As a healthy mostly-vegan, natural parenting, green family, I had packed up some of our essentials like our organic staple foods and ingredients, cloth diapers, natural shampoo and body wash, along with toys, extra clothes, my Vitamix, breadmaker, waffle iron, Cuisinart, toys, and of course, a split case of two of our favorite California Zinfandels.
Although we've been enjoying trying out new foods, wines, and buying new toys and souvenirs as we've been sightseeing our way around the city, I started longing for our crate which took a lot more time than we expected to move from my hub's office in California to Japan.
Apparently nobody who handled this precious crate realized that I pretty much would rather drink my own tears than any of the wines I found out here...
If we had known how long this beloved box of organic vegan, GMO-free sustenance for overly paranoid parents would take and I could have predicted how difficult it was going to be to find what we needed around here, I would have packed a lot more in an extra suitcase or three... or sixteen.
I also probably would have stuffed a lot more items from Costco, Trader Joes, and other specialty stores back in the states into my suitcases and backpack because I already got the extra special pat down at the airport over waaay too much baby food pouches setting off "alarms". There's no way the scrutiny could have been any worse. (Good thing it was a mere 2 days after my ob-gyn appointment because I was just happy to have my clothes on and body cavities left to the imagination).
I'm currently working on a totally different and hopefully WAY less invasive strategy for our trip home.
Anyways, one of the things we haven't been able to find in Japan is hummus.
Hummus is a STAPLE in my diet. I buy vats of it from Costco and grab piles of it when it's on sale at Grocery Outlet.
The kids eat plain, I like spicy.
I put it on toast, in wraps, on salad.
I have fond memories on my palette of our honeymoon in Greece where the hummus was nearly the main course of our every vegetarian meal. Its puddle of olive oil was stained red from paprika and dripped off the soft pillows of fresh pitas whose carbs we walked off each day...
Even the Halal store that has frozen Falafel, tortillas, and all the other foods you would think go hand in hand with hummus had no such thing and despite my translating it to the lovely Turkish store owner and saying it like "hooomus, humooose, hum-US", he brought me over to the spice section, and when I shook my head, he tried to show me the meat.
My hubs is also working on a project in Dubai and I begged him to see if he could bring some humszaz back to Japan like in can or something but he instead he brought back a bag of very sweaty clothes and Kinder-eggs for the dad-deprived kiddos.
So today, I busted open my long-awaited cans of organic BPA-free, GMO-free American Garbonzo beans from RALPH's , (chick-peas, round legumes of love, or whatever you want to call them), organic tahini, garlic, and my lovely array of organic spices I purchased from home.
I dumped them all in my Cuisinart and made my hummmmmooooooooose.
I didn't have a lemon, and didn't want to head out on a wild goose chase for them because I can't remember seeing them in any of the stores in my hood (there is NOTHING that resembles a supermarket here) so this hummus has limes instead.
Ya know what?! Limes are great in harm-us!
We ate this delicious homemade hooomus with some Parantha bread, Falafel, veggies, somosas, and other fun things we've found around here while sipping our smooth and rare as f*ck Zinfandel.
I have no idea what the duty was on this case of wine but I'll gladly pay 10x that to not have to drink the crappy Cab from 7-ll again because apparently Zinfandel doesn't exist in Japan. Probably because there is just so little Zin made that we Californians are just not sharing.
I guess I'm cool with that because we'll be heading home soon enough where I can pretty much swim in it and drink it through my snorkel in a blow-up baby pool if I want to).
I couldn't wait to put my haymuss on my fresh "boulangerie store" baked toast in the morning! (That's where I have to go to get bread that doesn't look like fat Wonder bread).
I'm tempted to bring some hooom-a$$ to the Halal store where he can say "aaaah Who-miz" or something but I'm not sure there will be any left to share...
So here is the recipe:
The Goods:
1 Can Garbonzo beans drained and rinsed or 1.5 cups cooked
3 Tbsp Olive oil and some splashed on top for pretty look
2 Tbsp Tahini
1 1/2 Tbsp Lime juice (You can sub lemon juice)
1 clove garlic
3 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 paprika and some for garnish
pinch of cumin
What to Do with all these Ingredients:
If you are making this in your food processor like I do, first put your garlic in and shred to bits. You can also use a garlic press or chop finely on your cutting board.
Then take all of your other ingredients and place with your garlic in your food processor and pulverize.
Feel free to taste and add a little more of any of the spices if you want a little more flavor. If it isn't creamy enough, go ahead and add a little more water.
Once you are happy with the taste and texture, place in a bowl and drizzle a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle paprika on top and serve with fresh pita, chips, veggies, on toast, on salad, on rice, on quinoa, ... what can't hummmuz go with?!
Here's how I set it up in the AM in all the glutenous, red rings of death, and stanky onion breath glory. When you finally get your haymarz back, you don't hold back. Not one bit.
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