Houmous

Here it is. The best houmous ever, the recipe that puts all others to shame. So what's the secret to Kate's Houmous? Go light on the tahini and heavy on the garlic. This is best made in a food processor. I've made it in a blender but you will need to cut back the recipe by half ( or more ) so that it fits and the ingredients have room to blend.

Ingredients

3 Cans of chickpeas
3 teaspoons Tahini (ground sesame paste)
6 large cloves of garlic
1 1/2 lemons
1 teaspoon cumin
3/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Rinse the chickpeas thoroughly. This is important or else the chickpeas will be bitter.
2. Place chickpeas in food processor
3. Add 3 teaspoons tahini
4. Peel and crush 6 cloves of garlic and add to mixture
5. Add juice of 1 1/2 lemons
6. Add 3/4 olive oil
7. Add 1 teaspoon cumin and some salt
8. Blend until mixture is like a smooth paste and taste

After tasting, if you think the houmous is too thick add more olive oil, blend and taste again. If it is still too thick, add the juice of another half lemon. If you like cumin, you can add a bit more of that too. The trick here is to keep tasting and keep adding until you achieve the taste and consistency you want.

Put in a bowl, sprinkle with cayenne pepper if you have it and drizzle olive oil over the top. It will keep for many days in the fridge and gets better with age.

Pimiento Cheese

This recipe for pimiento cheese which I love more than just about anything is for my son Leland, in celebration of the excellent results he achieved through persistence and hard work.

1 pound sharp cheddar cheese chopped into small chunks
1 peeled and seeded pimento pepper ( from a can or jar) chopped
3/4 cup best quality mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pinch of salt

This is best made in a food processor with a large bowl but in a pinch, a blender will do

Put all the ingredients into the food processor and blend until smooth. If not creamy enough, add a small amount of mayonnaise until desired texture is achieved.

Refrigerate and serve chilled.