Day 33 - Hummus...finally!

I made hummus!!!!!!!

You don't understand. This isn't just hummus. This is hummus for which I bought the chickpeas, oh, probably 3-4 years ago.

Craig likes chickpeas, and I love hummus. So, several years ago, when we were still living in PA, I decided I was going to make it. I bought the chickpeas, and at one point, I even bough tahini -- both traditional ingredients in hummus. But for some reason, I was intimidated. I really don't know why. I'm a fairly accomplished cook. I've tackled a wide variety of cuisines and complex recipes. I've made osso bucco. I've made yeast bread in the shape of Easter bunnies with veggie dip in their bellies, for goodness sake! It's not like a little chickpeas, tahini & olive oil (the very basic hummus recipe) should intimidate me.

But, here I was with the very same two cans of chickpeas in my pantry, two years after we moved to MD. The tahini had long since gone bad and been thrown out.

On Friday, I decided to consolidate the portion of the pantry that had spilled over to the spare bedroom closet. Good news: about half of the original volume is gone. Bad news: I discovered a half-dozen bottles of unopened, expired salad dressing and a box of pie crust mix that expired in 2002!!!! Two-thousand-TWO! Really??

More bad news: those two cans of chickpeas that I bought in PA? They don't have an expiration date! So, I have no excuse not to use them.

I marched right into the kitchen and decided: the moment is now. I'm making hummus now. I had found a hummus recipe that used plain yogurt instead of tahini (www.recipezaar.com to the rescue again!), so I didn't even have that excuse.

So into the blender it all went: garlic (LOTS of garlic!), lemon juice, plain yogurt, a bunch of spices. And then I could put it off no longer. It was time to add the chickpeas.

I open this can with a faded and worn label. Deep breath as I pull the top off, not sure what I'm going to see inside. Will the chick peas be green and fuzzy? Will they be shrivled and gross?

SURPRISE! They're completely fine.

Into the food processor they go. Whirrrrrrrrrrr! And suddenly, it's hummus!

And, guess what? It's really good!

I made hummus! It really is the little things in life.
___________

Hummus (2 WW pts/serving)
6 servings

3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (19 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Combine everything food processor and process until smooth.

Next time, I'm going to add some cilantro!