Hummus and life

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed".

Mahatma Gandhi

Eco pack for the car

This is a good idea to take along to save on disposables.

• A film container or medicine bottle with a recycled plastic bag in it for emergencies (like picking up shells and seaglass from the beach)
• picnic cutlery for the family to save needing more when you get a chinese takeaway  (which hopefully you have taken containers for)
• Reuseable coffee cups such as my ideal cup  - keep some in your glove compartment.
• Acrylic wine glasses. I cant tell you how often these have come in handy. 

I'm taking things quietly for a few days, after flying off my bike yesterday and landing on my face. I now look like I lost a fight, with six stitches, a black eye and a swollen face. Lesson learned about speed, hills and metal. It could have been worse.
So this morning I am completing the hummus I had planned to make yesterday, which I have started from dried chickpeas, as taking a step back from the convenience of tinned chickpeas.

To prepare dried chickpeas
Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of water.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
Place in a large saucepan with double the volume of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for approx 40 mins, or until tender.

They can be frozen just like this for 1 year according to one site, but I would rather use them in 6 months or less.

Hummus

For a smoother hummus cook your chickpeas until very soft, firmer texture is preferred for curries etc, so I have compromised.

Into the food processor throw:

2 cups of chickpeas
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/2 cup of orange juice - I used a mix of citrus like lemonades and oranges that I wanted to use up.
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cumin
salt to taste - approx 3/4 tsp
olive oil - approx 2-3 tablespoons
A large tablespoon of unsweetened greek yoghurt

just add yoghurt and whizz

Blend to desired consistency - done!

So now I'm feeling good about doing away with the expensive and packaged hummus from the deli section, but also bypassing cans, as chickpeas are a good bulk buy with my own container.