Crockpot Hummus

I've always made hummus from canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans).  A couple of weeks ago I decided to try it with dried beans, both to save some cash and because aluminum cans' safety is somewhat questionable.  You should be able to find the organic varieties in the bulk section of your natural grocery store.  Otherwise, I think they are sold by the bag with the rest of the dried beans.

Ingredients

• 3 cups dried chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans)
• 9 cups water
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 10 fresh garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste, I sometimes use peanut butter instead to make it cheaper)
• 2 tablespoons unrefined olive oil
• juice from 1 medium lemon

Directions

1.  Combine chickpeas, water, salt and fresh garlic in the crockpot.

2.  Cook on high for 7-8 hours.  It may not take this long with your crockpot, because I've decided that my "high" is actually most slow cooker's "medium."  You'll know they're done when they are very easily mashed between your fingers.  It would be really hard to over cook these as long as the liquid doesn't cook off (a good lid should keep it in, though).

3.  In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cooked chickpeas with the garlic powder, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice.

4.  Run on high until the hummus is perfectly smooth.  You may need to stir the bottom around to make sure that all the corners are well-mixed.

5.  If the texture is too thick, add vegetable stock or salted water to thin to desired consistency.

Serve with fresh veggies or whole wheat pita.  I even toast up a whole wheat tortilla right on the oven rack and then cut it in to triangles if we're out of pita.

This is a very basic recipe.  You can easily modify it to make flavored hummus by adding mix-ins to the food processor during the last step.  Roasted garlic, roasted red bell peppers, chili flakes, artichoke hearts, and even spinach all make great additions!