105degrees, L2/W4/D1-2: lots of hummus
First, here are some lovely mini strawberry cupcakes we began last week and completed on Monday.
The coconut frosting is fab, even though I’m not very good at piping it.
Once in awhile, though, I do produce a pretty one!
Now, onto the true task of the week: my Level II final project . I realize I’ve been cryptic about it (even more so than I was with Level I). The difficulty, in regards to this blog, is that not only is my project is mostly written work, but it’s something that won’t be fully fleshed out until after I leave 105degrees. I’ll go ahead and give you the gist of the project, though, if you can keep a secret: it’s a rough draft of a cookbook proposal. Yep, this leads right into my #1 post-105 goal: landing a cookbook deal.
I’ve got a fantastic concept going, if I may say (about which you’ll hear more details sometime in the future, I hope!). I already have a table of contents written, with well over 100 recipes in the making, and I’ve spent the past week developing and testing many of those. At graduation tomorrow, I’m to present a synopsis of my proposed book and serve selections from one of the chapters. My chosen chapter? Hummus.
That’s right, folks. My mostly-raw cookbook will have NO salad chapter; in its place is an entire section of HUMMUS recipes.
Today I made eight (8!) small batches of raw hummus to serve at graduation tomorrow. Half of them have a zucchini-tahini base, the plain version of which you see below.
Of the zucchini batches, I also have a Tex-Mex hummus…
…an Indian curried hummus…
…and a spicy chipotle hummus.
The others have a cashew-macadamia nut base. I made a plain nut hummus…
…a sundried tomato and pesto hummus…
…a Kalamata olive hummus…
…and a red pepper hummus.
You’d think I’d be hummus’d out by now, but I’m actually quite eager to gobble these up at graduation tomorrow. Wish me luck!
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Would YOU be interested in a vegan, gluten-free cookbook with both raw and cooked options?
i am not interested in any more cookbooks…lol. Ok kidding, yes, i am! I have tons already i never use but it’s always fun to read
GREAT hummus!
awesome frosting!! i want THAT!
Averie, you’ll love MY cookbook
For each recipe, you get choices: raw or cooked, dehydrator or oven, expensive ingredient or cheap substitution, etc. It’s right up your alley! 
So so so so so so proud of you!! *hugs and hugs and more hugs* Can’t believe you kept this asecret fromme *waggles finger*
And completely down with the hummus instead of salad. The world needs more raw hummus (I’m confident saying that, even though I’ve never tried it…
)
::hugs you back and jumps up and down squealing with you::
Sounds like SOMEONE ought to find herself some raw tahini…
I like the idea of a cookbook with raw and cooked options.
The hummus platter looks amazing! I’d love to try the sundried tomato and pesto hummus
Awesome, thanks Jill! Incidentally, that hummus was Matt’s favorite.
Wowee you have been a busy little bee. Those hummus would rock the faces off of all my middle eastern friends back home, and I reckon they wouldn’t want to touch the originals again. Those cupcakes look almost cooked too. Licking my screen!
Hehe, thanks! “Real” hummus will always have a place in my heart (and tummy), but I have become quite the raw hummus aficionado.
The texture of the cupcakes was phenomenal – they seriously could’ve passed for baked.
mmm hummus! and the cupcakes are such cuties!
yes I’d love a book with both options although if the cooked options are soy-heavy and gluten-filled it’s not as usable for me.
Everything would be gluten-free
And, come to think of it, soy-free too, I do believe!
You had me at hummus!! How exciting. Hope everything goes well!
Hehe! I can relate
Thanks, Noelle!
Ooooh, hummus….be still my heart! I think there is definitely a market for your cook book idea
Thanks Hillary! I figured you’d appreciate the flexible approach
I would definitely be interested in a book with raw and cooked options. I always want to be able to make more raw foods, but don’t really have the equipment for it, and there aren’t many recipes in my cookbooks. And I am way more likely to get a recipe from a cookbook than online lately. That’s a great final project – I love having projects that really push us to do what we dream of!
All of these hummuses (?) look great! I’d love to try any one of them.
You are EXACTLY the kind of person I’m writing this book for! I hate that so many pricey or hard-to-find ingredients and pieces of equipment often prohibit people from delving into the wonderful world of raw food. I promise to make my cookbook accessible to ANYONE!
If it will have recipes similar to what I’ve seen on this blog.. Eh… YES!
Hehe, thank you so much, Fanny! It will!
Very excited for you Amber! The hummus looks awesome and I think you did great with the piping on the cupcakes. I look forward to hearing more about the cookbook. Good luck @ graduation (although it sure doesn’t look like you need any)!
Thank you Diane! I’m glad my cupcakes looked alright after all
I think that’s a great idea for a book! Every single one of those hummus offerings looks supremely delicious, I would love to learn how to make all of them.
Thanks Alayna! I can’t wait for you to see my cookbook WHEN it’s published someday
Your cookbook sounds great! Please include a raw cracker that is yummy. I’ve experimented with many but haven’t found “the one” yet.
Joanne, you’re in luck! I’ve got three cracker recipes in there so far, and I may add another.
Good luck for tomorrow! And your idea about the book sounds fantastic, I ‘d definitely be interested!
Good to know – thanks, Roselie!
I would DEFINITELY be interested in a vegan, gluten-free cookbook with raw AND cooked options. That’s pretty much the perfect book for me!
Also, you’re totally going to make all of those hummuses (hummi?) for me when I come back to visit, right?
Yay! Glad to hear it!
And when you revisit KC, if it’s a hummus buffet you want, it’s a hummus buffet you’ll get!
Good luck, good luck! The cupcakes look fantastic!
Thanks Nina!
Seriously – you have to even ask that question?!? Of course I would!
And, um, if you need recipe testers – you know I’m your girl, right? Right!?!
Hehe! Deanna, when I need recipe testers, I PROMISE you will be one of them
Oh my, raw cupcakes…ooh the RAW joys just keep on coming… those bowls of hummus look delish…wish could invent taste-o-vision but I guess that is what a cookbook is! YES, YES, the raw AND the cooked vegan recipe book would be a coveted treasure! Good luck for your finals.
Taste-o-vision, yes! Like in Willy Wonka, but better, right?
Thanks for your support on my cookbook plan!
Cupcakes look great!! We are working on a few different cookbooks, mix of raw and cooked too. We were hoping to have it done now, but hopefully this coming year! Good luck!! And we love hummus!!
Cookbooks are a TON of work – I know that now! – so being behind is nothing to be ashamed of. I can’t wait to see your books when they do come out!
That’s so exciting about the cookbook proposal! I think it’s a fabulous idea and especially since you stole my heart with the hummus variety! I didn’t see a flavor I wouldn’t like.
Aw, yay! Thank you so much! I’m glad my hummus frenzy is going over well
This is the post to end all posts! Oh my gosh- delicious! I L O V E hummus!
Hehe! Oh, Lori, you delight me so
Thanks so very much!
i would love to see a raw/cooked vegan book… that’s how i roll too! ditto for offering recipe testing services
aloha from maui!
Haha! Thank you, m’dear. Maui?! Jealous!
OK….random question time. I was browsing through dehydrators, and I came across the TSM Harvest Food model. 10 trays, thermostat 95-155F….good reviews on Amazon….only $130. So, I’m wondering, what’s the catch? It’s plastic, like the Excalibur….not sure if it has a fan or not….
Just wondering if you’ve heard anything about it. I have Amazon gift certificates to spend, and everything I’ve read about this TSM model seems to be on par or better than the Ex with a much better price tag.
I guess since we talked about this in person on New Year’s Eve, I won’t repeat myself
But do remember, if you decide the Excalibur is the way to go, I’ll sell you my nearly-brand-new one (5-tray with timer) for $160 (which is $50 less than I paid for it).
I think you drastically overrate my memory of New Year’s Eve….that is, I remember that we did talk about it, but I’m not entirely sure what was said.
Oh, haha! Perhaps so. To be honest, I don’t remember details…but I’m sure I said that from my experience, the TSM is comparable to the Excalibur in most ways except temperature control. The temp dial is completely inaccurate. At the Academy, we used meat thermometers to measure the temp (oh the irony), which is fine, but even then, they’d sometimes fluctuate temperatures for no reason. On multiple occasions, sadly, we arrived in the morning only to find the previous night’s dish “burned” =/ So, since (to me) a highlight of having a dehydrator is the ability “set it and forget it,” that’s a big drawback to the TSM. But otherwise, like I said, they seem pretty comparable in quality.
Hummus overload in the best possible way! I love all of the options you created. And I definitely love the looks of those strawberry cupcakes with coconut frosting.
I would be super interested in a cookbook with both raw and cooked options–I love using raw recipes for occasional fun, but it’d be great to have a cookbook that incorporated both.
ANY hummus overload is good hummus overload, right?
I’m glad you like the look of all my varieties! My cookbook will be PERFECT for you – you can make all the recipes as raw or as cooked as you wish!
those cupcakes are adorable and MMM I love hummus
Hehe, thanks Kate!
Based on what I saw you make in Level I, I would be interested in a cookbook from you. I would want to have an idea of the ratio of cooked vs. raw before purchase though.
That, my dear, is the beauty of my book-to-be – every recipe can be made raw OR cooked.
Wish me luck on making it happen!
Those cupcakes look awesome…and bring on that cookbook!
)
Thanks, Michelle! Glad you’re on board with my cookbook!
Hummus is yummus!! You will have to give me some alternative recipes when I see you next. My hummus is always a hit, but yours looks way better.
Yes indeed, Joshua, I will have hummus recipes aplenty for you when next we meet.
Remember the hummus we made at 2am over the summer, when I accidentally dumped half the jar of crushed red pepper in the blender? That was awesome
A cookbook with gluten-free, vegan, raw and cooked recipes would be awesome!
Wonderful! Thanks, Sondi!
I’d buy any cookbook you wrote!
Aw, Michelle! You are the best!
cute cupcakes! and YES i have been looking for a good cookbook like that for months
Glad to hear it, Kate! Yay!
HI Amber!
Bobby and I would most certainly purchase your cookbook and I would recommend it to my friends, too. I love the idea of combining vegan and raw foods–it seems like a natural marriage of dietary choices. I would purchase the cookbook to keep at home for when I have vegan guests or guests with gluten allergies. I’m vegetarian but it’s sometimes hard to wrap my mind around gluten-free cooking and would appreciate the guidance.
But what I would really appreciate is if the recipes in your cookbook were accessible to the general public, with ingredients that were easy to come by and methods (especially for the raw recipes) that were relatively simple to do in one’s own kitchen without too many special pieces of equipment (like a dehydrator, for instance.) So for me I think that the catch to your great concept would be “The Accessible Raw and Vegan Cookbook.” That would be beyond awesome.
Mary, thank you SO much. I’m tickled pink that you’re so enthused about my cookbook idea! It makes me very happy to hear you’ve been following my blog during my time away, that I’ve got two more recipe testers lined up
Thanks for your support – if it works out the way I want it to, you’ll be able to make EVERY recipe in the book EITHER raw OR cooked/baked. All I have to do now is find a publisher that sees what an AWESOME idea that is! 
I definitely would be interested in your cookbook, esp. if it’s also available as an ecookbook.
Here’s to hummus variety!
Good idea, Marsha – I’ll definitely look into creating an ebook version too when the time comes.
Hi there! I just found your blog and really like it! I would loooove a cookbook with lots of hummus recipes
Thanks for all of the great ideas!
Awesome! Thanks for your input!
Congratulations on your success! I am lovin’ the different hummus…what is hummus plural? Hummuses? Hummi?
I’ll buy your cookbook for sure!
Haha, I’ve been wondering what the plural of “hummus” is, myself. I’m a linguist, and I don’t even know the answer to that!
Thanks, Jenny!
Amber, I LOVE hummus! I will have to buy the book for that section alone! Congrats!
Hehe! You’re in for a treat, then, when my book comes out
dkfjskdjfhds! :O This is lovely! But I’m a bit perturbed.
I had this amazing idea a few weeks ago to write a book but wanted to do something new and original. Even though raw food is technically a new trend, there’s already so many talented minds out there coming out with cookbooks on raw cuisine. So I had an epiphany and got all excited and said, “I’m gonna come out with a raw/cooked book for people transitioning to 100% raw, vegans wanting to add more raw foods to their diet, and those who are generally raw but want some warming/comforting foods that are still healthy when the craving comes or during the winter! It’ll be Epic!”
EEP, and then I see this. Haha. It’s amazing how people can be inspired with the same ideas who never actually come into contact with each other.
But maybe not all hope is gone. You said your book is going to have raw and cooked versions of the same recipes (amazing idea btw)? Maybe I can still do mine as it would be a little bit different. Raw foods with some basic must-have cooked foods. And lots of salad as I’m entranced by kale and all manner of leafy greens, believe it or not. ;] Mine was also going to be soy free but not gluten free as I definitely wanted to add my foccacia and naan bread recipes in which I haven’t found a gluten replacement for my spelt and whole wheat flour. D: Ideas?
Anyways, the best of luck to you! You must be very excited starting this venture. I will absolutely, most-definitely buy your book. I’ve been perusing your blog for some time and love your recipes/posts. You’ve actually inspired me to start my own blog. Which will hopefully happen sometime in the near future…
Cheers!
Hi Gabriella! Well, great minds think alike, right?
My book will out out next summer, and it’ll have raw and cooked versions of the same dishes (and it’s light on salads), so I say there’s still room on the market for your book too! MMM, naan and focaccia? Drool! I wish I could say I’m a maestro at GF baking, but alas, I haven’t found a perfect wheat substitute either!
Thanks for reading and commenting! And let me know when you get your blog underway so I can check it out.
Aha. So it seems. Oh dear, that’s a while to wait! But I guess there’s lots of things to get in order and perfecting of recipes to be done before it’s ready. I’m curious to the process of getting a book published. I’ve been doing a little research here and there but wish I could find a good source for info on publishing a cookbook.
Absolutely! And thanks so much for replying.
Oh, and I’m in Wichita, Kansas btw. I read in one of your blog posts that you and the hubby came by here and stopped at Zen to eat. We actually have a newly opened restaurant called D’Sozo that is 100% vegan and AMAZING, so if you every stop by here be sure to check it out! They have their own bakery and everything. I consider this a small town so we’ve never really had any great vegetarian options, so it’s nice that we do now. :]
Yup, the recipes have been tested by me and others, my manuscript is pretty much done, and I’m turning it in next week…eee! Now there’s just many months ahead of production work on the part of my publisher. It’s a long road, but it’ll be worth it!
There seems to be NO good source for info on the process for first-time authors, I’m afraid…I’ve had a lot of trial and error! It’s for the best, though – I’ve learned a LOT just through experience already.
Oh, how cool that you’re just “down the road” in Wichita! I’ve heard about D’Sozo from a couple people now – all good things! – and it’s definitely on my list to try next time I roll through town. Glad to hear another “thumbs up” for it – and I’m glad Wichita has such a place now!
i’m a hummus fanatic as well, but I’m more of a traditionalist and would be down with a hummus topped with stewed fava beans.
That sounds delicious!