DIY hummus - for the sake of your cashola.

My sweet foodie friend just recently wrote about making your own staples that you usually buy at the grocery store, and then my hubs sent me this article, which I thought put a great perspective in how we're spending our money when we buy canned beans. My abuela made all kinds of beans from scratch - I LOVED showing up at her house for the weekend and inevitably she'd have this huge pot of beans brewing on the stove that smelled like heaven. 

So, whilst out shopping this weekend I bought a bag of dried garbanzo beans, which was $4.35. Of course I threw the bag away so I have no idea how much was in it. But I do know this - I am obSESSED with Sabra's roasted garlic hummus, which can be anywhere between $3 and $4 per 10oz.

I soaked the beans overnight and then some, and they soaked up ALL the water in the bowl. I drained them and set them on a low simmer for a couple hours until they were the right kind of tender. I then went to town, adding olive oil, garlic, cumin, paprika, lemon juice, salt, red pepper flakes, and sometimes a few pieces of Hatch chiles (which were a whopping $.39/lb this past week at Whole Foods!) and came up with this:

3 jars, 16 oz of hummus apiece. For a WHOLE lot less than what you pay at the store PLUS you have more control over how much oil & fattiness goes into it AND you can play with different seasonal flavors from your garden! Viva la DIY!