my fingers hurt! a couple random questions

[onetrumpeter]

OK, so I wanted to make hummus, NT style. I soaked dry chickpeas (not organic - just dry from our grocery store) in water and lemon juice -24 hrs. Well, on p. 505 she says to take off the skins. I could NOT get the skins off, so I figured I must have had them in a not-warm-enough place. I rinsed and re-soaked them w/ new lemon juice and so today, at 48 hrs, figured they must've soaked long enough! It was possible, but very difficult to remove the skins. What did I do wrong? I probably spent an HOUR removing the darn skins off those chickpeas.!

The other question I had was about soaking oatmeal. We don't have whey right now, so I used lemon juice. It was sort of lemon-y. Any other acidic options? I was wondering about using the brine from my finished sauerkraut? I guess that'd also be an ODD flavor, but less strong, maybe?

Thanks - loving this forum

[Smokering]

I always remove the skins after cooking; they slip off easily. Are you sure that's not what she meant?

[snowbunny]

Originally Posted by Smokering

I always remove the skins after cooking; they slip off easily. Are you sure that's not what she meant?

That's what I do as well. Indeed, most of the skins come off during cooking anyway leaving you with very little to skin by hand.

[New_Natural_Mom]

I use apple ciider vinegar as the acid...I don't know the proper ratio though,,,,I just slosh it in.....nak

[onetrumpeter]

Cooking them first sounds much better! LOL - I don't think it reads that way in the directions, but it definitely sounds a LOT better. Seriously - my right index finger is still sore! Thanks, everyone!

[*J*]

I also attempted skinning them after soaking, before cooking once. Yeah, I only did it ONCE, 'cause it took FOREVER! It was somewhat satisfying work, kind of like shelling peas or favas, slow and meditative. Obviously not satisfying enough for me to have tried it a second time, though! I believe I used my fingernail to sort of pierce each skin, which helped a lot. Sounds like cooking first is the way to go, though!

[AJP]

I see no reason to remove the skins at all, either before or after cooking, if you're using a food processor to make hummus. If you were mashing them by hand, I can see how it would be a lot easier and result in a smoother product if the skins were removed, but the food processor handles the skins just fine, the end product is still smooth and yummy. I will skim off any skins that have released and floated to the top of the cooking liquid, but never bother to intentionally remove them.

[425lisamarie]

Originally Posted by AJP

I see no reason to remove the skins at all, either before or after cooking, if you're using a food processor to make hummus. If you were mashing them by hand, I can see how it would be a lot easier and result in a smoother product if the skins were removed, but the food processor handles the skins just fine, the end product is still smooth and yummy. I will skim off any skins that have released and floated to the top of the cooking liquid, but never bother to intentionally remove them.

Same here. I skim the water and remove the floating ones and that is it

[onetrumpeter]

OK - if I remove them again I'll definitely try doing it AFTER cooking them LOL!

I was thinking Sally Fallon must've had a reason for saying to remove them, but maybe it is just a texture thing. Honestly, I've made hummus before from dry garbanzos but didn't think of removing the skins then, either. I thought maybe there was something in them that wouldn't be good. I'm new to the NT cookbook but have read others' comments about not liking some recipes. This is obviously a simple one, but maybe an example of a detail I'd skip.

Thanks, everyone!

[Magelet]

I like to use a spoonful of yogurt. It lends a nice taste to the oatmeal, particularly if you soak it for 2-3 days. (It gets very sour, in a slightly fermented way that I LOVE. seriously, I always soak 2+ days worth of oatmeal at once, because it is SO much better after that long soak.)