Now Dat's What I Call YUMMUS

I used to be very adamantly anti-garlic. Not because of the taste, but rather because I constantly worried that at any moment I could meet my dreamboat soulmate of a man and I couldn't risk ruining our first meeting with my pungent garlic breath. Fortunately I now realize that anyone worth kissing will embrace any residual garlic taste that may linger in my mouth, so I have whole-heartedly embraced this flavorful cousin of the onion.

My mom is not as enthusiastic about garlic as I am (or cilantro. or onions. or many strong-flavored foods) so if you take after my mom you may want to use just one clove of garlic.

I'll warn you in advance that many of my measurements may not be totally accurate. During the blending process I started frustratingly pouring various liquids into the mixture without really thinking about quantity. So play with ratios as you would like, and generally I think yummy ingredients + yummy ingredients = yummy food, so I doubt anything will taste TOO off.

Hummus 

2 cans chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup water from chick pea cans
juice from 2 lemons
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped 
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper as needed

Drain and rinse the chick peas, saving 1/2 cup of the juice.



OPTIONAL: removing the skin from the chick peas. A surprisingly gratifying activity (as pointed out to me by Amanda) which makes the texture of the hummus extra smooth and delicious. Plus, studies show that getting really involved in tedious activities actually makes you happier! So if two people are in prison with a never-ending pile of cooked chick peas, the prisoner who spends his life removing the skin from the chick peas will probably be happier then the prisoner who just sits around watching him, bitching about the lack of interesting activities.

Naked chick peas

Finely chop the garlic and the parsley. Add all the ingredients to a food processor (or a blender if you are food processor-less like I am...although I had SERIOUS difficulties getting this stuff to blend). Add some freshly ground black pepper and salt if desired. If the mixture is too dry you can play around with your liquids.

CHOW! Delicious with veggies, chips, tortilla, pita, on a salad, or maybe even with a spoon.

Finished product! Notice the chunks of chick peas still present? Courtesy of subpar blender. 

-Iris