Chickpea Lit

I just finished reading Kathleen's blog for today Chick Lit/Dick Lit. So, I thought, what about CHICKPEA LIT? Persian Ghazals, Mediterranean Cookbooks, and don't forget that classic by Hunter Thompson: Fear and Loathing in the Kitchen.

Dickpea lit, otherwise known as potty humor literature, is something about which I know very little. (See how hard I worked to avoid ending that sentence with a proposition, er I mean preposition?)

I did not google dickpea lit but if I did and there were websites, I certainly would feel fear and loathing at the thought of clicking them, as well.

(If anyone other than Kathleen reads this, then you will have to read her blog at www.kathleenkirkpoetry.blogspot.com in order to understand what the heck I'm talking about....to understand about what the heck I'm talking?....to understand what about the heck talking I'm...)

Garbanzo!

Does Size Matter?

The Guiness Book of World Records gave the award for the world's largest serving of hummus to a village in Israel. They created a nearly 9000 pound dish of hummus in a satelitte dish 20 feet across. Now that's a party I'd like to have attended!

I don't think size matters too much except for certain outliers. I wouldn't like to receive a serving of hummus that was so small I couldn't see it. I've never seen a serving of hummus that I would say was "too big." I think I could always find a fellow hummus-lover to share any leftovers. If I were at the party in Israel and we had left overs, I might have suggested we advance the cause of peace (peas) by sharing the extra with folks living in Gaza.

Sharing our abundance, or even sharing our "just enough" goes a long way in this world. I remember once in Ecuador being at a big festival and running into my brother-in-law and his family of 4. They had packed a picnic for their family, but when they saw us they invited us to eat with them saying "where 4 eat, so can 6."

So share some hummus or something else you love with someone you love today!

Tahini Wahini Bikini

Tahini, rhymes with wahini or bikini, is an ingredient in hummus. Yummus! I recently learned there is a recipe for Hummus Kasa in a 13th century Arabic cookbook. And that the word for tahini in ancient Persia is "ardeh" which means holy food.

To make tahini, sesame seeds are soaked, toasted, then ground to make a paste. Tahini is used not only to make hummus, but my other favorite dippy food, baba ghanoush. (No way would anyone join a group called Baba Ghanoush Anonymous...or even try to say it outloud three times really fast.)

Wahini is a hawaiian word for woman or queen, but is used slangily to mean beautiful young girl. Which means I cannot be the Wahini of Tahini unless we are speaking the King's English.

If you don't know what bikini means, then stop reading this blog and go to Hawaii immediately.

Invitation!

A delightful thing happened today when I called my friend Kathleen to tell her I was cruising thrift stores looking for picture frames, hats, and scarves: she invited me to her house for hummus, bread and wine. I said, "Of course," and 2 picture frames, 1 hat, 2 scarves and $5.08 later I was at Kathleen's looking for a corkscrew. I could not find a corkscrew but I did find a drawer in the kitchen that seemed to contain about 7,000 can openers. Eventually the corkscrew was found, the wine was opened, the communing began. Bread, wine, friendship and laughter. OH yes and hummus.

And lots and lots of can openers.

Chickpeas or Garbanzos?

Which name do you use? Which name do you prefer? Did you know there are many colors of garbanzo beans available? Did you know that hummus is REALLY REALLY nutritious? I have a guilt-free addiction after all!

My favorite hummus is Sabra brand, made with pine nuts. Oh yum, yes. My favorite way to eat this particular hummus is on garlic-herb crackers of any brand. Right now I have Toppers garlic-herb crackers in the cupboard but no hummus in the fridge. Excuse me while I go to put that on my grocery list.

Back again. I have been too sick to eat for 2 days, now beginning to eat little by little. I'm not sure my GI tract is ready for hummus but I want to be sure it is in the fridge when it IS ready. I think that is a sign of a true addiction, is it not? Help me out here, I'm new to both addictions and blogs.

I had planned to do a politically incorrect spoof on 12-step programs in this blog. I truly think 12-step programs are fantastic and I know they work, so I had hoped my spoof would honor them in some twisted way. But I'm not sure if I'm clever and kind enough to pull it off. So I will let this brew at bit and possibly tomorrow have some resolution.

Keep coming back (to my blog)...it works!

HA

I am a blog-challenged adult, advised by my friend the poet Kathleen to create a blog. So here it is. I love hummus. I eat it every day that I am not ill. Today I am not eating hummus. Hummus Anonymous was my idea back on a day when I thought maybe I should not eat so much hummus. Then I figured, what the heck, it's not like I'm eating and driving. I usually eat at home alone, sometimes I have olives with the hummus, crackers or pita bread of course. A little red wine. Is this the mediterranean diet? Or am I just eating hummus to compensate for my lack of a blog? Time will tell.



I must give credit where credit is due. My friend Aniko fed me hummus last year and my love-affair with smashed garbanzos began. When I told her that I might need to begin an organization to help me and other hummus addicts, and that I would call it Hummus Anonymous, she said "HA." "What, you don't think I will do this?" I asked. "No, no, H.A. is the acronym for your organization," she answered.



So if you are reading this blog and someone you care about needs help, send them the link to this blog. And then visit HumAnon if you really care.