Yellow Curry Hummus (Vegan, Gluten Free)

It's 7:30 on a Sunday morning. I've been wide awake for a good hour now. I have no good reason for this, I have no plans, no place to be. In fact, I am quite sure the reason for my early rise is the fact that I passed out before 8:30 on a Saturday night. Am I the lamest person who has ever existed? Does it make me lamer (more lame?) still that it doesn't bother me that I feel asleep so early? Or does this just confirm what my sister has been telling me for years? That I am a crocheting, quilt-making, cookie-baking, 27 year old grandma. 

Whatever the consensus, believe it or not I did not sign into Blogger today to talk about my sleeping habits (or my lack of a life apparently). I am here because a few day ago on Instagram I (@loveofleaves) posted a photo of the giant bowl of hummus I was consuming and promised that I would share the recipe soon. It's been a few days. I think the suspense has been built up long enough.

This delicious hummus recipe was not, in fact a result of my pure genius when it comes to creating in the kitchen. I stumbled upon it by pure chance. I eat a lot of hummus and the kind I really like (ironically enough named Gramma's Hummus) is five dollars per tub, with maybe two cups per container. I won't make you do the math, but let me just say that my hummus habit gets pretty expensive. Last week I decided to get back in the habit of making my own hummus, it doesn't take long and it will save me a lot of money over time. So while I was tossing the garlic and the lemon juice into the food processor I searched through my cupboards for anything else that may make this hummus taste good enough to convince myself it's worth the small effort to continue making it at home. That's when I saw the turmeric.

Turmeric has been getting a lot of attention lately and it is well deserved. It's a bright yellow-orange spice used in many foods from curry to yellow mustard. The reason it's been in the spotlight is because of it's high anti-inflammatory properties. It has been shown to help those with ailments such as arthritis, cystic fibrosis, psoriasis, high cholesterol, various bowel disorders as well as many more. This root spice is also high in manganese, iron, potassium and contains many other important minerals. Apart from all that, it has a great flavor. I always add a little turmeric to my scrambled eggs or other dishes where its bright color won't affect the appearance of the food. So when I spotted it in the cupboard while making my hummus, I figured what's the harm in trying it and sprinkled some into the food processor. Only my clumsy hands turned the delicate sprinkle into more of a spasm that resulted in adding more turmeric than I had planned. Fortunately, for all of us my klutziness resulted in some mighty tasty hummus.

Yellow Curry Hummus

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• juice from half a lemon
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Throw all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Store in the refrigerator. Serve with pretzels, pita chips, carrots, sliced red pepper, cucumber or other favorite vegetables.

P.S.- I had a fantastic time in Puerto Rico! To see some pictures from the trip, head to my Instagram (@loveofleaves)

P.P.S- I believe I still need to announce the winner from the giveaway in my last post. The winner is (drum roll please)... Joyti! I'll be getting in touch with you soon to figure out where to send your energy bars.

I hope you all are doing wonderfully. What have you been up to this past month? Have you ever accidentally made an awesome recipe? I want to hear about it!

Lemon & Garlic Herb Hummus (Vegan, Gluten Free, Grain Free)

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! 

Today we're talking about hummus, but before I get to that, I have a very important question to ask you all...

Have you tried these cookies? 

I walked down (or up, really) to one of my favorite coffee shops in town, Raven's Nest. While I was waiting in line to order my small iced coconut almond milk latte, I noticed a basket full of cookies. Maybe it was the turquoise packaging (I'm a sucker for anything turquoise) that caught my eye or maybe it was the word chocolate or maybe it was just the fact that there was a vegan cookie the size of my face within inches of me, who knows. The point is, I bought it and ate and it was delicious. They also had other flavors like double chocolate chip, espresso chocolate chip and lemon poppyseed. I decided to stick with a classic for my first try. I figure if they can make a good chocolate chip cookie than their others flavors probably aren't half bad either. Sounds logical, right? Anyway, the whole point of this rant is to say that these cookies taste great, they're vegan and you should try them. They even have some gluten free options. Just keep in mind that just because something is vegan, doesn't mean you should eat 5 of them, they're just a better alternative than let's say Mrs. Fields.....anyway, moving on. Where were we?

Ah, yes. Hummus. I love hummus. I love hummus so much that a few years back when I was living on the Big Island of Hawaii I used to make hummus by hand. Now I don't mean homemade. I mean I literally crushed the beans with my bare hands. Why didn't I just buy hummus? Who knows. All I know is I used to put all the ingredients in a plastic bag, turn on a TV show and sit there crushing beans for twenty-five minutes. I mean, that's what all the cool kids do, right?

Fortunately, now I have a food processor to do the work for me (although, I've just about worn the poor thing out, so I still get the same slightly chunky results I came to know and love). You however, won't have to deal with that most likely. 

This hummus is super easy to make and is full of healthful ingredients. I made it without tahini, as opposed to the traditional way because I didn't have any on hand and because that's the way I've always made it because I never have tahini on hand, but if you do have some, feel free to use it. 

Lemon & Garlic Herb Hummus

• 1 Can Chickpeas (I like the no salt added kind)
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Juice from 1 Small Lemon
• Handful of Parsley, Leaves and Stems
• Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to Taste

Makes approximately 4-6 servings.

Rinse and drain chickpeas then place them in the food processor along with all the other ingredients apart from the parsley. Puree the ingredients until smooth, if more liquid is needed add a small bit of water until ingredients blend. Add the parsley and puree until it is fully incorporated and chopped into small pieces. Taste test and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Feel free to throw in other herbs as well, thyme would be especially good.

Serve with veggies, pita chips, pretzel crisps, flat bread, spread on a sandwich or whatever strikes your fancy.

How do you make hummus?

Have you tried Alternative Baking Company's products?