“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” Lao Tzu… I believe he captured the spirit of adventure and life perfectly. The act of putting one foot in front of the other at times can be mindless. I am going to run to the grocery store. Going to start the laundry. At other times it is a gift- running to hug someone that really needs the comfort. And yet at other times, it can be the most difficult thing in the world; relearning how to walk after an accident, saying good bye to someone forever then turning and walking away.

But I want to speak of happy tales- adventures, exploration, joy. When we experience joy, new things, we open up new synapses in our brains. Expanding our own internal footprint. When I hike a new trail, take a new road, see beauty or create a new dish, I know I am creating a new tale for my history. And all it takes is a single step to begin.

This hummus is the best hummus I have ever eaten. And that’s not bragging. It is the truth. SO much better than store bought. And yummy with crudites, naan, on top of chicken, lamb, etc.. Truly, when I make this, we eat the whole batch in 2 days. And that’s a lot of hummus. So take that first step to making your own hummus..Your brain will light up with happiness.

Beauty Shot:

Hummus with Garlic

Ingredients:

2 cans Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained

1 tsp baking soda

1/2cup fresh lemon juice (do the work, it makes a huge difference) + more to taste if you choose.

2-4 cloves of garlic chopped. ( I like a lot of garlic so I go heavy. If you don’t, go light)

1 tsp sea salt

1 Cup Tahini ( I like organic Tahini- like Simple Truth from Kroger or Trader Joe’s organic Tahini)

2 T EVOO

4 T cold water (I use cold water out of the refrigerator door)

Toppings:

Za’tar (look in middle eastern food stores, Cost Plus World Market carries it, and some grocery stores.)

Toasted Pinenuts

Coarse sea salt

EVOO

Putting it Together:

Take the 2 drained cans of chickpeas and place them and the baking soda into a medium pan on the stove. Cover with 2″ of water and bring to low boil. Allow to boil for 20 minutes. Peas will begin to lose their skins- don’t worry this is a good thing! (you may need to add additional water to keep the chickpeas/garbanzos covered).

When 20 minutes is done, rinse the chickpeas/garbanzos under cool water in a strainer. (Note: went to an authentic Jordanian restaurant in SLC, Sharazad, and was speaking to the waitress about this trick. She asked me, astonished, how I knew this. She said this is the secret passed down to daughters from Grandmothers!)

In a food processor, add the garlic, 1 tsp sea salt. Pulse till frothy mixture. Garlic is almost non-existent. Then let stand a few minutes.

Add the cup of Tahini to the garlic mixture in the food processor. Add in the EVOO at this time. Blend until creamy and smooth, Scrape down sides as needed to incorporate all the tahini.

Add in the garbanzo beans to the food processor. and begin machine. While this is processing, drizzle in the 2-4 T of cold water. Scrape down sides and continue to process for about 2 minutes. You may want to add more to achieve the mixture you want. Mixture should be very pale and creamy.

Remove from food processor. Put some in a bowl and drizzle with EVOO, coarse sea salt and Za’tar. Dig in with Naan, carrots, Persian cucumber wedges, a chunk of chicken, whatever you like. And I like a bowl of pitted Kalamata’s on the side.

Great snack, full of protein and fiber.

Enjoy!