Delicious Dishes: Awesome Sauce Recipe

Though not directly related to pole, aerial, or belly dance, healthy foods are a staple of any fitness regimen. That is why I am introducing a series of blog posts: Delicious Dishes. In my journey to be healthy, I've done a lot of experimenting with recipes and would like to share my favorites with you.

I love dips & sauces. Like really, really love them. You could say I have an addiction. Whether for veggies, fruits, chips, breads, or meats, I cannot get enough dips and sauces. I am the one at the snack table shamelessly gorging myself on chips and dip. "Who ate all the dip?!" *slinks off*

There is a restaurant in town that has a sauce which my partner and I lovingly refer to as "crack sauce." "It's so addicting, so crack must be the secret ingredient," we joke. The sauce is a multi-use sauce in that it goes well on so many things. Veggies, quesadillas, chips, rice, beans, salads, etc. Not only is it tasty, but it's not terrible for you either. Obviously it should be consumed in moderation, like all dips and sauces. It is gluten free & vegan. We usually buy the sauce in large bottles, but it is expensive and we are on a grad student budget, aka poor, so we had to find an alternative. I give you the alternative...

Crack sauce recipe:

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup grape-seed oil or olive oil (really most oils should be fine...maybe not coconut though)

1/2 cup almond meal (or you can soak 1/2 cup almonds in water and blend to a paste, but I'm lazy)

1/3 cup nutritional yeast *(see note below)

1/2 cup cooked (or canned) garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas)

2 tablespoons miso paste **(see note below)

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon curry powder (for the conversion ignorant, that's 1.5 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

water as needed

Toss the ingredients in a blender and blend the heck out of it, or use a bowl and hand-mixer. It should end up the consistency of hummus. If you want it thinner, more like ranch dressing, add a little bit of water. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator, when not nomming, to preserve freshness.

*Nutritional yeast is different from brewer's yeast. I found this out the hard way. Their tastes differ tremendously. Nutritional yeast is yellow and has a cheesy-type flavor. You can find it at almost any health food store. Some brands of brewer's yeast are okay, but I tried one once that was like eating bitter dirt. I love dirt, but this was seriously like eating rancid dirt. Bleh!!! and no, I don't go eating dirt, friends. I just love the smell of it, and the geosmin in beets/chard is heavenly to me. Yes I have dirt scented perfume, but I digress...

** Miso paste should also be available at any health food store. If you are allergic to soy, or are avoiding soy, I have purchased and used fermented garbanzo bean miso paste which tastes similar and works in this recipe.

So there it is folks, crack sauce. Yummy goodness. It might taste odd to you at first. It did to me. I was unimpressed the first time I had it, but I gave it a second go and now I crave it. It is a great way to spice up your plain veggies. I frequently dip carrots, celery and tomatoes in this sauce. MMMMMM....*Homer Simpson gurgle*