Hummus

I love hummus. My technique for making it may not suit everyone, so I've attempted to give accurate quantity measurements. My personal technique is a very scientific, refined system of dumping, free-pouring, and tasting! I've never measured anything I've dumped into the food processor when I've made this dip, so these are "best-guess" quantities.

2 cans garbanzo beans (I hear that it's smoother and tastes better with fresh garbanzo beans, but I've NEVER found fresh beans anywhere!)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (out of the green plastic container-the fresh grated stuff doesn't have the right consistency for this use)
Approximately 1/4 cup olive oil
Approximately 1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper sauce (Rooster sauce works well)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Rinse garbanzo beans, then use a food process to chop everything together until smooth - about 5 minutes. Add oil and lemon juice in equal quantities to loosen the beans as they process. Add the different seasonings to taste.

Serve with warmed or toasted pita bread, or your favorite crackers.

I've substituted garlic powder for the minced garlic, and ground cayenne pepper for the red pepper sauce. I prefer to use fresh ground black pepper from a mill over the pre-ground stuff.