Hummus

Last year, I wrote a blog post entitled “7 Foods to Make Not Buy.” (You can read that here.) In that short list I included:

1. Vanilla extract
2. Bread crumbs
3. Beans
4. Chocolate syrup
5. Sour cream
6. Nut butters
7. Booze

I’d like to add another recipe to this list: hummus.

If you’ve just set out on the plastic-free and zero-waste path, and you love hummus, mostly likely you’ll have to make it. Where I live, grocery stores carry hummus only in plastic tubs. Fortunately, you can whip up a batch in minutes (after you’ve cooked the chickpeas…). Simply whir your ingredients in a food processor and slowly add olive oil. Voilà. Plastic-free hummus.

To cook chickpeas, either:

• Soak overnight and cook on the stove in a pot for a couple of hours or
• Soak overnight and cook in a slow cooker for about six hours or
• Soak overnight and cook in a pressure cooker for about three minutes.

If you cook extra chickpeas you can freeze them either with or without liquid in glass jars to use later. To thaw, just transfer the jars of frozen beans to the refrigerator the night before you plan on using them. For this post, I used previously frozen chickpeas just to prove that it can be done. The hummus I made has a creamy texture and tastes delicious—no freezer funk.

I’m able to buy chickpeas and even tahini in bulk. The lemons come from my yard. I buy olive oil either in bulk in glass jars I bring to the store or my boss picks up a half-gallon jug of it for me when she visits Napa. I reuse the jugs for brewing kombucha or ginger beer. They cost several dollars new at a wine and beer brewing shop.

Update 08/15/17: Here’s a recipe for homemade tahini. It’s very easy to make.

My daughter created this recipe several years ago for her blog, The Plastic-Free Chef. It goes well with sourdough crackers. Enjoy!