day 6: hummus!

I've had people ask me so many differnet questions about hummus. What is hummus? Can you make hummus at home? What the hell are garbanzo beans? The list goes on and on, but when I received this, so far favorite, question about hummus, 'What do you eat it on or do you just eat it by the spoonful?' (thank you , dear friend Dana), that's when I got excited because I knew I was going to write about it!

Let's first discuss what hummus is. Basically, hummus is a dip or spread made of chickpeas. Hummus, I recently learned, is the Arabic word for chickpeas. Some of you may know chickpeas as garbanzo beans. Same thing. And in case your wondering, garbanzo beans is the Spanish translation for chickpeas. This is so much learning!

Can you make hummus at home? Absolutely! It is incredibly easy, although I have to admit, I usually buy it from the store. But I should just make it...OK, OK I'll just start making it!
Very basic hummus will consist of only four ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas
1/4 cup of olive oil or less
1 Tbs. of lemon juice or less to taste
salt

Thats it! You place your chickpeas and lemon juice in the food processor, give it a blend and add your olive oil in stages, you may not need it all. You just want to get it to a texture that works for you. Then salt to taste. If you like, you could add 1-2 Tbs. of tahini, for extra flavor and richness; tahini is a paste made of ground sesame seeds, you can get it at any grocery store. Really this is another one of those things that does not require a recipe. You can grab a can of chickpeas, start adding a little of things you like to it (garlic, green olives, pine nuts, etc.), blend it up to a desired creaminess and you are ready to go.

I have been trying all kinds of hummus this past week. They sell several brands at your local grocery store. 'Athenos' and 'Sabra' brands seem to be the most popular. Both are good but I personally wasn't a fan of the Sabra Roasted Red Pepper. All of the garlic flavored brands that I've tried, I've liked. You'll also notice that if you purchase from the grocery store their brands are typically very creamy, almost like a spread. But if you purchase from say, Trader Joe's, theirs are going to be a bit more chunky. Having been overweight all of my life, chunky isn't one of favorite words, but I honestly don't mind the chunky hummus.

And so, Dana, to answer your question, "What do you eat it on or do you or do you just eat it by the spoonful?", I say to you..."A lot of people eat it with pita bread or crackers. I am not one of those "a lot of people". Try it on cucumbers, celery, zucchini sticks, bell peppers or my personal favorite...carrots! Never EVER eat it by the spoonful. Thank you SO much for this super amazing question!"