These days, I just throw the ingredients together without measuring, but here’s the recipe I originally started using. I don’t even know where the recipe came from…it was passed along to me somewhere along the way.

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp ground cumin (optional)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste (I generally just use bottled lemon juice, not as good, but so easy)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp tahini
2-3 Tbsp water (to desired consistency)
Salt, to taste

Now, just combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. A food processor will generally get a smoother result, from my experience at least. Process until smooth. You may need to stop a couple of times to scrape the sides and stir a bit.

If you don’t have tahini, you can leave it out and it is still yummy. In fact, I have even used canola oil in place of the olive oil. Now that I have said that, I guess I should hide from all the authentic hummus gurus. It is definitely best with tahini and olive oil, but can be adapted to your taste and ingredients on hand. I’m not sure if it would technically be called hummus at that point (probably not), but anyway…

If you want to get a little fancier, you can add sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, hot sauce, or whatever suits your taste.

That’s all there is to it! I generally double or even triple the recipe, because we will eat it for lunch a few days in a row. And if you’ve ever tripled the recipe, only to realize the garlic was freakishly strong and the littles will balk at eating it, you can throw in a fourth can of chickpeas to balance it out. Thought I’d throw that in, ya know, just in case that ever happened to somebody…

You can use it as a dip for veggies, crackers, or my girls’ personal favorite, regular tortilla chips. My personal favorite is to spread hummus on a multi-grain tortilla, then add spring mix, sun dried tomatoes, dried cranberries, and Brianna’s Ginger Mandarin Salad Dressing. Roll it up and enjoy! It also works well on pita bread.

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