Hummus-Apple Tartine: Easy Fall Snack. (plus it's moving day!)

Todya is moving day! Yup, amidst all the craziness that has been happening with miss Nellycat the past few months we have been planning a move just across town to Santa Monica. Hooray for being closer to Real Food Daily, amazing yoga studios, the ocean-winding bike path and the SM Organic Farmer's Market. And since moving week means I have been trying to clean out my pantry as much as possible, I had plenty of canned beans to go through. Hello homemade hummus!..

Easy Fall Snack: Garlic Hummus Apple-Sage Tartine. This sweet and savory bite is a fast, healthy, shabby-chic snack. Elegant pillow-y swoops of warmed, homemade garlic hummus provide a bed for juicy, crisp, sweet slices of rustic fall apples (honeycrisp used). An aromatic accent of fresh sage, pinched into tiny bits is sprinkled over top. A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or cold-pressed pumpkinseed oil is the perfect decadent touch to make this snack swoon-worthy.

This speedy tartine (open-faced sandwich) is one of favorite go-to plates for fall since it combines three of my favorite things: homemade hummus, fall apples and warm crusty bread dipped in EVOO. Oh and sage! That whisper of fresh sage really brings this simple snack to an oh-so-seasonal level. Make it even more seasonal by using pumpkin-hummus! Get my recipe + moving day thoughts on how life never seems to go as planned..

Easy snacks are necessary during a busy fall season. Homemade hummus is a versatile winner..

And naps. Naps are also a healthy fall staple..

As my Italian relatives say, everything is better with a tiny drizzle of good EVOO...

Moving Day. Lets see. *Taps finger against lips* Here's a fun Kathy fact: I have moved 19 times since I graduated high school. I am a PRO mover at this point in my life. I can fold a box, bubble wrap things, fill said box and tape it up with one arm tied behind my back, two eyes closed. OK, maybe not, but trust me, I'm a box-building machine.

Life: The Dream vs. Reality.

Now how does someone move 19 times in 13 years? Well I am trying to figure that one out myself! I guess most people move around a lot in college, different roommates, possibly transferring schools, moving across town for a new job. (Or in my case, moving across the country. CA -> DC -> NYC.)

Then if you get married, maybe a few years after college or so, you figure, "yay!" "yippee!" time to get settled. Lets head to CB2 and start browsing the web for crafty home improvement projects. HGTV anyone?! Soon you happy newlyweds move into a curb-appeal-infused house with a white picket fence settled under a sun-kissed oak tree and a path of white daisy's along the cobblestone walkway out front. A fluffy smiling dog out back and maybe a kitty curled up in her favorite sunbeam in your big, beautiful home. Then once you are fully settled into your dream house with your dream hubby and your dream job, you decide "hey lets have kids!" More stability. More roots being laid down in one spot. That was kinda how I thought my life would go after college..

But as we all know. LIFE NEVER GOES AS PLANNED. You too?

Well who knew I would marry someone who is even worse than me when it comes to serial moving habits. So long "dream" hello adventure life. Thank goodness I have actually grown to love this life I HAVE and never in a million years imagined for myself.

So once again, I hull in an armful of boxes and bubble wrap and little Nellycat stares at me with those wide green eyes that say "Moving again, huh?" Luckily, Nelly (who has moved with me 15 times (including a cross country road trip in the car) is quite travel savvy and actually seems to enjoy unpacking and exploring a new place. Nelly has experienced a wide array of window views. From taxi-cab towering, NYC sunset, pigeons swooping by city spots to calm and cozy hideaways with long hallways, secret nooks and exciting twirling staircases.

One of Nelly's fave NYC views, Washington Square Park:

And another: SoHo Sunbeam:

Nelly has reverted back to her California girl ways quite seamlessly, (I adopted her here in LA twelve years ago). She spends her days rolling around under the golden sunbeams and powder blue skys. Warm, swirling breezes coming through glossy, pink-flower circled windows as hummingbirds flutter by and say hello. So once again, Nelly gets a new place to explore. A new sunbeam to become friendly with. And hopefully some new birds to harass. Hm, she has never met a seagull, we will see how that goes...

One thing I do actually love about moving is the new lighting I get to experiment with as a natural light photographer. If you look closely, the lighting and set-up backgrounds in my photos have changed throughout the years. It is always fun to have a new glow of sunlight to work with. And when we hunt for a new place to move, I always check the lighting situation first! Bad lighting is a no go for food bloggers.

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This Recipe. I whip this tartine up all the time. I find that it is best with freshly blended hummus. When the hummus is warm, fluffy and alluring with subtle garlic, lemon, tahini, black pepper and olive oil flavors.

I always seem to have apples in my fridge fruit bowl so I love slicing them up for this snack and using their natural juicy sweetness to compliment the savory, creamy bean-filled hummus. You can use any bread you'd like. Gluten-free, sprouted-grain, spelt or a basic bakery sourdough. Rye would be nice too! And do not be afraid to add more goodies to the tartine. A handful of sprouts, microgreens, shredded carrots or shredded beets would be delicious. Or a thin shaving of sweet onions or even some chopped spinach or massaged kale. Greens are always a welcome, wellness-enhancing addition to ANY meal.

This snack provides fiber from the beans and apple, iron from the beans, protein, vitamins like vitamin C and B vitamins, healthy fats from the olive oil and more. Use a sprouted grain bread for some whole grain goodness. Or GF bread to make this a gluten-free snack.

Garlic Hummus Apple-Sage Tartine
vegan, makes 3 cups of hummus (+ 2 tartines with leftover hummus)

Easy Warm Garlic Hummus
2 15oz. cans of organic chickpeas
2 tablespoon lemon juice or 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 cloves roasted garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder (you can use raw garlic if you like the spicy flavor that adds)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoon tahini
½ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
⅓ teaspoon salt or to taste

For the tartines:
1 apple, sliced
2 toasted slices of bread
2 sage leaves (fresh)
extra virgin olive oil or pumpkinseed oil for drizzling

serve with: raw almonds (I used dehydrated pesto-coated raw almonds)

Directions:

Tip! For an extra crisp apple, place your apple in the freezer for 2-3 minutes before slicing!

1. Hummus: Drain liquid from cans and rinse the chickpeas in warm to hot tap water. Rinse in a strainer, until the bubbles from the beans stop forming. The warm water should soften and heat the beans a bit. Add the beans, tahini, lemon, garlic, olive oil and pepper to a high speed blender or food processor. Blend on low and keep blending until smoothed, but do not over-blend! (However if you blender is low in powder or you just want a thinner consistency, you can add more oil, lemon juice OR simply add a splash of water.) Ideally, you want the hummus to be slightly chunky and thick so that it spreads on the bread. Taste the blend and add salt to taste. About ⅓ teaspoon for me. Pour the hummus into a container. Use about 3 tablespoon per tartine and serve extra hummus on the side for dipping extra apple slices if you'd like.

2. The rest is easy! Toast bread, slice apple. Spread hummus. Add apple. Pinch fresh sage overtop and drizzle the oil. Tip: If fresh sage is too strong for you, toast thick bots of sage with a few drops of oil in a pan for a minute or two. Toasted sage is quite wonderful.

3. Serve with raw almonds and slice tartine if desired. Red pepper flakes are another topping if you like a spicy kick.