Recipes from Aunt Flora -- Annie's Hummus

Now that spring temperatures are starting to return, it's not fun to have the oven fired up all the time. The family recipe book does have sections on things other than baked good, i.e. dips, soups, drinks, and meals, etc. This one for hummus caught my eye.

A word about the family recipe book -- it was created probably 20 years ago now, just before the globalization of our palates. American have adopted and adapted many European and Mexican flavors and food over the years, but some things we now take for granted, things like pitas, kebabs, flat bread, falafel and hummus were once considered exotic. One of Aunt Flora's daughters Annie, married L---- whose family was from the Middle Eastern area, and thanks to him, family recipes have a whole new flavor profile. Dad's side of the family has been ahead of the curve for years!

Rather than make this one myself, though I actually have almost every thing in the fridge and cupboard (including the tahini), I thought I'd just post this for posterity's sake and use this dark cellphone photo from my local grocery store to illustrate just one section of the convenience take-out: white bean hummus, chick pea hummus, flavored, plain, exotic, garnish, colored, etc. etc. etc.

My favorite are the spicy ones: jalapeno, hot and spicy, but most especially the Trader Joe's three-layered with the jalapeno/cilantro blends. Hummus is ridiculously easy and cheap to make -- but we all just end up buying these.

Annie's Humus (Garbanzo Bean Dip)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cans garbanzo beans
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup tahini

Boil beans with liquid and baking soda for 15 minutes on low heat. Drain and rinse in colander. Pour into blender, add other ingredients and blend until smooth. Add more lemon if needed. Eat as a dip with Arabic bread. Husband added a dash of cumin or sometimes 2 scallions, chopped.