Hummusgirl's Blog

Hummusgirl just wishes they served hummus here!

There are a lot of ways to make hummus- I know I’ve done a lot of them.  I’ve used canned chickpeas and dried chickpeas (you do have to cook them).  The essentials are chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil (oil isn’t really necessary, but I find it makes it that much smoother). 

Starting with chickpeas, some people like taking the skin off (too many carbohydrates says my friend Esteban), but it’s time consuming.  If you use canned chickpeas, use one whole can.  If you cooked your chickpeas fill the food processor with them.  You can add a tablespoon of chickpea water too (although I think it makes the hummus too watery).  Then add some chopped/minced garlic, or about 3 or 4 cloves. 

The tahini you can get from a specialty Mediterranean or Middle Eastern grocery store.  I think you get the best quality from one of these stores as I’ve heard brand name tahini is not up to snuff.  Add about 2 Tablespoons Tahini to your hummus and 2 to 3 Tbs olive oil.

Now it’s time to get crazy with the spices and herbs!  The first time I made hummus I added just cumin or maybe nothing at all.  Now I add 2 tsp cumin, and about 1tsp each of celery salt, kosker salt, mild chili powder, and cayenne.  Some people don’t like spicy cayenne, but I find that if I don’t add it, it just seems dull!  So better to make your guests have water in their eyes then not have flavor!  And I add cilantro or parsley (about 2 Tbs) to give it a kick.  Then pour in 3 Tbs lemon juice and it should satisfy.  Serve with pita bread, chips, or you’re really getting healthy, vegetables.

After having a fairly unproductive day yet again, I find that hummus is always there to soothe my soul. Well I did just go swimming and needed some sustenance, but hummus is just too easy to make and too good for me, so I can’t feel bad about life!  It’s just so, so, mediterranean! Or maybe it’s the cool middle eastern vibe I get from it.  I must say though, I should have put in more cayenne pepper because it’s tasting a little too much like generic hummus (not that there’s anything wrong with generic…).  Anyway, homemade hummus still brings the house down.

For those of you who having been living in fast food restaurants for your whole life, hummus is from the Middle East.  Let’s go back even further.  Chickpeas are what hummus is made from and these are a type of bean that date back thousands and thousands of years ago.  In fact, I’ve read that they’re what the poor people ate, which may explain why the fast food people I know are scared of them and hummus and all beans; they don’t want people to think they’re “poor.” 

But anyway, hummus was “invented” around the 700 AD.  I guess it was mostly confined to the Middle East, as it was still classified as a “poor” food.  Meanwhile, while hummus was probably gaining in popularity in Lebanon and Palestine and all those cool fought over countries, potatoes and corn were being worshipped centuries later by Mayans (corn) and Europeans (potatoes). 

See corn, as one should know today, can be used nine times out of ten in most any convenience food as well as inedible items as well.    Well back when the Mayans lived off the land (there might be some still that still do for all I know) they depended on it just as heavily, though with all the elements of nature, not commerce thrown in.

Potatoes, on the other hand, were thought to be only for the rich only about 500 years ago (look up) and when they were “found out” so to speak, they became a heavily prized item for many poor people.  Maybe you heard of a little something called the potato famine?  Despite their fattening nature today, potatoes are actually very good for you when boiled or baked.

I like hummus because it makes me appreciate all the good things in life.  Before I found hummus I didn’t eat as well as I should and it showed.  I ate too much sugary foods and although I wasn’t a horrible eater, it added up.  But when I discovered hummus, I discovered how much I liked to eat healthy things and that eating poorly, does taste pretty bad too.  When I discovered hummus it was an “aha” moment in that I figured out that this was a food that could be made cool. 

I know it’s been relatively popular in the US now for awhile now and has no where to go but up!  But hummus will always be cool because I personally think it’s the only way to get over guy problems.  So worship hummus instead of some annoying man and your world will open wide!