Hummus!

I discovered hummus prooobably about 13 years ago and DAMN where had it been all my life? My first taste was at a restaurant in SF called Kan Zaman http://www.kanzamansf.com/ and wow, I haven't put it down since.

hum·mus/ˈho͝oməs/

Noun:

A thick paste or spread made from ground chickpeas and sesame seeds, olive oil, lemon, and garlic, made originally in the Middle East.

Hummus is not only simple and delicious, but it is a pretty damn healthy food. Yes it is a little high in fat - (healthy monounsaturated fats that lower LDL cholesterol), but this can be controlled by moderation or by adding less to your hummus. A cup of hummus also contains 60% of your daily fiber, 1/3 of your daily iron and 20g of protein. It also contains folate, vitamin B6 and is a complete protein when eaten with bread. Hummus (the ingredient tahini specifically) also contains one of the 9 essential amino acids methionine which help to prevent heart disease and stroke and also assists in detoxification of the liver.

OK, enough nutrition blah blah. The stuff tastes amazing, it's creamy, savory and tart and it allows for a lot of creativity which I totally dig. So many flavors can be created and so many foods taste great dipped in it.

INGREDIENTS:

Garbanzo Beans or Chickpeas

These usually come most commonly in 2 ways: dried or canned. I prefer mine dried and I cook them myself. I find that canned are not cooked to a doneness that I like, and it does not give me the creamy texture I prefer without peeling every single bean of its skin, (I'll explain that later). Also, canned beans contain salt - which I prefer to control in my foods myself, and sometimes other preservatives which I would like to avoid all together.

If you cook your own beans soaking them overnight will shorten the cooking time. Use the same water to cook the beans and in your hummus recipe. I have seen different opinions everywhere about adding baking soda to beans as they soak...some say do it, some say dont. I tried it once and found that the beans were a little more tender, but tasted a little more minerally. The biggest argument for the nay sayers is that the soda can leach some of its nutritional value. Hmmm...


Garlic

Fresh is best. Roasting it is amazing but requires more since it's flavors are more mellow. If you use powder you are selling yourself short in the flavor department and will not get the same fresh zippy flavor or it's oils on your palate.

Olive Oil

This oil is traditionally used and contributes to its flavor. Substitute it with grapeseed or canola if you must.

Lemon

I love the acidity lemon brings to hummus. If you forget to add the juice of a lemon to your hummus and doing so will make it too runny, go ahead and zest it instead to give it zing.

Tahini

Tahini is a sesame seed paste. I sometimes use it and I sometimes don't. It's like peanut butter with a thinner texture. It is offered in powdered form too, but I have only seed it fresh and jarred. The taste is nutty, earthy, bitter, gritty and astringent on it's own (in my opinion), but adds another level of flavor and nutrition to your hummus. Flavors and consistency slightly vary from brand to brand. Try making your hummus with and without it, and see what you prefer.

Putting it together

Grab your food processor and toss in the following:

4 cloves of garlic
The juice of 1 lemon
2 ts of kosher salt - if using table salt start with 1 ts and adjust to your taste

Pulse this to get your garlic chopped a bit then add:

4 cups of garbanzo beans
1/2 cup of cooking liquid or water or bean broth from the can
1/2 cup of tahini (optional but use more cooking liquid to add missing moisture)

Turn on processor till smooth.

Taste it.

This is your hummus so play with it. Add more lemon if you want acidity, chop more garlic for zesty spice, add olive oil to the processor for a more savory oily texture.

Once you have your hummus tasting how you prefer, put it in a bowl and top it with olive oil and some parsley and paprika if you want to look fancy.



Peeling the beans as mentioned earlier...

I noticed one day that the skins on the outside of my chickpeas were a bit course and contributed a lot to the texture of my hummus. I actually experimented with peeling an entire batch of beans (no joke)and made hummus with them. This took FOR-EVE-RRR.. but, it was thee creamiest hummus I have tasted in my life. So now I curb the creamy hummus-driven tweeker within by just rolling half of the batch in my hands and picking out what comes off... I promise myself not to spend more than 5 minutes doing this. Do it or don't, another thing for you to play with.

Making different flavors was my last experiment. Here are the flavors I came up with which were pretty much determined by what I had on hand.

From the top left: Traditional, Jalapeno, Lemon Herb, Roasted Red Pepper and Salsa.

My Favorites in order were Roasted Red Pepper, Jalapeno, then Lemon Herb. Tahini was not added to these batches.

Traditional: Basic recipe with parsley added
Jalapeno: Pulse in a roasted or fresh jalepeno or two, or one of each.
Lemon Herb: Basil, dill, parsley and lemon zest pulsed in - no garlic
Roasted Red Pepper: Two fresh roasted red peppers seeded and pulsed, bean broth decreased by about a 1/8 cup
Salsa: 1 cup of salsa added - no lemon and adjust bean broth at the end.




OK, i'm hummus-ed out...... now go make some already!

Your hands can do it - Mayo/Aioli

So many simple things can be made at home in your kitchen instead of bought in a package, jar or can at the store. Not only can you save money and the waste from it's packaging but you also end up with a product that tastes fresher and with no mystery ingredients. It's made by you and your hands instead of a machine and you are in control.
I am a mom that works 30 hours a week and a full time student and I still have time to make this stuff. Don't get my wrong, I don't make EVERY condiment I consume but I make the ones that are so easy it's laughable.. and a few not as easy but worth the time. These are:

Mayo/Aioli 
Hummus
Jam
Peanut Butter
Salad Dressings
Ketchup
Pasta Sauce
Pesto
Bbq sauce

I'll start right at the top with Mayo or "Aioli" for us fancy types. This one, my god people will think you are a genius or some divine master of the kitchen  if you tell them you make your own mayo and it's so EASY its friggin ridiculous. Not to mention it tastes so much better.. if you use the right ingredients and have a handy tool or two.

My 3 year old making Mayonnaise.

may·on·naise/ˈmāəˌnāz/

Noun:

A thick, creamy dressing consisting of eggs beaten with oil and seasoned.

When making Mayo or Aioli you are essentially creating an emulsion.  An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (un-blendable). Our emulsion will consist of:

• 1 egg (room temp and farm fresh is best)

• 3 cups of oil -Canola, Grapeseed, Vegetable or any other oil that you would like to use. I don't suggest standard olive oil or oils with a strong taste or smell unless you blend them with other oils. I like grapeseed best. 
• 1 lemon - giving acidity and balance - or vinegar if you don't have a lemon
• salt to taste

If using an emulsion or stick blender - like Cora is in the picture - this will take only seconds to make and a narrow container is ideal. Crack and drop the egg, pour in the oil, drop the stick to the bottom, set the stick to high speed and switch it on. Bring the stick up as the oil and egg emulsify, moving the stick around to combine all of the oil. Once it is combined, stop the blender and add the juice of half of a lemon and a pinch or two of salt. Continue to add more lemon or salt to your taste, mixing it in with the blender.

If whipping it by hand, use a wide bowl that can hold at least 6 cups and gives you whipping room (anything but aluminum). Crack and drop the egg, whip it with a whisk for about 15 seconds then s-l-o-w-l-y add the oil, I'm talking a drizzle. It usually helps to have a partner drizzling while you whisk and hold the bowl. Once the mayo is emulsifying you can start adding it a bit faster... until all of the oil is combined. Add salt and lemon to taste.

The same goes for the food processor method. Crack and drop egg, pulse a few times then while the machine is still running, drizzle in all of the oil. Season with lemon and salt

Store your mayo in a mason jar, covered bowl or plastic cup.

Some people add mustard for a background flavor - this seems to be the most common, I've done it but meh it's not my preference. You may also add water to your mayo if you prefer it thinner. I sucked making large batched of Aioli (the emulsion kept breaking apart) at work until I figured out that when adding lots of oil for the larger batches, it helps to use more eggs. (I know, duh right?)  If yours breaks - aka, looks like nasty clumps instead of creamy goodness - just start fresh with another egg and use the broken emulsion to pour back in.

Creating different flavors can be fun too. Some of my favorites are herbs like basil, parsley, dill or cilantro - add a tablespoon of chopped or minced herbs to your mix; tomato - add a little marinara, salsa or fresh tomato (this will thin your mayo a bit); Extra lemon - zest one in. Be creative and have fun with it. 

I like to make smallish batches since it tastes best fresh and last in the fridge for about 2 weeks. Keep it cold because it is a fresh preservative free product that can spoil way faster than store bought shelf stuff.

Next time... hummus.




                                                             

                                                                 

I'd Rather Be Cooking

I like food a lot. Not just cause I like to eat, I love everything about it. I can cook like a crack head for endless hours for fun sometimes. I use to pretending to bake and cook as a kid for as far back as I can remember. I love the feeling of eating with another person, cooking something for someone, watching others cook, shopping for food, talking about food, the details of how food changes when its heated, cooled, pickled, dried, chewed, combined with other foods, nutrition... ALL of it. I can't learn enough.

I started this thing cause I have a lot of opinions and sometimes I think people want to hear them.. or want to be inspired.. or want to know someone else out there feels the same. Besides being a food hobbyist, I am pretty pissed with the state of things in the US in regards to our food supply, obesity, consumerism, the environment and a lot more....So lucky you (if you bother to read) you get to fish through my bullshit opinions in hopes to maybe learn a thing or two about my take on life, food and the world.