Do it Yourself Hummus and Pita Chips

Is there a better, tastier and cheaper snack than homemade hummus and pita chips?  I dare you to defy this proclamation!

This middle eastern staple has caught on like wildfire in North America.  It's great for lunches, anytime snack and a generally fab appie for your dinner party guests!

Please try hummus from scratch!  You will never want to buy ready made again.  There's always a can of chickpeas on sale somewhere for under a dollar.  And you can practically make double the amount of hummus for less than half the price of the ready made kind.

Neither a chick nor a pea (discuss...), the simple chick pea is a wonder legume:

• They help lower cholesterol.
• They help lower blood pressure.
• They're chock full o' nutrients.
• They're loaded with protein.

          (Source: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/healthy-chickpeas-1207.html)

Convinced?  Excellent!  Get your hummus on!

Here's what you'll need: 

 



                               Hummus:

                               15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
                               1/4 C lemon juice

                               1/4 C tahini

                               1/2 t granulated garlic

                               3 T olive oil

                               2 t salt

                               1/2 t cumin

                               1/8 t cayenne pepper

                               4 T water

                               Pitas:

                               olive oil
                               salt and granulated garlic or, 
                               ras al hanout (below)

(Don't be put off by the long list to make the spice blend.  You just have to open your bottles.  Worst case scenario, you might end up with a mild but temporary case of repetitive stress injury!)

                               Ras al hanout spice blend:
                               1 t ground ginger
                               1 t ground coriander
                               1 t ground cumin
                               3/4 t black pepper
                               3/4 t ground cardamom
                               1/2 t nutmeg
                               1/2 t turmeric
                               1/2 t all spice
                               1/2 t cinnamon
                               1/2 t paprika
                               1/2 t salt
                               1/4 t cayenne pepper
                               Pinch of saffron

                                     Here's the how to video!





 Don't you just want to crunch into these pitas?

Don't you just want to dip into this creamy,

garlicky hummus?

Oh, yeahhhh, you know you want to!