Homemade Hummus and Pita Chips

Making homemade hummus was an easy, pleasant surprise. It reminded me of the kind of surprise you get after you worry about an upcoming test and you study hard for it and then when it's over you realize happily that it wasn't hard at all... in fact it was easy. 
I'd avoided making hummus because I thought it would be too hard to make or it wouldn't be good.(The upcoming test) Not to mention the fact that I'd never had one of the main ingredients, tahini or sesame paste, in my pantry. My opinion at the time, tahini was an exotic ingredient which required some investigating. (Studying for the test) 
Well, I solved the ingredient problem and purchased some tahini from Cost Plus World Market about a few months ago. (Studying in progress) I placed it front and center on the pantry shelf so I'd see it every time I opened the cupboard. A constant reminder to give hummus a go. (Like flash cards)
I even had my recipe all ready to try. A recipe I stumbled upon on Pinterest, which I quickly re-pinned for the sole purpose of further motivation to make hummus. (Cheat sheet for the exam) So ready or not, it's test time. 

Here's this wonderfully simple recipe from two tarts. The order in which the ingredients are combined is the key to making this creamy hummus and it's what sets this hummus recipe apart from the others. It's super creamy and delicious and goes great on veggies, sandwiches, pita chips or just about anything. My husband added it to some leftover chicken and made some Mediterranean-type tacos we had on leftover night and he loved it. I had it for breakfast the day after with some broccoli and it was super delicious, even better the next day as the garlic melded with the ingredients. Give it a go. I promise that you will never buy store bought hummus again. Enjoy.  


Homemade Creamy Hummus (recipe from Two Tarts.com)

1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 T water
4 small cloves of raw garlic
16 oz can of chickpeas, drained
1/2 t salt

Put tahini, lemon juice and water in a food processor. Blend and scrape down sides if any tahini sticks until it forms a thick creamy emulsion.
Blend garlic and salt into the tahini emulsion. Add your chickpeas and blend until smooth and creamy.

Note: This recipe calls for fewer chickpeas in proportion to the other ingredients than other hummus recipes- it is more tahini and lemon heavy, which helps achieve that delicious texture.

Homemade Pita Chips
Makes about 3 dozen chips

3 Pita bread pockets, sliced into triangles
olive oil
sea salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Slice pitas into triangles. Arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer and brush both sides lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with some sea salt and bake for 10-12 minutes. Flip pitas over about half way through baking time.