When I introduced the Make It Yourself Monday series back in the beginning of January, I envisioned it to be a regular feature of the blog. I wanted it to be the push for me to make more “basics” myself. Since then, I’ve put up a whopping two posts. What happened? Well, I’m just really not doing as well with the cooking-from-scratch things as I hoped.

But, the beauty of a June birthday is that it’s like another reset button mid-year. I’ll be celebrating my birthday on Wednesday and this year there will be more cooking from scratch!

Hummus is something I’ve wanted to make for a while. I’d planned on trying it a few years ago and then couldn’t find tahini. I just happened to turn around in the grocery store a few weeks ago and noticed tahini on the shelf! It went into the cart immediately and I made this as soon as I got home.

The most tedious part of this recipe is peeling the chick peas, but it’s so worth it! The end result is the smoothest hummus I’ve ever had.

Classic Hummus
(from Branny Boils Over)
Makes about 3 cups

2 (15 oz.) cans chick peas, peeled
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3 T. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. tahini
2-4 T. water, as needed to reach desired consistency
1/2-1 t. fine grain sea salt
1/4 t. ground coriander seeds

To peel the chick peas: drain them from the cans and rinse thoroughly. If you squeeze the chick peas lightly, they should pop out of their skins.

Add the peeled chick peas to a food processor and pulse until well chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse until very smooth.