01.22.12_Homemade Hummus and Tzatziki

A while back my grandma had called me from the grocery store. She was thinking about buying the mix to make falafel after having read it on our blog. I told her it was incredibly easy, and would be just like making latkes so she should definitely try it. She ended up buying the mix and a can of tahini paste. A month or so later, I saw her at a family function and she told me she had something for me. She pulled out the falafel mix and tahini paste and told me that she chickened out and wasn't going to make it so I could have it.

After Phillip and I moved, I wanted to have her over for dinner. Her and my Zayde apparently had one of their first dates right next door to our apartment so I thought it would be nice for her to see the area again and would give me a chance to make the falafel for her and show her how easy it is. Since she had given me the tahini, I also decided to make homemade hummus for the first time. After googling for recipes for a while, I found a recipe for a classic hummus that had great reviews.

I decided to double the recipe because Phillip and I love hummus and thought it would be nice to have some leftovers. I did one batch at a time and I'm glad we did because after making the first batch, using the modifications the author of the recipe recommended, the hummus came out pretty runny. I was able to make some changes when I added the second can of chickpeas and the final product came out great. We used:

• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 cans garbanzo beans, 1/2 cup liquid reserved
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons tahini
• 2 teaspoon salt

I mixed all of the ingredients in my new full sized food processor I got for the holidays (very exciting I know) and then garnished the hummus with a few whole chickpeas, pine nuts I had on hand, a dusting of cumin and parsley, and then before serving drizzled the top with good olive oil (how Ina Garten of me). The hummus was super delicious and was a good texture. I would definitely make it again.

To go along with the falafel, I made the cucumber tomato salad I made from our first blog post ever and also wanted to make a real tzatziki sauce for dipping. I found a lot of recipes that were all a little different so ended up choosing the recipe with the highest ratings. The only changes I made was using white wine vinegar (I didn't have red at home), using half a cucumber (so I could use the other half in the salad) and I added a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. I got to use another new toy and grated the cucumber on my mandolin! This is what the recipe looked like after my modifications:

• 2 8oz Greek-style yogurts
• 1/2 English cucumber, peeled, grated, then squeezed to remove excess water
• 3 garlic cloves , mashed to a paste
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
• salt
   

The recipe made a TON of tzatziki. Luckily my mom loves the stuff and took an entire Tupperware container of leftovers home with her. The meal turned out great and I was able to make everything in advance so that when Grandma and Mom came over I didn't have to do anything. A great Sunday night.