Hummus

Channa Dal Garbanzo Beans Left - White Garbanzos Right

I know, really... a blog about hummus?  Yep, based on popular request, here it is.  Hummus can be plain and boring or it can be as exciting as you want to make it. You can call it humus, hummus, or hommus, but every time I make it, it's gobbled up with enthusiasm.  It's easy to make and way better than spreads with lots of unknown ingredients from the store.

For me, hummus started out a long time ago with my 1977 edition of Molly Katzen's,  Moosewood Cookbook.  

I've altered the recipe over the years to suit my taste and once again I've had to find some more precise measurements rather than a dash, a squeeze, and a taste.

Hummus is a rich and tasty spread made from garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, and spices.  It is rich in protein and can be used in many ways.  As the basis of a delicious sandwich, a dip with crackers or pita bread, or as an entire meal surrounded with vegetables and breads.  It's simple to make and healthy beyond measure.  Don't let anyone knock it until they've tried it, as hummus has a huge likability factor.

Before the recipe, let's talk beans.  You can use canned garbanzo beans or as I prefer, cook your own.  If you are in the mood to cook your own, may I recommend finding Channa Dal garbanzo beans.  These are a little smaller and are a rich dark brown with their skins on.   The traditional white garbanzos are fine, I just prefer the darker, nuttier flavor of the Channa Dal beans.  You can most likely find them at an organic food store.  Always use organic ingredients whenever possible - You're worth it.

Hummus Basics 

1 cup rounded of dry garbanzo beans
Rinse the beans and place them in a pot.  Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Cover the pot and leave sit for 1-2 hours.  Drain and rinse the beans and cover with fresh water.  Cook until the beans are tender (about 90-120 minutes or 15-20 minutes in a pressure cooker).  Cool the beans to room temperature
or
use 2 cans (about 2 cups drained) of garbanzo beans with most of the liquid drained off and kept for later, if needed.

Place the following in a food processor:

the cooled or canned garbanzo beans with a little of the liquid
3-5 cloves of garlic
2/3 cup of tahini (tahini should be stirred before measuring)
1/4 cup of lemon juice (+/- to your taste)
2 tablespoons of tamari (+/- to your taste)
1/4 cup packed of minced parsley or 2 tablespoons dry parsley
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of salt (to taste)

blend this all together until very smooth.  It takes a bit of blending to get a really smooth consistency.  If necessary, add additional liquid from the beans or additional lemon juice based on taste to make the consistency smooth and not dry.

That's ready to eat!

I like to make a double batch and freeze it in small quantities that I can pop out for lunch or for a quick appetizer when needed.

You can also experiment with different flavors added to the hummus.  Here are a few suggestions to try:

pitted greek olives (watch the tamari and salt with this one)
fire roasted red peppers
fresh basil instead of parsley
2 teaspoons of curry
artichoke hearts 
cayenne or black pepper
or any combination that sounds tasty.

You can also experiment with different beans.  Try white beans like cannellini or great northern, or try black beans, or lentils.  They all make a delicious hummus.

A favorite lunch or dinner is 2 slices of toasted sourdough bread, spread with a thick layer of hummus, add a big slice of ripe tomato, some fresh garden lettuce, spinach, or sprouts.  If it doesn't start falling apart or the hummus isn't oozing out, you didn't put enough on!

Enjoy!

The HOUSE Dressing

I know, it’s been a while since you’ve heard a peep out of me.  What can I say except I’ve been busy - first I took my granddaughter on a train trip from Whitefish, MT to Cincinnati, OH.  That was an adventure!  Then, there has been all the gardening and more gardening, and we are also in the process of finishing up some interior remodeling that is requiring us to remove all of the furniture from most of our house.  UGH!  This is the last big shot on the remodel and so I will be happy when it is all over.
 
And so, with a lettuce bed that looks like this, what's a person to do... except eat salad!

Now, for that recipe you have been waiting for.  With a lot of lettuce ready for the salad plate something  got me reminiscing about a little restaurant that I used to frequent back around 1990 in Olympia, Washington.  It was called the Urban Onion and I don’t know if it’s still there or not, but they had this fabulous house dressing that makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

To make a long story short, after many lunches and salads at this wonderful little place, I finally got up the nerve to ask, “Would you consider giving out the recipe for your salad dressing?”  To my surprise, the wait person returned from the kitchen with a photocopy of a typed version of the recipe.  Apparently I was not the first person to ask, and they generously shared this delicious recipe with everyone. 

On a mission, I dug through my recipe file, which consists of a bunch of pieces of paper of all sizes and shapes, in no particular order, torn from store fliers, newspapers, written on the backs of greeting cards, photo copies, hand written by me and friends, and whole pages ripped from magazines over a period of at least 40 years.  There it was... on that original, slightly tattered, yellowed with age, and splashed with ingredients from previous makings, half sheet of photocopy paper from 1990.  

Elyse’s Potpourri - 
Urban Onion
Recipe - Lemon Tahini Dressing
Ingredients:
2 cups safflower oil
3/4 cup lemon juice
½ cup soy sauce
½ medium onion
1/3 green pepper
2 stalks celery
1 cup tahini
Method:
1.Chop all veggies
2.Mix all ingredients
3.Process until it all comes together

Yield: Approx. 4+ cups
Today I only had olive oil and used a gypsy pepper from the garden.  It was as delicious as I remembered.  If you like Anne's Goddess dressing, you will love this, it's way better without the vinegary taste.

Some how in my mind, 1990 was only about 10 years ago, but 22 years later, here it is!  From Elyse to you... Enjoy!  Thank you Elyse, where ever you are I hope you are well!