Let's have some hummus, too!

When I became a vegetarian back in college, I was heavily influenced by my very resourceful, talented roommate, Em. She introduced me to organic foods, homemade mac and cheese, and let me know that not all vegetables came in cans. After watching me eat spaghetti every day for 3 months straight, she introduced me to the Moosewood cookbook and suggested we try out a few different recipes together. We're still best friends today.

I always think of her when I make hummus. We went on a roadtrip to California, careening down to Tulsa, Oklahoma to pick up another friend. The three of us took my little pick up, trading shifts driving and sleeping in the back on the off shifts. We dropped off our friend in LA; Em and I continued up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco. As we were all on college budgets, Em and I each made a vat of hummus, tabbouleh, and bags of homemade pitas. We ate these pretty much exclusively. Em always thought my hummus was too lemony, but I like it that way. I like hers, too--its got a creamier texture. So, I'm writing this heavy on the lemon, but feel free to adjust it to your taste. The great thing about hummus is all the variations. Black bean hummus, jalapeño hummus, olive hummus--possibilities are endless. I chose roasted red pepper hummus this week.



Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can garbanzos, drained
2-3 T. tahini (mine are always a bit more than a T.)
1/3 cup lemon juice or 2 lemons
1/2 cup roasted red pepper
dash soy sauce
Broth or water as needed
**olive oil for desired consistency and to drizzle on top

optional:
cumin
cayenne
hot sauce

**my red peppers were packed in olive oil, so I didn't add any extra

Food process the garbanzos and red peppers with some broth and lemon juice. Add all other ingredients and mix. Food process again for smoother texture.

POST SCRIPT

I posted this last night, with just the hummus shots, and a certain Mr. Doggy Bloggy noticed I didn't include any pitas :)

Well, they turned out kind of funny, so I wasn't going to post them, but here they are, my Square Pitas. (I was going for a flat bread-but it puffed!)




The dough was some leftover white/wheat combo pizza dough. I sprinkled some herbs, cayenne, salt and grated romano on top. Bake at 500 for 5-6 minutes, remove and cover with towels or put in a paper bag to keep soft. Even though they're square, they still taste pretty good!