The Humdrums: Roasted Garlic Hummus

I'm just going to get it over with and admit it: this post is a cliche. A vegan blogger "experimenting" with hummus, that most hippie-ish of all hippie foods? That bland protein paste that so many people insist on smearing on a pita and calling a "meal"? That beige staple of the Mediterranean and patron saint of sad veggies wraps everywhere? It has been done. A lot. 

But it is a starting place, and it was the very first thing I decided to make when I chose to start veganing it up.

Also, when I don't have hummus, I'm lost. Snacks and quick-grab lunches become well-nigh impossible. Hummus is always there for you, always ready to go. And if you can't be with the tzatziki sauce or guacamole or (let's face it) veggie cream cheese spread that you love, good old friend-zoned hummus is always there for you. Maybe not in your heart, but, you know, he'll always help you move a couch.

Not only was I out of hummus a couple of weekends ago, but my favorite grocery store hummus, Sabra's roasted garlic, hadn't been on sale for a few weeks, which meant that I was considering shelling out nearly $5.00 for 12 ounces of the stuff. The below recipe probably cost me less than $3.00 to make, AND I got about twice as much hummus out of it than I would buying it pre-made.

A basic hummus recipe is a lot easier than people think: chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, salt, garlic, and lemon juice, meet my good friend Mr. Food Processor. That's. About. It. Even the exotic-sounding tahini is just unsweetened sesame seed paste, which happens to taste a little tangy and almost spicy. (If you ask a shelf stocker, you can find it at most grocery stores without too much trouble.)

And now for an admission: the first time I made this particular roasted garlic hummus recipe, I misread the recipe and made it wrong--super wrong--and really didn't care for it. Naturally. It was way, way  out of proportion. The second time around, I treated the recipe right and it was pretty damn tasty. (Though it did give me atomic garlic breath that was vanquished only by a good tooth brushing.) 

Ideas for the future:

• Blend a batch with dried red pepper flakes, a little chili olive oil, and maybe even a dash of chili powder or cumin to eat with chips and salsa. 
• Blend in a little bit of red wine vinegar, kalamata olive pieces, and maybe even some fresh spinach for a pita-ready Greek-style hummus.
• Edamame hummus. THAT IS A THING AND IT IS DELICIOUS. 

Basically, this recipe, like hummus in general, really welcomes variations and making it to taste. And it was easy to make--the hardest part by far was cleaning those damn nooks and crannies at the bottom of my food processor. Why do they make them like that?!

Note: I have had this post sitting in my drafts for three weeks. Veganism is going well--returning to blogging . . . now that's going to take some dedication!