Meatless Monday - Hummus

Happy Labor Day everyone!!

And Happy Day 1 of the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart! Today may prove to be a bit of a challenge as it's a holiday and I'm sure most people have a picnic of BBQ to go to, but don't get discouraged. It's all about making choices for your health, so simply do your best.I noticed Hummus on the menu for this week's kickstart and I've always wanted to make hummus! I already had a recipe I was saving to try which I'll share here. I mix things up a bit but the base was from Vegetarian Times magazine. If you'd like to view the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart version, click here.

Ingredients:

• * 3 cups cooked chickpeas, or 2 15 oz cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained twice, hot or warmed in the microwave.
• 2/3 cup water (plus or minus)
• 2/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup tahini

As I don't have a food processor, I tend to use my blender and just toss everything in - I say use what you have.1. Puree warm chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic and 2/3 cup water in blender for 3-4 minutes or until smooth, scraping down the bowl if necessary.2. Add tahini, and puree 2 minutes or until the mixture has the consistency of soft cream cheese. I added 2 tablespoons more water here.3. Season with Salt and Pepper if desired.At this point, I added some roasted red peppers and a bit of paprika and chili powder to spice it up a bit. I poured into a bowl and topped it with some olive oil, some more chopped peppers and chopped olives.

Devour!

You could also add:

• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes or
• some parsley or
• 3-5 tablespoons canned fire-roasted green chiles and chopped cilantro.

* I started from dried chickpeas - just to make my life a bit more fun. I let them soak in a pot of water over night, then drained and rinsed them twice. Then I put them back into the pot and covered them with water. I brought the water to a boil, reduced the heat and simmered them for 90 minutes. After the first 60 minutes I stirred in 1 teaspoon of baking soda (to help create a supersmooth texture).