Friday, March 07, 2008

Motivation for some hummus

Hummus
There's nothing like putting your white pasty plump body in a swimsuit in Winter and exposing yourself to the beaches of Mexico to motivate a little weight loss. Or at least a check-in on the food intake and putting the cupcakes and risotto on the backburner and getting in a whole lot of fresh salads and vegetables instead. I'm also quite inspired by this new site, and the dialogue she's developing about food, food issues and facing facts. And then there's the whole cutting back on meat thing over at Casa de Lelo. The inhumane practices of the meat industry have just rattled me so much, I'm really examining where our meat comes from, how it's raised and cared for, and cooking with it much, much less. It has sparked some interesting dialogue between AdRi and I, and I think it's a good change I'm willing to spearhead. I'm intrigued that another blogger is pondering going veg, too.

So I whipped up some hummus this week and have been nibbling on it for days. Never, ever, never, ever will I buy hummus again when I can make it myself. It's so much better, and super easy. So here is how I make hummus. I'm looking forward to trying lots of different variations and explorations with it, but in its most simplest form, it's quite delicious.

Super-scrumptious-delicious-simple-pass-me-an-altoid-hummus
Get out your food processer (or a blender could work too). Into it, drop......
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained (reserve the liquid)
4 cloves garlic (less if you don't want such egregious garlic breath)
juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon or so of tahini
With food processor on, pour in 1/4 cup or so of olive oil. Whirl with wild abandon, adding more olive oil and/or the reserved garbanzo bean liquid to get it to the consistency you prefer. Salt and pepper to taste. If you like, garnish with some italian parsley.

Now pass me an altoid!

7 comments:

vj said...

I use a similar recipe, but with less beans and more tahini. Fresh homemade hummus is the best!

rae ann said...

oooh, we're big hummus eaters over here! we've ditched the tahini paste and instead use a couple of drops of sesame oil (less fat). we also add heaping teaspoons of cumin and corriander until the flavor is just right. no matter how you make it, it just doesn't ever seem to be wrong. it makes me long for summer and cucumbers from the garden for dipping....

Rozanne said...

I've never ever found grocery store hummus to be less than disgusting. Even the stuff they sell at New Seasons is gross.

I guess that's why I thought that it would be hard to make at home.

I have to admit, though, that one of the things I like about getting hummus at a restaurant is the big pool of olive oil that's always floating on top! So tasty! If I made it myself, though, I wouldn't be able to bring myself to add that crucial olive oil.

It is discouraging to learn about the processing of meat. I think my body does need a certain amount of meat though--that's just me. I've been trying to eat more lamb (purchased from TJ's and New Seasons). I think it's less "industrialized" than chicken and beef. You know?

A Lewis said...

I'm not strictly vegetarian, but nearly. Check out my post from earlier this week when I nearly chopped my thumb off...has a good recipe for stuffed peppers. They were amazing! And hummus rocks. Plain and simple!

Kathryn said...

I don't know this Tahini? I like hummus, but I never had hummus before I was a lesbian. I wonder what that means?

Anonymous said...

Lelo honey, my BB says to tell you not to use the blender to make hummus. No matter how much you clean it, your smoothies taste like hummus too.
Oh and guess who went out and got organic hummus (I was lazy), pitas,olives and artichokes last night and is snacking on them all right now.
Me! yummy.
RSG- Tahini is seseme butter. yummy stuff but easliy over powers, start with a little and add more to taste. :)
Ohhh and I went to a hispanic grocery last week and they sell green garbanzos still in their shells. How to use these? Do you know Lelo?

LeLo said...

Vicki Jean: Thank you!

the mama: doh! I forgot the cumin! Yes, add a tablespoon of cumin to that, and coriander would be delish too. I agree that the tahini is not necessary.

Rozanne: My body is the same about meat: I need it. I just want to know where it comes from now. I just can't do lamb, however. But I can do ground turkey. :)

Lewis: Ouch!!!! I will definitely check out the stuffed peppers: those are tasty.

RSG: See Beecharmer's comment. Doily dyke.

Beecharmer: you know, i thought about that blender/food processor thing, and while i always use my food processor, i remember the days when i didn't have one and when i read that it called for one in recipes my heart would sink a little because maybe i wasn't a good cook or couldn't be if i didn't have the expensive equipment. and i just don't think that's true. so now when i write stuff, i ***try*** to remember those times and the fact that a blender can often be used like a food processor. i remember making pesto in a blender and using a wooden spooon to mash stuff into the bottom of the blender, and catching the wooden spoon on the blender blade, resulting in pesto with wood splinters in it. had to be careful eating that batch. it might make your smoothies taste like hummus, but if you don't have a food processor, it would still work, yes?

about those dried garbanzos...soak 'em, and cook 'em. I've been making beans lately, and they're super tasty and easy, just take awhile.