Yummus

I love, love, love hummus and tsazik. I thought I would be nice, ( don't get used to it ), and share my recipes for these two with you. Of course you could use canned garbanzo beans; but that would be cheating, and no one would be as impressed. You hummus afficionados will probably notice that I don't have tahini in my recipe. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere that has a grocery that HAS tahini, (unlike me ), then by all means add a bit. As a matter of fact, add whatever you like, this is just a nice little base for you to start with.
 
  Hummus
1 head garlic
1lb bag dried garbanzo beans
olive oil

 Make the beans: Rinse and sort the garbanzos and then soak in cold water for at least 2 hours. Drain, then add about 3 cups of water, 1 large vegetable bouillion cube, and 2 peeled cloves of garlic. Simmer sloooowwwwly for about 2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Remove from heat when done.
 While you are making the beans, roast the garlic. Cut the top off of a head of garlic, ( what can I say, I love garlic ), drizzle liberally with olive oil, wrap in foil, and pop in a 400 degree oven for about 35 minutes.
 When all the good stuff is done, you put it all together. Depending on the consistency you prefer, you can use either a food processor, or a potato masher. I used a potato masher because I got tired of looking for the food processor. However you do it, start with the drained beans. Add the juice of half a lemon, and the roasted garlic. For Pete's sake, just squeeze out the yummy roasted garlic; do not throw the whole head in! As you process/mash add the simmering liquid a tiny bit at a time, until you get it to the right consistency. Add just a drizzle of olive oil and....voila! Hummus! I drizzle mine with olive oil just before I serve it.

 Tsaziki
1 whole seedless cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped, ( pulverized )
16 oz plain Greek yogurt
juice of half a lemon
big bunch of dill, chopped
1 sprig mint, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

This is another one where you could process, but I like my tsaziki with a little texture. Mix it all together, cover tightly and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours. ( A couple of hours to refrigerate, a couple of hours to make the beans.....interesting....). The flavours definitely need to come together.

So, throw a little hummus a plate with a dollop of tsaziki, add a chunk of feta cheese and some olives and serve with pita bread. It doesn't get any better than this. At least today. Savourez!!!