Hummus

We almost always have store-bought hummus in the fridge.  I'm not a mayonaise fan, so I use it on sandwiches, dip carrots or crackers in it, and even in place of sauce on a veggie pizza.  I have made hummus before, but it's definitely not something I do on the reg.

The store brand: Harris Teeter Traditional Hummus

My recipe (adapted from simplyrecipes.com/recipes/hummus):
1 garlic clove, mashed and then minced
1 15-oz cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1/3 cup of tahini (roasted)
2 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (one juicy lemon)
1/4 cup water
1/8 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of salt

In a food processor, combine the garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add salt to taste.

I will say that I think tahini is really difficult to work with - it separates and is impossible to stir.  Even worse than natural peanut butter!  But when you are making it in the food processor, you don't need to get it mixed up much before adding it in.  This is fast to make and I do love being able to make custom flavors (think feta and sundried tomato, roasted red pepper and garlic...).

So side by side they look almost identical.  Taste-wise they are a little different.  The store bought was smoother and tasted a little different - saltier and more lemoney.  I felt that mine was a little heavy on the tahini and I'll use a little less next time.  They were both tasty and I think I'd rate them just about the same taste-wise.

Store bought on left, homemade on right.



And the cost?

	Size	Cost	Cost/Oz
Harris Teeter Traditional	10 oz	$      4.49	$          0.45
Homemade	12 oz	$      3.12	$          0.31

I tend to keep tahini on hand, just for the sake of making hummus.  I will also say that my grocery store almost always has one brand of hummus on sale, which makes it about the same price as homemade...

Bake or Buy?  BUY!

It is easy to make, but I'd just as soon stock up on fun flavors while they are on sale (they last a long time in the fridge).