Spicy Hummus

I'm trying to get my mom to eat more vegetables, isn't it suppose to be the other way around?! Whenever I ask her if she's eaten her veggies, her response is always "but they're so boring and you never let me eat them with dip." I swear, sometimes I feel like I'm put into this world to mother my mother.

After a bit of fighting, I told her that I'd make her some spicy hummus if she promised not to eat her veggies with dip and she nodded and sent me on my way. Just tell my mother something is spicy and she'll eat it. I definitely take after her in that way.  

While I started making my hummus, she kept hovering over me, like a little child. A bow in her hair included. And people wonder why I'm so childish. I really take after my mom. 

Mom, will you excuse me? I'm trying to make food for you. Her response? When will it be done?! I'm soo hungry! Can you cook any faster? I'd give her a response and 2 minutes later, she'd ask me again. I was forced to shoo her away but I could feel her eyes peering at me like a hawk from the corner of my eye. Hunger is a deadly, scary weapon. 

Every time I added something into the blender, my mother kept asking me "what's that? what's this? Add more crushed red chili flakes!" I had no choice to give her a death glare. She then started complaining to my dad that I'm too mean to her. Really mom?! I'd be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy my mother's childish ways because I find it really, really endearing. I wouldn't want my mom to be any other way.

When I finally finished making the hummus, she was so happy that she dug right in and ate all of her veggies. As soon as her plate with wiped clean, she says to me "you have to make this again tomorrow!" In your dreams mom. 

Spicy Hummus 

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients 

2 1/2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained
1/3 cup tahini (recipe below)
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 jalapeno (optional)
2 cloves garlic, halved (I used 3)
1 pinch paprika
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley

Directions
1) Place the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin powder, chili powder, japaleno, salt and garlic in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl.
2) Sprinkle with paprika and parsley.

I like my hummus a bit warm so I heated it up on medium low heat for 7 minutes. My recipe also has less lemon juice than the recipe usually calls for and to compensate, I added more olive oil. Usually, instead of 1/8 cup of lemon juice, there should be 1/4 cup and there only needs to be 1 tablespoon of olive oil to drizzle over the hummus once it is prepared.  You can modify this however you'd like!


Tahini 
Makes 1/2 cup

Ingredients 
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup tepid water

Directions
Put sesame seeds and salt in a blender and grind until smooth. Keep the blender going and add water very slowly until mixture is smooth.

Make sure you buy fresh sesame seeds when making this because like all things food, it will go bad. I strongly suggest using your fresh tahini as soon as possible.