It’s getting toward the end of summer and though it’s been a more mild summer on the West coast than it traditionally has been for years, it’s still hot until the sun goes down.
Most summers I run my air-conditioning every day from at least mid-day until right before I go to bed. One September the weather was so hot I was running my air-conditioner all the time and my electric bill was over $300! (My place is only 1100 square feet–it’s not like I live in a mansion.)
I think I’m getting acclimated to the summer heat after 10 years on the West Coast so much to the point that I haven’t used my air-conditioner but for maybe 4 or 5 days this summer. Also, I’ve noticed that if I am sitting on my couch and it’s 76 degrees inside and I have the ceiling fan on, I need a blanket. I guess my blood has finally thinned out.
Even though I’m more used to the heat, I do not love to cook in the heat. I try not to use my oven unless I absolutely have to or like if I randomly want to make cookies or something. I have a toaster convection oven that sits on my countertop that works well to heat up small amounts of food, but that thing still throws off some major heat.
What I’ve been eating a lot of this summer is hummus. I love hummus with warm pita, but when Sis was visiting me we began making hummus platters with warm pita, hummus, veggies and salad. Sis eats this all the time. She likes to eat all of the ingredients together. I’m not much for salad with my hummus and pita but I can dig into a salad on the side.
I flew to Portland to visit my sister for the week and because my friend Jen was having her second annual salmon-bake. Jen goes fishing in Alaska every summer and brings home tons and tons of salmon. She’s been known to give me her own smoked salmon as a birthday gift. (Best birthday gift ever!)
As soon as I arrive in Portland, Sis began soaking chickpeas so we could make a new flavor hummus. She settled on a Cilantro-Jalapeño Hummus found at Budget Bytes. My recipe below is slightly different in that I used dried beans instead of canned beans and tinkered slightly with the ingredient amounts.
Sis and I both agreed this is possibly the best hummus recipe we’ve ever eaten. It’s slightly spicy because I left the jalapeño seeds in and it’s a perfect blend slightly spicy and yummy cilantro with just a touch of garlic. I could eat this every day!
ingredients.
- 2 c. dried chickpeas
- 2 T. olive oil
- 2 T. lemon juice
- ¼ c. tahini
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. cumin
- 4 to 8 ice cubes, more if necessary
- 1 jalapeño
- 1 to 2 c. cilantro leaves, stems removed
directions.
- Soak chickpeas in plenty of fresh water for 12 to 24 hours. I have always soaked closer to 24 hours.
- When ready to cook chickpeas, rinse and drain and then add to a pot. Add enough water to rise 1 to 2 inches above the chickpeas. Add baking soda. Turn heat to high and allow to come to a boil. Remove from heat and allow chickpeas to sit for 30 to 60 minutes.
- Rinse the chickpeas under water and remove the skins. You can do this by pinching the skins off the chickpea or by loosely rubbing them between your hands. You can soak the chickpeas in cool water and allow the skins to float the top. You can employee all three methods. Any way you slices it, this will take a long time and is the most annoying part of this recipe. You will likely be pulling skins off many of the chickpeas individually.
- Once the skins have been removed return the chickpeas back to the pot and cook for 10 to 20 minutes, if necessary. The chickpeas should be tender, not mushy.
- Combine chickpeas and garlic in a food processor and process until a thick paste forms.
- Add tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and cumin and process for about five minutes, adding the ice cubes through the feeder while processing; process until mixture is smooth and creamy. (A word of warning: don’t add too many ice cubes or the final product will be too runny.)
- Add the cilantro leaves and jalapeño and process until incorporated.
- Serve, drizzled with more olive oil, and chopped cilantro and sliced jalapeño. Hummus will keep in the fridge for up to a week.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 
Great post 🙂
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