I’ve given you this week is soy.

Ah well. If you are ever to eat soy, I’d say the whole bean form is pretty darn great and oh so delicious. Also- when for most of the year the only edamame we can get are products of China, getting them once a year fresh from the farmer’s market is truly a delight.

5 Reasons I Heart Edamame

• Edamame is a super veg source of protein. You know I hate combining numbers and foods but just to give you an idea, a half-cup of these young beans has eleven grams of protein and is one of the few vegetarian protein sources that have all nine of the essential amino acids. Booya.
• Loaded with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats to keep heart disease at bay and blood flowing like the nile river (before it was polluted).
• Keep you pooping! That same half-cup of edamame has four grams of colon-cleansing fiber that keeps things moving, keeps energy stable and helps battle the sugar cravings.
• The isoflavones, folate and vitamin K are all friends of the heart which is nice.
• They make a great serving vesicle, when steamed, for mineral rich celtic or himalayan sea salt.

So how did this recipe come about? I had loads of edamame to eat, about a cup of sprouted chickpeas to use, and a dehydrator full of tomatoes from the Tomato Preserving Marathon.

And see – like how once in a while a little tofu is a treat, once in a very very long while, a sandwich is a super powered treat. Though most often I enjoy my sandwich meals on some breadless bread, falafel bread, raw flax tortilla, or even a sprouted wrap – sometimes Mars is just so close to the moon (did anyone see that on August 27th?), the wind blows north, the bird chirps at 1:54pm and I eat bread from a package. This bread that was kicking about the cottage was Ezekial sprouted grain bread which is fine for a treat though does contain wheat gluten and yeast so not a regular by any means.

Again, you know you’ve been whole foods healthy when a sandwich with chewy bread is a treat- but a sandwich I did have. A delicious one with my mixed bean hummus, sliced tomato, cucumber and lettuce and it was totally protein rich and awesome town.

Edamame Chickpea Hummus

1 cup steamed edamame beans (steam the whole pod and then extract the little beans – a great job for someone in your house other than you – like a child or lover)
1 cup sprouted chickpeas, lentils, mung beans or cooked/sprouted bean of choice
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes
1/2 lemon, peeled
1/4 sesame seeds
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp dill seeds or 1 Tbs cumin seeds
1-2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup water (or more as needed until desired consistency is achieved)
sea salt and cayenne to taste

Place all ingredients into food processor or high speed blender. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Question Of The Day: What is your fave way to jazz up your hummus or veggie dips?