Crowdsourcing is an awesome method to gather fresh ideas and to spark creativity.

I needed to prepare a couple of dishes for a party and my Facebook friends didn’t let me down. Jen from Driftwood Gardens and Lizzi from Considerings (I reblogged her yesterday) and Becky Bell came to my rescue.

Veggie Hummus Pinwheels were the perfect choice. I added the “Zesty” part, not only because a few squeezes of lime juice adds a fresh and sexy pop to almost anything, but because —  well, I can’t explain. You’d have to be there, or at least you need to read my post from yesterday, which was reblogged from Lizzi Rogers. She said it far better than I could paraphrase.

There’s a method to my madness; always bringing vegan eats to any gathering so I can watch their faces when they tell me how tasty it is whilst I use any and all opportunity to climb up on my little soapbox and ruin any party atmosphere by ranting on and on about becoming vegan and cruelty-free living. Hmm…maybe that’s why I don’t get invited to many parties.

Back to the recipe…

Hummus is so easy to prepare from scratch that it’s a staple here at Casa de Enchanted Seashells. (Recipe below.)

It’s mostly all prep work. Organizing your ingredients makes it easy. Because I was bringing this to a party, I didn’t include onions, but the addition of a thinly sliced red onion would be a wonderful crunchy flavor enhancer.

I used a handheld mandolin to thinly slice the veggies. Carrots, bell pepper, mushrooms, cucumber, and freshly steamed, chopped spinach. Make sure you squeeze out all of the cooking juice and save  for soup stock later in the week. SEE THE LIME…

I had some leftover guacamole and used that too. Organic pea shoots and cilantro (coriander to you all from across the pond) rounded out the healthy deliciousness.

**For a really low calorie option, use a large lettuce leaf instead of a carb-filled tortilla.Simply spread, layer, roll, and cut.

Spread with hummus, guacamole, spinach (this one doesn’t have spinach, but I used a slice of veggie cheddar cheese. The important part is to layer all the veggies on the side of the wrap or tortilla closest to you. Sometimes I heat the tortilla to make it a little more pliable.

Start rolling, keeping it tight. That’s the secret to a successful roll up. If you’ve ever made sushi, it’s the same principle, without using a bamboo mat.  Tah dah! A fat little cigar shaped roll of yumminess. Cut in half with a sharp knife. At this point, you can stop. If I was making a wrap for me and my tugboat man, this is how I’d serve it, along with a lovely fruit salad and a wheat grass smoothie. 

But we’re going fancy schmancy for party eats, so keep cutting…eating the ends as you go. Well, at least that’s what I did.
Turn them up so they’re smiling pinwheels, choose a special serving platter, add a little garnish: here I used cilantro, pea shoots, and thinly sliced LIME.  

Beautiful, festive, healthy!

BASIC HUMMUS:

One 15 oz. can unsalted garbanzo beans (or your own from scratch)
Four garlic cloves
Six tablespoons lemon juice
One-third cup tahini
Salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce

Drain beans, but save juice. Toss it all into a food processor and blend until desired consistency. Add a little juice from the beans as needed. Season to taste.
That’s it! Couldn’t be any easier, right?
Options: Add chopped, drained spinach, jalapeños, roasted red peppers, etc. Use your imagination and experiment. It’s all tasty. Especially if you add a squeeze of lime…