Hummus

We have been toying with the idea of getting a food processor for a long time.  We are really trying to examine our lifestyle, needs, and wants and live more simply.  We weren't sure if we would use a food processor enough to warrant the expense.
The town we live in has a fabulous outlet mall.  We go to one of the kitchen stores to buy refills for our soda stream  (http://www.sodastreamusa.com/ ) and the last time we went we also had to refill our CO2 canister so we got a $10 off coupon for anything in the store.  Nice!  We looked again at the food processors and then went home to think on it a few days, read reviews, etc.  When we went back that weekend, they happened to be on sale!  So we picked up a really nice Hamilton Beach food processor for $34.99!

love love love it!

We have used it for many things but perhaps my favorite of all is hummus.
I absolutely LOVE hummus!  We work with so many people that have never tried it.  I love bringing them samples of my hummus and seeing their favorable reactions.

So I'd like to share my recipe and encourage anyone who hasn't ever had hummus to give it a try.  It is very healthy and you can custom season it.  It makes a great alternative to chip dip or veggie dip!

Basic Hummus:
2 cans (15oz each) Garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup lemon juice (or lime juice) -I have used both fresh and concentrate and both work fine
1/2 cup roasted tahini (can be salted or unsalted, you can adjust salt later)
1/2 cup water
slightly less than 1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves (must be fresh garlic, the minced stuff in a jar gives the hummus a "metallic" taste)
1 1/2 tsp salt (more or less to taste)

combine all in food processor and blend until smooth.  Then add "flavors".  If making just plain hummus, consider adding more garlic after taste-testing.
Flavors will be stronger (and better) after chilling for 24 hours so when possible, make in advance.

Some flavor ideas:
Roasted red pepper and chipotle
one large red pepper (look up internet directions how to roast them in your oven, it's very simple)
chipotle powder to taste (I used 2-3 tsp)
smoked paprika to taste (1 tsp)

Smoked mushroom, onion, and garlic
we pre-smoked with mesquite wood chips in our smoker 1/2 red onion, 2/3 pkg crimini mushrooms, and a bunch of garlic cloves, all tossed in olive oil.
We added all of the above to the basic recipe, using 6 total garlic cloves.

Spicy hummus (couldn't really think of a creative name)
2 roma tomatoes (smoked on the grill, but you could use the same oven roasting method as the peppers above)
1 tsp Sanaam peppers
2 tsp Aleppo peppers, dried and crushed
1 1/2 tsp Chipotle powder
2 tsp smoked paprika

Other flavor ideas/combinations that I want to try:

- "Pizza" hummus -using italian herbs and tomatoes
- Anything with fresh herbs (basil, rosemary, chives, etc)
- A "cheesy" hummus using cheese powder and hmmmm, maybe bacon salt??
- A curried hummus
- Toasted pine nuts and parsley
- Ranch flavored

Enjoy!  Let me know if you come up with any other ideas or suggestions for flavors to try