Just a Quick Afternoon Post

The sun was shining bright this PM and I was lured to go out into my garden to start "clean up" after snowless winter but I was deceived. It was still freezing out. But I could almost feel the Spring's fresh yet timid scent. So, after few deep cleansing breaths, I went back inside.

I wasn't planing on writing or photographing a post today but the same frisky sun beam that summoned me into the cold earlier was tickling my earlobes whispering some promises… I had to put it to use.

Making hummus today for Meatless Monday sandwiches I decided to take couple of shots in this bright sunlight.

So a new little blog post was born…

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Toasted Sesame Seeds Hummus

makes about 6 cups

1 pack dry garbanzo beans, soaked overnight*

3/4 cup water, reserved from boiling beans

1/4 cup lemon juice (juiced from one medium sized lemon)

3 T spoons tahini (sesame paste)

4 T spoons olive oil

1 t spoon sea salt

2 garlic gloves, crushed

Garnish:

1 T spoon sesame seeds, slightly toasted on a skillet for 2-3 min

1 T spoon olive oil

• After soaking the beans, drain and rinse them. Transfer soaked beans to the same pot (8 QT will do), pour over fresh cold water to fill 3/4 of the pot, bring to boil, lower the heat to med-high and cook for about one hour or until the beans are no longer crunchy. Once cooked, preserve 3/4 cup of the liquid and drain the rest. Let beans cool.**
• In a food processor, combine garlic, lemon juice, tahini, salt, water, olive oil and beans. Process for 5 minutes until smooth.
• Transfer to a bowl with lid and refrigerate for a week. Use it as a spread with pita bread and vegetables or on a sandwich.
• To serve, spread about 1/2 cup (or a cup; although a suggested serving size is 2 T spoons, in my house we eat it by cups) on a plater making little indentations. Combine toasted sesame seeds with olive oil and pour over the hummus. You can add some freshly ground black pepper, paprika or ground cumin if you'd like…

*If you rather cut the prep time, use 2 13 oz cans of garbanzo beans and boiled water. Skip the first step.
**You can prepare beans a day before and store it in the fridge, but no longer than 2 days.

Oh, and the promise from the sun beam was that the Spring will be here soon!