Mark Bittman | 20something cupcakes

Damn you, Mark Bittman.

I already can barely take the artificial taste of store-bought hummus – and now, it’ll be hard to go back to the homemade kind I used to be quite happy with…you know, the kind made with canned chickpeas.

{#foodmattersproblems}

This is what hummus is supposed to taste like. If you’re a hummus-lover, which I bet many of you are, you’ll be blown away by the difference in both flavor and texture that happens when you go that extra mile and cook your own chickpeas.

Only you don’t have to go an extra mile, really – as Mark proves in his instructions for cooking dried beans. To soak, or not to soak…that is the question. Most people, including myself, are turned off by the fact that dried beans require an overnight soak prior to cooking. Not because it’s hard to fill a bowl with water and beans, but because it requires planning ahead. Well, you’ll be thrilled to know that Mark says he’s done it every which way, and he doesn’t find the soaking to make a difference. Boom!

Let’s call it an extra couple of yards you’ve gotta go to do hummus the right way. No soaking overnight, just simmering a pot of beans for an hour or so. Next time, I might try this in my slow cooker – I’ve heard that’s a thing people do.

Totally. Worth. It.

Welcome to the inaugural post for The Food Matters Project!

Each week, a group of food bloggers and home cooks are coming together to cook our way through The Food Matters Cookbook: 500 Revolutionary Recipes for Better Living by Mark Bittman.

I’m not gonna lie. This cookbook is overwhelming. Overwhelming in a way that I want to make at least 90% of the 500+recipes in this beast of a book. Overwhelming even moreso in a way that when I first read about what the “Food Matters” philosophy represents and stands for, I was so inspired that I decided to start this project.

In a nutshell, it’s about eating more plants and natural foods. In turn, we’re talking less meat and processed foods. And it’s about how all of that’s good for our health – duh – and the environment, too.

I selected this recipe to kick-off the launch of our project. It was so, so hard to pick just one. I’ve already cooked at least 5 or 6 recipes from the book, because they’re all just so simple and easy for everyday cooking. (If Mark Bittman’s new to you and if you’re a new-ish cook, I highly recommend you check out another book of his as well: How to Cook Everything.) There’s something about the way he explains things that’s so easy to understand, and his recipes are totally no-nonsense. He gives options and ideas for how to adapt almost any given recipe, so you can truly feel confident in what you’re doing if you’re new to experimenting with different flavors or ingredients. He makes cooking fun – and easy.

You know where I stand on this: If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong. And yes, this applies even to healthy, easy-enough-for-a-weeknight cooking.