Hummus!

A new family favorite in the house is homemade hummus.  We used to buy the ready-made stuff at the store, but it is a bit pricey.  When you figure that it is made up of mostly garbanzo beans (chickpeas) it is a fairly inexpensive thing to make.  We like it with tortilla or pita chips, fresh veggies, and I have caught my oldest just eating it with a spoon.  Hey, it is gluten-dairy-egg free and yummy.  Who can blame her?  This is the recipe out of the Vita-Mix Whole Food cookbook with a couple of tweaks. (Yes, we were blessed with a Vita-Mix for Christmas.  I am sure I will be sharing more about that later.)  Although this calls for canned beans, you can save even more money by buying a big bag of dried beans and cooking them.  It is super easy and then we bag them in individual portions and put them in the freezer for later use.

HUMMUS

• 2 (15 oz) cans chick peas, one drained, one with liquid
• 1/4 cup raw sesame seeds (or tahini)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (about the juice of one lemon)
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt to taste
• handful of fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped (optional)

Process all ingredients except the fresh herbs (if using) in a blender or food processor.  Once smooth add herbs a process just enough to mix them through (If you blend too much, your hummus will turn green.  Trust me; I know this from experience.)

You can get creative and flavor your hummus with roasted red peppers, spinach, or other herbs.  Use your imagination.