I have relatives in W Hills. Well made rugelach on both coasts isnt hard to find. Im rugelach out until next year 
With your palate, you might care that merely 20 miles away, a sandwich of pastrami or brisket made on the premises can be had with way far better wine [!] than at any other deli we’ve ever read about or experienced so far.
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I don’t understand; they were warm to the touch just from the baking powder? I spent hours peeling them last night, after soaking in brine and boiling briefly. No baking powder.
Basically number 10 from Paula Wolfert’s 10 Genius Tips for Preparing Moroccan Food
"10. How to Peel and Cook Chickpeas
Many Moroccan recipes call for fresh peeled chickpeas, which taste better and are more easily digested than when left unpeeled. Soak dried chickpeas overnight for at least 10 hours, drain, and spread the chickpeas in a single layer on a cloth kitchen towel. Cover with another towel. Then, using a rolling pin, firmly (but not heavily) roll it back and forth over the chickpeas about ten times. Almost all the peels will roll off.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to the boil, throw in the chickpeas and boil for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for a few minutes. The remaining peels will rise to the surface. Remove them with a skimmer, then continue cooking the chickpeas as directed in the recipe."
The skins didn’t really float for me, and I ended up rubbing between towels.
I will probably try baking powder next time, but I don’t want to soften the skins; I want them off!
After peeling I cooked until tender, then refrigerated in the cooking liquid .Today they are sort of a block of split peas suspended in jello!
I guess it’s aquafaba.
If you add the baking SODA when fully cooking the beans that softens the skins to make them come loose easier.
I am generally lazy about fussy stuff like peeling chickpeas, and although i have done it a number of times in order to get a silky smooth hummus I generally don’t. And if i had a vitamix i never would since a high power blender just obliterates the thin skins anyhow.
And yes! The aquafaba is crazy how jelly like it is
Oops! Baking soda. That stuff I rarely use and then it’s expired. 
This thread is reminding of halva/halwha my mom was always buying.
Ooooh, halva is good stuff! Well, it can be- especially the ones dipped in dark chocolate… there’s a place called Seed and Mill in chelsea market that makes really fancy wonderful fresh halva that is amazing. And expensive. But seriously amazing.
My baking soda is in the fridge to deodorize ;))
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Here is another Halva link,
And Aquafaba
… but I fear I’m doing “it” again. Mental health folk call it being “tangential”.
Do you ever use the refrigerator baking soda for cooking? You don’t have to put it on the internet.
Oh I don’t think i would ever make halva myself… my skills with hot sugar and candy thermometers are elementary at best…!!
“tangential” that’s hysterical! And if that’s a qualifier for mental health concerns about all of nyc needs serious help!
Actually no, last time i needed baking soda i just bought a new box, used some, and then swapped the new one into my fridge - I figured at some point they do stop being effective if old
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I used to have HIP! Health Insurance Plan of NY, as a kid in the sixties, seventies. That explains everything.
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I tried to make hummus in a Vitamix, and it all gummed up and wouldn’t blend until I added more liquid than I wanted to.
I find the texture of hummus better from a food processor than the vitamix and baking soda gives me a pasty texture. Maybe I’m doing it wrong
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Well I’m seriously low-tech, so I usually use my immersion blender (cuz i hate cleaning my big blender) and that has always worked great for me.
Were you following a specific recipe? Tahini varies a lot in texture too, so if that’s too thick you might need a splash of ice water to help it along
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Yes they do. Was using the same brand when trying my vitamix to make hummus the first time. I imaging the addition of more bean cooking liquid would have helped
Adding the still warm bean liquid definitely helps, but when i make hummus with canned beans i’ve used ice water (something i read at one point, literally water from a glass with lots of ice) which helps bring it together.
It’s overall an unpredictable process, a lot of taste/adjust as you go. Also for a tasty restaurant style hummus it takes a lot of tahini (some recipes really skimp on the tahini) and sometimes an extra squeeze of lemon to brighten it up
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I’m looking for a completely smooth texture, and I have never been able to achieve that with the food processor.
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Mine is never quite as smooth as, say, softly whipped whipped cream (which I"m not sure I’d like, anyway), but I get it as smooth as the smoothest restaurant versions I’ve had by removing the skins and then letting the FP for a fairly extended period after adding the other ingredients (mostly tahini, but also a little olive oil and lemon juice) after I’ve chopped the chickpeas fairly small to start with.
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I took off the skins once. It took me an hour.
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If you use the Dizengoff method and add baking soda to the soaking and cooking water, you’ll able to get a very smooth texture. I used to peel the chickpeas. Now I don’t have to.
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I’ve tried that, but I don’t really know how to calculate the proper amount. I don’t like the baking soda taste in the hummus. I never tried the Dizengoff version–when I’m in New York, I go for Chinese dumplings, not hummus–but I have had other Israeli versions I did not much like.
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1 tsp per cup of dried chickpeas in the soaking water, and a 2nd tsp in the cooking water. You probably will taste it, even if you rinse, as I do. This is the recipe I started with:
I now use 3/4 tsp salt and 2 cloves of garlic. And yeah, there’s no real reason to buy hummus at a restaurant, as far as I’m concerned. It doesn’t require a hell of a lot of skill (or time, or hard-to-find ingredients) to make.
