Thursday, August 20, 2009

Kickin' Hummus

My wonderful pregnant friend is going into her ninth month, and we all know what that means -- baby shower time! I'm not normally one for such parties, but this particular shower was casual and easy-going, and lacked the intense girly squealing factor that I usually see at baby showers. Plus, I won a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups during one of the games, so what's not to love?

The hostess asked me (and, I think, everyone) to bring chips and dip. Being the blending queen that I am, I of course went a-Googling for a new variation on one of my favorite dips, hummus. I browsed through concoctions involving artichokes, roasted garlic, bell peppers, and endamame. The recipe that I settled on, though, was Karina's kickin' jalapeno and lime hummus. And I do mean kickin'. The flavor was fabulous, and the texture made ultra smooth by the addition of creamy peanut butter vs. what I think is the more bitter tahini, but this hummus made my mouth burn! In a good way, of course. If you're not into spicy dishes, then this recipe is not for you. On the other hand, if you're up for a tangy kick in the pants for your mouth, then you may be up for love at first taste with this recipe.

I did not mess with Karina's original recipe too much. I tweaked it a bit, though, to remove some of the fat. I made a little plate of this hummus and some crackers and fresh veggies (including my mother-in-law's home-grown cucumbers!) for lunch the other day, and then brought the rest to the baby shower. Served with multigrain Food Should Taste Good chips, this eye-popping hummus received some sweet compliments, including from the most beautiful pregnant lady around.

Kickin' Jalapeno and Lime Hummus

1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
juice from 1 lime
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 T peanut butter
2+ T jalapenos
1/2 tsp dried cilantro
pinch of cumin
red pepper flakes to taste

Reserve the liquid from the garbanzos, then rinse the beans. Put all of the ingredients plus two Tablespoons of the reserved liquid into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, adding drizzles of the reserved liquid to facilitate the process as needed.


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