Hummus is the key to happiness

My favorite snack that I used to buy pre-made that I now make myself has to be hummus. Hummus is so yummy and flexible yet EASY to make that I can’t figure out why I ever bought it in the first place. I make regular garlic hummus, black bean hummus and tonight I made roasted red pepper hummus for the first time.

I never measure when I make hummus. It usually goes like this:

Toss a rinsed can of chickpeas into the food processor. (Ok, not the can. Just the beans.)

Add roughly 1/3 cup of tahini (more on this later) and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.

Throw in as many garlic cloves as I’m in the mood for. (Usually four. Five or six if I’m really feeling frisky.)

Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice (jarred in a pinch), about one lemon’s worth.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Turn on the processor and let it rip. Taste. Add lemon juice/salt/water/etc until I get the taste and consistency I want. I kind of like mine light and fluffy.

Tonight when I made it with roasted red pepper, I did everything the same except add about half a cup of roasted red peppers (from a jar, I didn’t do it myself but I will soon) and probably used a little less tahini. It turned out orange, which I think would make it cool at a Halloween party or something. When I made black bean hummus….and this is huge….I used black beans instead of chickpeas. It was purple and kind of cool looking. Tasty, too. (Hey, a side by side dish with orange hummus on one side and deep purple on the other…totally sounds like Halloween party snack to me…)

Since hummus takes all of fifteen minutes to make I always make my own and think that everyone else should too! It might take a few tries to get it right but it’s well worth the effort. You can put it on crackers, bread or serve with vegetable sticks (carrot, celery, red pepper, use your imagination). You can use it as a spread on sandwiches. Take it to a club meeting and impress your friends and neighbors. Don’t be afraid to explore!

Now, I said I would go back to tahini. You can buy it pre-made and it’s pretty good. It’s also very handy. But if you can’t find tahini at your grocery store you can make it yourself:

Get yourself a jar of sesame seeds. Toast the seeds lightly in a frying pan. Dump the whole thing into the food processor and let it rip until you’ve got a paste. Ta-dah! Tahini. I’ve done it and it’s a breeze.

I’m gearing up for my next big project but I don’t know what it’s going to be. I’m looking at a lot of different things like canning my own jam, making sushi, pizza and pasta. Decisions, decisions.