One of the things I learned about marriage early on is that you have to respect each spouse’s strengths and weaknesses, and settle into a routine where together you manage to get everything done. I’ve always been the cook, generally in charge of figuring out what we’re going to eat and getting it out on the table. The garden, really, has just been a natural extension of that.
Kristi teaches, and every morning I get her lunch together. Lately her lunch has included homemade hummus and baby carrots. In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, hummus is basically a thick chickpea (aka garbanzo bean) and garlic paste. High in protein, very nutritious, and if done right, damned tasty. And it doesn’t take much effort to make, especially if your goal is fast and simple.
A couple people lately have asked for the recipe. It’s not fancy, but I thought I’d go ahead and post it here. Don’t judge me on the ingredients – remember, the point here is a fast turnaround. Feel free to cook the beans and cut up the garlic yourself, if you want.
Use a food processor for this.
Quick Hummus
1 can garbanzo beans
1/3 cup (approx.) minced garlic (to taste)
2 tablespoons tahini (or more, to taste)
Juice of 1 small lemon
2 teaspoons (maybe less) paprika
Drain the can of beans and put them in the food processor. Add the tahini and garlic, and mix into a thick but consistent paste. Use a spoon and scrape the bits off around the edge of the basin, and back into the mix. Again: thick, smooth, and consistent.
Now here’s the thing. Where you go from here is about personal taste, and it helps to know what hummus should taste like. The garlic should be strong enough to lay in a punch, but the tahini (sesame butter) should ground it out and give it depth. The lemon juice plays the taste role of salt: it spikes the flavor just a bit, just to sharpen it.
(If you’ve never tasted hummus and just have no idea what you’re aiming for, try to find a local source that makes it with a native Mediterranean touch. You may or may not get an authentic taste from the stuff you buy at the grocery store. But hummus is a popular staple in Greece and throughout the Middle East, so if you can find a good Mediterranean deli, they’ll set you straight. And no, I’m not claiming to nail authenticity here myself.)
I use Meyer lemon juice from our own tree, and Meyers are a touch sweeter than your normal store bought lemon. So taste test it and don’t use more lemon juice than you need. Again, use it the way you would use salt in a dish: just enough to make the difference, not more than an accent.
Paprika is a matter of taste. You can play with any seasonings you like. I’ve recently been adding ground up dried tomato from our summer garden haul (got a lot of ’em, need to use them for something), and that’s worked well. You can also put in a bit of olive oil, if you like.