Hummus

I've had a hummus recipe for a couple years now that I accumulated from somewhere or someone.  I don't know why I've never made it, but yesterday, my mom (who is currently vacationing near Key West) was sending me texts  (including pictures) of this veggie and hummus plate they had made after visiting a local farmers market. This kind of got me thinking about hummus and veggie trays, so I decided to give it a go. It's really as simple as dumping all the ingredients into a food processor and giving it a-whirl.  I thought this turned out so delicious, that I will probably never buy it from the store again!

Hummus

Ingredients:
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained (I used salt-free)
1/2 c tahini
1/3 c warm water
1/3 c olive oil* (see below)
Juice of 2-3 lemons (I used 6 Tbsp of bottled lemon juice)
4 (or more) garlic cloves (I used 4 large ones)
1.5 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a food processor and blend.

*I only have a 6 cup food processor (because I'm STILL waiting for Santa to bring me a 12-cup) so I had to process in batches.  Therefore, I combined all the ingredients except the oil in a mixing bowl, then poured half into the processor. I then added oil while it was blending until it was the consistency I liked. I scooped it out, then added the other half and did the same thing again.  What I'm saying is, use the oil to adjust the hummus to your desired smoothness.

*Also, I added a roasted red pepper (the jarred kind) to half of the batch because that's my favorite flavor of hummus. So I ended up with half plain and half red pepper flavored.

Today for lunch I brought an "adult lunchable" which consisted of some thin sliced salami, a few cubes of good sharp cheddar, some grapes, a glob of hummus, some cucumbers and cut up naan bread.  It's only 8:30 and I'm already looking forward to it!

Best of luck!