Hummus with smoked paprika butter and za'atar

I love recipes like this that take something standard (hummus) and elevate it to a new level by adding something unexpected that I never would have thought of (smoked paprika butter!). Also, although I usually focus on vegetable recipes for this blog, it's nice to sometimes make something with pantry ingredients. Especially because I was out of town over the weekend and didn't make it to the farmers' market. I do wish I had fresh summer veggies (especially corn and tomatoes) around, but this hummus definitely distracted me from their absence! I really loved this - the hummus is super creamy, the smoked paprika butter adds richness and spice, and the za'atar adds wonderful flavor. I found this recipe in Food & Wine, and according to the headnote, the chef that created it (Sameh Wadi) makes several other hummus variations at his restaurant Saffron. After tasting this one, I definitely want to try them all!

Za'atar breadsticks with Middle Eastern tomato sauce

Okay, so it seems like I am the last food blogger in the world to join Pinterest. I think I'm more of a verbal than visual person, so I prefer browsing recipes in cookbooks or recipe sites rather than looking at pictures alone. But I finally joined Pinterest and made my first boards last week, and although I'm not totally obsessed, it sure is fun! I've especially enjoyed collecting pictures of pretty desserts, which lets me imagine that I might become a master of cookie/cake decorating in the future (considering how rarely I make anything with frosting, this is highly unlikely). Of course, I've also been pinning pictures of regular meals, and one of these inspired this recipe. While I was browsing pizza pictures, I came across one of za'atar pizza, which I thought was a cool idea. Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend that is often mixed with olive oil as a dip for bread. I decided to take this idea and make za'atar-dusted breadsticks, with a jazzed up tomato sauce for dipping. Making the tomato sauce also gave me an opportunity to use another traditional Middle Eastern ingredient that I just bought for the first time - pomegranate molasses. I'm not going to make any claims as to whether the tomato sauce I made is anything like an authentic Middle Eastern recipe. I'll just say that it's tasty, a little sweeter, spicier, and more tart than the tomato sauce you may be used to, with a fruity undertone from the pomegranate molasses. The sauce works well with the spices on the breadsticks, and this dish makes a fun appetizer. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some more pictures to pin!

Have you ever used za'atar or pomegranate molasses?

Za'atar roasted cauliflower with almonds, olives, and parsley

*A quick note before I start the actual post: I finally joined the modern age (although I still have a dumbphone) and got a twitter account. Follow me @4SeasonsOfFood for blog updates and other food-related thoughts.*

On Sunday evening, I went to a Boston Food Bloggers meetup event in Inman Square. I was a bit nervous about it (I'm shy), and I was really tired after a weekend in New Hampshire with Andrew's company, but I'm really glad I went! It was a lot of fun, and I met some cool people. The meetup started up at Christina's Spice and Specialty Foods, which I haven't been to in a while. While I was there, I picked up some za'atar, a Middle Eastern spice blend that I have been curious about for a while. I believe the main ingredients are thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds. After tasting a bit - it's delicious! - I decided to use it to spice up some cauliflower that we had in the fridge. I tossed the cauliflower in oil and za'atar, roasted it, then sprinkled on some more za'atar to amp up the flavor, as well as lemon juice, chopped olives, toasted almonds, and parsley. The final dish was fantastic - cauliflower can be a bland and boring vegetable, but here it was packed with flavor. I can't wait to experiment more with za'atar, as well as with the harissa that I bought - let me know if you have any ideas!