Recipe time

For lunch today, I made some hummus. I thought I'd share the recipe.

one can of garbanzo beans
two large or three small cloves of garlic
tablespoon or two of fresh lemon juice
olive oil
two tablespoons of tahini

Drain the garbanzo beans and put them in the bowl of a food processor (I haven't had much luck with blenders, but you can try using one). Peel the garlic and toss it in, add two tablespoons of olive oil and the rest of the ingredients, then pulse two or three times. Now put the processor on whirrrr and pour in a little bit of olive oil, watching to see how the texture is -- I ended up adding about three tablespoons, a little at a time. When it looks right, you're done.

Traditionally, hummus is served with a dollup of olive oil poured over the top. It comes this way if you order it in a restaurant, and is usually accompanied by pita wedges.

The tahini is important both for taste and texture, so don't be tempted to skip it. The lemon juice has to be fresh for this to taste right.

But, there you have it. If you like yours garlicky, add more garlic. Next time I make this, I plan on adding some pitted kalamata olives for color. I like homemade hummus because it has a fresh taste and isn't pasty. Once I had peeled the garlic, it took me about one minute to make this.

You can use hummus as a dip, or as a sandwich filling if you're using a nice, grainy bread. Yeah, whole grain bread, grated carrots, and hummus. Yum.