White Bean Hippie Taco

The hippie taco is a great in between snacks cosmic snack, especially if your snack to hike ratio is already out of yin-yang. There is a couple ingredients that i make myself: Pickled Radishes, White Bean Hummus and a Yogurt Tahini Sauce but can be easily substituted with store bought products Trader Joe's has a decent White Bean Hummus. The Yogurt Tahini Sauce can be substituted with Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream with a pinch of black pepper.

*The pickled Radishes are easy to make but take a little preparation time. They are also great to have in the fridge to dress up mundane snacks. You can use your favorite brine recipe or use an store bought hot pepper jar and just add quartered radishes and let them soak for at least 6 hours.

• Est. preparation time 8-10 minutes
• White Corn Tortillas
• 1 Can White Beans or Chick Peas
• White Bean Hummus
• 1 jar Chopped Green Olives
• 6 oz. Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
• 1 tsp. Tahini (Optional)
• Olive Oil
• Fresh Dill
• Black Pepper
• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Cilantro
• 1 Small green cabbage
• 2 Ripe Vine Tomato
• 2 Ripe Avocado
• Fresh Limes or Lemons
• Pickled Radishes*

When it comes to preparing a taco of any kind everyone has they're own style so I am not going to stress measurements to much, but from experience I can say less is more... its better too have two properly sized tacos than one tubby one.

1. 1). Line the broiler with tin foil and preheat.
2. 2). lightly rub the tortillas with olive oil.
3. 3). Place about 10-12 whole white beans on the rubbed tortilla, lightly salt and pepper and place in the broiler. (Check on the tortillas in 3-5 minute increments till they are lightly golden and turn off the heat, but keep them in the broiler so they stay toasty)
4. While the the tortillas are crisping prepare your veggies: I like to chop my veggies and place in small ramekins and eat buffet style, this also allows you to customize each taco to your tastes.
5. Chop about 4 sprigs of fresh dill.
6. Pluck the freshest leaves from a bunch of fresh Basil.
7. Dice 2 fresh tomatoes into small cubes add black pepper and 2 tbs. fresh chopped cilantro (I also like to add what ever extra veggies i have around the kitchen, peppers, shredded carrots, onions to this simple salsa)
8. Shred 1/3 of a small green cabbage the thinner the better.
9. Quarter 2-3 fresh limes or lemons, roughly 1 per a taco
10. Now that we have the veggies prepared and in ramekins, we can start our yogurt tahini sauce.
11. In a medium bowl and mix 6 oz. of whole greek yogurt, black pepper, 1 tsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp tahini.
12. Pull the tortillas from the broiler and layer to your liking, i only have one rule: Save the pickled radish and Avocado for the top, lightly salt and squeeze a lemon or lime wedge on top and Bon Appetite!

- Doth

Pretzel Burger and Homemade Potato Chips

Working in downtown, there are a variety of snacks to investigate. For lunch I found myself in a dilemma between a short rib sandwich and the PRETZEL BURGER. After some deep contemplating, I went for the Burger.

A thorough investigation was in the making...

My conclusion is that although it has a pretzel bun, it is really lacking the salt for the bun to be complete and it was cooked a little bit too long for me (I like me burgers rare, when the quality of meat is good). I was a also a little bummed when I searched for cheese on my burg and didn't find any...

The potato chips were amazing, still hot from the oven and the seasoning was spicy and perfect. It was no Glen-Burger (compliments of Lambo's Dad). The idea was good but wasn't executed as well as it could've been.

Burger Rating: 6.6

Chip Rating: 8.1

If you would like to give this Pretzel Burger a Whirl, say that aloud when you head over to

Gram and Papa's in Downtown Los Angeles.

Recipe Alert: Scrumptious Lamb Riblets

This recipe is for BBQ lamb riblets with a mint balsamic glaze. In my opinion, lamb riblets are a greatly under rated and overlooked cut of the lamb. The riblet is essentially the upper portion of the lamb loin chop. They have a considerably high fat content which makes for a rich and delicious piece of lamb. Some people suggest you broil or roast riblets to remove some of the fat, but i find the BBQ is best for flavor. You may not find lamb riblets readily available in the meat section at your local supermarket. But if you ask the butcher, they should be able to easily accommodate your request. I normally tend to find them cut into singular ribs, but if you can get them cut in sets of 2, even better. The recipe can be prepared the night before and grilled the next day. For scrumptious lamb riblets you will need:

4-6 pounds lamb riblets

Lamb Seasoning:

2-3 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of fresh crushed garlic

1/4 cup dry sherry

1/8 cup chopped rosemary

2 tbsp chopped thyme

1 tbsp chopped mint

Sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Glaze:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup premium balsamic vinager

1/4 cup red wine

1/4 cup dry sherry

1/3 cup honey

2 finely diced shallots

1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary

3 tbsp fresh chopped mint

2 cloves crushed garlic

Fresh ground black pepper.

Begin by seasoning the lamb. Coat all your lamb riblets with olive oil, then add salt, pepper, herbs, and dry cheri. You can use more or less herbs depending on your taste. Mix well to ensure the lamb in thoroughly seasoned, then cover and set aside for at least 3 hours. This can be prepared the night before.

In medium sized bowl combine soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, redwine, sherry, and honey. Mix well till honey is fully incorporated. Fine chop your shallots, and herbs and crush your garlic if you have a garlic crusher on hand. The finer the chop, the better in this case. We want to infuse the liquid with the herb flavors as much as possible. Mix everything together and put in a jar. This can store up to a few days in the refrigerator. I recommend letting it sit overnight before use.

Lamb Riblets at various stages of cooking

Cooking:

It is best to cook ribs (or anything for that matter) over a charcoal fire, but gas will work in a pinch. Prepare a hot bed of coals and move them to one side of the grill, leaving one half or the grill open for indirect cooking. Place the ribs meat side down over the hot coals. Cook till a nice golden brown crust forms, them flip and do the same to the bone side. Once both sides have a nice brown sear, move the ribs to the indirect heat portion of the grill. At this time, give the ribs a liberal brushing with the prepared glaze. Cover the grill and let the ribs cook for 20-25 minutes. Periodically open the grill and brush with more glaze, every 5-7 minutes. If using a gas grill, the ribs can be cooked solely over direct heat and brushed intermittently, however a slower cook over indirect heat allows more of the fat to be rendered out of the meat. Watch as to not let the ribs get overdone; riblets are best cooked medium rare. Adjust your cooking time accordingly depending on the temperature of your fire and personal preference. Once done, remove the ribs from the grill and allow to sit, 5-10 minutes or till the bone is cool enough to pick up without burning your fingers. Eat and enjoy.

Feeds 8-10

The Double Header

So on a hot day this past week I strolled into my local ice cream parlor which is 31 Flavors Baskin Robbins. This is a chain ice cream vendor that we are all familiar with. I was about to just order my usual scoop when I noticed there was something new on the menu and I knew instantly that this item needed a full investigation pronto.

Ladies & Gentleman ... I present to you "The Double Header"


I had never thought about how to solve the sometimes tricky double scoop balancing act but after Baskin Robbins 57 years in business they have finally come up with a product that will help you balance both scoops of ice cream with out the possibility of losing a flavor to the ground.

After ordering the Double Header I made my way through the ice cream both soft serve and regular. Upon reaching the top of the cone I noticed that only 1 flavor will have access to the bottom of the cone. Im not sure if this was intentional or just not well thought out but wouldn't we all like to have the 2 melted flavors to meet at the bottom for those last wonderful bites?

Once the snack investigation was through I overall felt content with the Double Header and will give it 4 out of 5 stars for the idea, 1 star short because of the lack of dual drainage for the melted ice creams.

Welcome!

Hello all and welcome to the #1 home of snack investigating! We will use this space to conduct thorough investigations of all things worthy of the title "snack", under which the categories of breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as their intermediaries lay. We will post recipes, eateries, revieweries, and share our tales of snack indulgence. If you would like to contribute, please contact us, as we are always looking for new members of the Snack Investigation Unit. Let the investigating begin.

Main Entry: ¹snack

Pronunciation: \ˈsnak\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English snak bite, from snaken to bite, perhaps from Middle Dutch snacken to snap at — more at snatch

Date: 1757

: a light meal : food eaten between regular meals; also : food suitable for snacking