Hummus is my Love Language

I was sitting at the table with Harrison yesterday, he was eating some combination of chicken and chickpeas and sweet potato and cheese, and I was munching away on raw carrots with a hefty amount of hummus. He asked for hummus, and I gave him some- on my finger, into his mouth, as usual- but he quickly made it known that he wanted the carrots, not the hummus. And once he had a carrot, he held it back out to me and very clearly communicated that he wanted the hummus ON the carrot.

I had to laugh. Lately he's been eating chips and salsa, because it's a staple of mine, and now he wants carrots and hummus, the same way I eat them every single day.

So we sat at the table together for a while longer, Harrison licking/biting the hummus off the partially eaten carrot stick with his eight teeth, and handing the carrot back to me to ask for more hummus. That's my son.

I could eat hummus all day long. I don't love raw carrot sticks, but pair them with hummus and I can eat them all day long as well. Healthy raw carrots, healthy homemade (of course) hummus. You can eat hummus all day long too- if you have a food processor, just take five minutes and follow this general recipe.

(Also, my food processor is one of the most used gadgets in my kitchen. When the day comes that it dies, it will be replaced immediately, no time for mourning. I use this one, thanks to the recommendation of this blog. I've had it for at least three years and it still works great.)

Ingredients
-1-3 garlic cloves
-2 lemons (+ more to taste)
-1/2 cup tahini
-salt to taste
-a teaspoon or so of cumin
-3 cups chickpeas
-olive oil
-water as needed

Process
Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves, then throw them in the food processor and run it for a few seconds to finish the garlic job. Scrape the garlic down off the sides, add the juice of the lemons and the tahini, and the salt and cumin, run the food processor again for a bit to blend everything together. Add about half the chickpeas and a swirl of olive oil, blend for a bit, then add the rest of the chickpeas and some more olive oil. Blend. If the chickpeas aren't breaking down enough, add more oil, or water. I like my hummus to be very strongly flavored, so I go light on the water since it thins the consistency AND the flavor. It's a matter of taste, find the balance you prefer. If the finished product is missing a zing, try adding more lemon juice and/or salt.

Once you've found the texture and flavor you like, scrape into a bowl and top with more olive oil and some paprika for taste and aesthetic value.

This recipe can be easily halved. If you're using cans of chickpeas, one 15oz can is 1.5 cups.

If you want a different flavor- try making pizza hummus!

-1-3 cloves of garlic
-1/4 cup tomato paste
-4 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
-1 teaspoon oregano
-salt to taste
-1 cup chickpeas
-olive oil
-water as needed

Use the same method of garlic first, then tomato paste, cheese, oregano, and salt, then the chickpeas, with oil and water as needed. So tasty, you'll want to eat it with a spoon!

Happy hummus making!