DIMITAR'S HUMMUS

The first weekend in September held the day I turned 50. It also was when my husband brought home Dimitar.  Let me tell you Dimitar is this really super cool dude.  He currently lives in Vermont but is from Bulgaria.  I have to admit I was a bit leery on meeting him because he is a Vegan.  Not that being a vegan is a bad thing, just more I had no clue how or what to fix for him to eat.  You see where and how I grew up, food brings people together.  It is the building blocks for relationships.  It also is what you do to make someone feel comfortable in your home.  That is why I was so concerned with meeting Dimitar.  How foolish I was, he cooked for us.  Oh and boy the man can cook.   

We love hummus and low and behold Dimitar loves it too and made this for us.  I think this night Brooke and Matt were over as well.  Dimitar said it is his goal to find the perfect hummus recipe.  Well, he rocked it!!  Let me say the hummus did not last long because the 5 of us destroyed it.  It went so fast that I did not get any pictures of it dished up.  Use your imagination to see a beautiful dish of hummus with crackers and fresh cut vegetables.  Red and yellow bell peppers, carrots and celery, with this amazing hummus to dip it all in.  Oh me, Oh my!!

Hummus is traditionally made with cooked mashed up chickpeas.  Add a little olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, sea salt, and garlic.  It is super popular in the Middle East or Mediterranean areas.  It has gotten more popular recently around the world though.  A fun fact is the first dated written recipe goes back to the thirteen century.  Well, it is a similar recipe.  

I keep canned chickpeas on hand just for making hummus.  I love the fact that am able to can beans and peas.  It is so nice to know what is in my food.  We normally have everything to make hummus at any given time.

Dimitar started by putting the tahini in the food processor to help blend it to a smooth consistency.

He pulsed the tahini a few times.

See how smooth it became?

He also charred some garlic cloves in a pan and added them to the mix.

Then in goes the chickpeas.

Some salt.

This is what it looks like before processing.

He added some olive oil before whizzing it up some more.

Add some lemon or lime juice.

One more blending to mix it all up to a nice smooth hummus yumminess.

HUMMUS

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1-pint chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic 
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt to taste

Directions

• Put tahini in the food processor and blend.
• Add all other ingredients and process for 5 minutes, wiping down the sides as you go.  

There are so many ways to make hummus.  You can roast your garlic, throw in some roasted red peppers, add some pepper flakes or even some tomato powder.  

You can also serve it as a dip or in pita bread.  I love it in a pita with some lettuce, tomatoes, and onions drizzled with olive oil.  Goodness, I think I need to make some hummus for dinner.  

Dimitar, if you find this and read it please know it was such a pleasure meeting you and having you in our home.  You truly are an amazing man.  Thanks for giving me a break and cooking for us.  Your stew was truly superb.  OH, and my house is clean.... LOL, so you do not have to put the pictures you took on your blog.  Until we meet again.  Oh and I still need a picture of you to put on here!!!  

Happy hump day everyone.

ENJOY!!