fresh

I made some hummus from scratch last night and it kicked some serious booty! I got the recipe from epicurious here.

I don't have a photo to show for it, but believe me it was good. I made a few changes to the recipe (all of the ones I found seemed to be for large quantities of the stuff; two cans of garbanzo beans!), using only one can of organic garbanzo beans from Trader Joe's, a quarter cup of tahini, a little less of some nice olive oil, a dash or two of cumin, one clove of garlic instead of their two, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. The recipe asks that you add some of the water from the can or just regular water when blending to smooth it out. I opted for regular water cause it seemed fresher somehow. I should have taken the time to chop up some fresh parsley to garnish instead of just the paprika and dribble of olive oil, but it was late and after the gym and I was quite frankly pooped. I had a generous slather of it on some organic handmade flour tortillas also from Trader Joe's, before I put it all away. You know, just to make sure that it tasted all right before I went to take my shower.

I'm going to look up some more spread-y dippy type stuff to make on a regular basis. They add so well to a sandwich (often what m eats for lunch at home) and it's a healthy tasty alternative to cheese or mayo. Great for dipping in fresh veggies too. I told m that if you eat hummus with bagels and perhaps a little shredded carrots, you've got yourself the quintessential UC Santa Cruz meal. I miss those vegan hippies from up north. Even their blessed patchouli which I could never stand. Okay, maybe not so much.

Next time I make this hummus, I'll try soaking my own garbanzo beans instead of going for the can. Or even better buying fresh. Can you buy fresh garbanzo beans at the store? I'll have to research that one.