Hummus!

One of My Jerry's and my favorite places to eat last year had been Sheherazad's, a local small cozy place in the Cotton District of Starkville. We'd always start our meal with the hummus platter, ringed with various veggies and pita pieces. The veggies may include tomato wedges, black olives, slivers of green bell pepper, pepperoncini, red onion, etc. Shererazad's has since changed ownership and become Desert Rose, serving similar dishes. We don't frequent them quite as much, as their hours are not entirely convenient with our schedules.

However, I'd been wanting some hummus without wanting to pay the ridiculous prices the grocery stores charge for a very small tub. So I was pretty excited when I saw some sun~dried tomato~hummus last week at the Starkville Community Market. It's good, but a bit more thick and not really the right consistency for dipping veggies and bread.

So I jumped online and found some good recipes for hummus, including a more traditional one with tahini, as well as a variation without tahini, and even one with peanut~butter for the kids that might be a bit pickier {I think I might even like that one too}. At about the same time, a friend was talking about how much she preferred spinach hummus, which I'd never tried but thought sounded good too.

I gave it a shot tonight, using my blender instead of a food~processor. I chopped some fresh spinach, added some garlic, some salt, some cumin, some olive oil, lemon/lime juice, and of course, the essential chickpeas. Then I pureed it and for a first attempt, it's tasty. I think after it has a chance to set, the tastes and textures will be even better tomorrow.

We have some excellent breads, rye and pumpernickel, and some awesomely huge ripe tomatoes, along with some cucumber and other veggies. What with My Jerry decided to make us some cinnamon rolls in the morning, our Sunday is shaping up to be lovely. Hope you are enjoying your weekend too!