House Made Hummus

This past weekend found us catching up on some home projects in anticipation for the arrival of our 4 girls (AKA hens) this Friday. I will be posting our progress on the "Chicken Cathedral" Lucky built, in addition to the run he finished yesterday. We feel as if we are adopting and I guess we are, in the animal sense anyway. In my quest for continued urban homesteading, chickens fit nicely into the equation. But, more on that later. Today I am sharing about some homemade hummus I am now adding to the repetoire of go to snack foods. I know, I am totally behind on this as it seems everyone already makes their own. But, progress is progress in my small mind. The secret, for me anyway, is to cook your own chick peas (AKA Garbanzo Beans). Not only is the texture creamier, they are so much cheaper than their canned counterparts. From what I hear, although I have not noticed this the use of the canned beans can sometimes lend a metallic flavor to the finished hummus and then there is the BPA issue of using conventional cans. Pick your poison. Personally, I like to buy the beans in bulk, cook them myself and there ya have it for a fraction of the price. This hummus makes store bought taste gross. I use my friend, Steph's, recipe. Her hummus is by far the best I have ever tasted state side. I love it because she little less on the Tahini (Sesame Seed Paste) which if not careful can be a bit overpowering. Check my PINTEREST board under FAVORITE RECIPES for how to cook Chickpeas. Super easy and super good. Place 2 cups of your cooked chickpeas in a food processor. To it add the following: 1 Clove Garlic 3/4 teaspoon Salt Pinch of Cayenne 3 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice 1/4 Cup Tahini Sauce (found next to the peanut and other nut butters at your grocery) 1/4 Cup Olive Oil 1/4 Cup Water Process all these ingredients until smooth and creamy. As you can see from my photos, the hummus didn't quite make it to the serving bowl. Lucky and I had it for lunch yesterday with fresh veggies and brown rice crackers.