Hummus!

I really like hummus, but the cheapest way to get it is at Costco and I get tired of the one flavor over and over. I was excited when I saw this link on pinterest to try making our own! So here's our journey...

After trying 4 local stores, I couldn't find tahini anywhere, but we did finally find a bottle of sesame seeds...and my husband checked google and learned that tahini is just sesame seeds and olive oil!! We used our Blendtec to make it smooth and tada- that step was done!

fresh tahini!

If I can get it frozen or whole, I try not to buy canned foods, believe it or not. So I bought a bag of dry chickpeas for this. Chickpeas soaked for 13 hours, simmered on the stove about an hour, until tender. (can I just say how amusing it was to find myself sorting dry beans, late at night, to soak in my grandmother's pot...when she's the reason I remember sorting dry beans ever)
And then the mixing began! He used the food processor to make the different hummus blends.

Classic Hummus

First my husband made the CLASSIC variety on that link-
16 oz chickpeas
1/3 cup tahini
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 scoop minced garlic
 It came out really thick, so he just drizzled more olive oil while it mixed til it was smooth. Then he still added more lemon and some salt and pepper. Pretty good- but the tahini was really strong, so next time we'll use less. Maybe because it was fresh?

Guaca-Hummus

Next up- the GUACA-HUMMUS!
16 oz chickpeas
1 avocado
1 jalapeno
1/4 cup cilantro
2 tbsp. lime juice
salt
pepper
ok, I absolutely love guac, and this was UH-mazing!! It was like a lighter, clean guac, if that makes any sense at all... it is SO good with tortilla chips or pita chips! YUM!

Southwestern Hummus

Then, he was going to make the tapenade variety, but I was raving about the guaca-hummus so much that he said he could just make that again. Since I only bought one jalapeno, he swapped out that for the roasted red peppers (shown below). So here's a different SOUTHWESTERN HUMMUS and um, it might be the winner!!!
1 avocado
2 cups chickpeas
1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 bottle roasted red peppers (about 6oz)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp. lime juice
drizzled olive oil to make it a smooth paste
 It has a kick, but it's a good one!

 

Classic, Southwestern & Guaca-Hummus, ready to be enjoyed!

and incase you have as much "fun" looking for the roasted red peppers as I did- they're by the pickles, (not the vegetables, nor the Mexican, nor the Italian) and this is the bottle I grabbed.

*Hummus, as far as I know, is used in two basic ways- as a dip or as a sandwich spread. I'm allergic to the fresh vegetables I've heard of dipping into it, so I usually eat it with Keebler Townhouse Flatbread crisps, or Keebler Pita crackers. The Bagel Chips are really good with it too, and I am absolutely going to use tortilla chips with the other flavors we made tonight! I'm also considering sandwichy ideas to use it in!

Let me know if you make your own hummus and what you think! :) I am looking forward to meals this week!

**Edited:
1/27: Tonight he made the Tapenade variety in the same link. We were very low on parsley so he threw in some dried oregano, and some onion powder and it too is fantastic! Have you tried these yet??