Hummus

Time for a dip....

If Hummus isn't your best friend, it should be. Whether you spell it hummous, hummus, or chick pea dip it doesn't matter. This stuff is not only delicious, it's healthy and dirt cheap! Plan on having hummus in your fridge to dip veggies, pretzel sticks, line a pita before filling it, etc.

*You will need a food processor to make this dip*

I did not have a food processor for a long time (it takes time to find a good one second hand) but I borrowed from family and gave them a batch of hummus to pay them back for the favor.

Soak chick peas for 24 hours in water, in fridge (important to refrigerate)

You may want to add a bit of salt, as this will help soften them - but it's not necessary

I transfer the garbanzo beans to a pot, bring to a boil, and let simmer FOREVER until they're soft enough to put through the food processor. Really, it could take two hours to simmer them. Go do something else or use the time to prep other food.

The rest of the hummus is totally dependent on taste, you can add as much or as little of the following as you'd like.

Garlic

Tahini (ground sesame)

Olive oil

Water

Lemon juice

I typically add 1tbsp of each for every cup or two of chick peas. When I haven't managed to find a good price on olive oil, I use a bit more water and lemon juice and little less oil.

Place 1 cup of chick peas (or more if you have a nice big processor) into food processor, and add garlic. Pulse until all the beans are broken. Slowly add olive oil, water and lemon juice until it can move freely around the processor bowl. Add tahini and you should really see the dip coming together. If you've used too much garlic or lemon juice in the first cup you process, simply omit it from the next round. This will freeze very nicely, just let it thaw in the fridge overnight before using.

Happy DIpping!