HUMMUS

"Why are you making hummus when you can buy it already made?" Larry asked. He just doesn't get it. It's not that I dislike the hummus we've bought in the past, it's just something that I figured would taste better freshly made. I especially like the roasted garlic hummus--I like just about anything with roasted garlic in it--so decided that would be my first attempt. I looked at a number of recipes and most were basically the same, so I kind of put them together and this is what I ended up doing:

Roasted Garlic Hummus

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 small Vidalia onion, chopped

3 cloves roasted garlic

21 oz canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs tahini (sesame paste)

salt and pepper to taste

1-2 tbs chicken broth (if needed to thin the mixture)

I made this in the blender, but learn from my mistake. It was a pain. Next time I'll use the food processor. It's just as easy to clean and I would have been done in half the time.

Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet and saute the onions until they're soft--about 5 minutes. In the food processor, puree the chickpeas, roasted garlic, lemon juice, tahini, salt and pepper with the onions. Refrigerate covered until chilled.

The hummus was delicious on these crackers, but equally delicious as a raw veggie dip.