HmmmmmmmmUs

This simple recipe makes for a great snack or even a light meal. It 's great for the late night munchies because of its high fat content. Over all, it is still relatively low in calories.

Ingredients
2 cloves garlic [8 calories]
½ onion (chopped) [23 calories]
1 lemon [17 calories]
4 tablespoons of olive oil [476 calories]
1 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) [460 calories]
2 to 4 tablespoons of Peanut butter (adjust to taste) [380 calories]
1 teaspoon salt (sea salt if you have it)
Fresh Cilantro, Parsley or Coriander [5 calories in 9 sprigs]

Options
Turmeric
Cumin
Cayenne pepper
Fresh red or green chilies (one or two)
Fresh ginger ( 1 cm thick slice, chopped)

1) On the day before making your hummus wash, rinse and soak the chickpeas in water
2) Every hour or so drain and rinse. Do this twice. This helps remove the sugars that cause gas. Put in a teaspoon of salt after the final rinse.
3) The next day put the chickpeas WITH the water (this preserves any minerals that may have leached out) they were soaking in, into a pot or even better a rice steamer.
4) Add two more cups of water. If you are using turmeric, add at the VERY most one teaspoon of turmeric.
5) Boil. If you are using a steamer you can just let it go since it will shut off automatically. Also, you may want to steam some salmon at the same time since the salmon oils will drain off into the chickpeas giving your hummus an extra boost of omega 3 fatty acids. If you are not using a steamer, stir occasionally and you may not want to use a full boil especially when you are getting to the bottom. Try not to let the chickpeas burn (too much).
6) Squeeze half a lemon and a table spoon of olive oil into the food processor or blender.
7) Add some chickpeas and blend. You have to add them in small quantities since the chickpea paste tends to thicken and not turnover through the whole batch. You risk ending up with an inconsistent batch of incredibly fine smooth paste and chunks of chickpeas. Also, it helps during the cleanup afterwards if the lid is placed on the blender EVERY time.
8) Once a quarter of the chickpeas are blended add another tablespoon of olive oil. This helps keep the mixture thin enough to blend. Half way through, use the remainder of the lemon, the half onion and another table spoon of olive oil. Add the other options at this time as well. Three quarters of the way through, use the last table spoon of oil.
9) Now add the peanut butter , once again add small quantities at a time since it tends to gum up. Blend well. Traditionally, tahini is used but many restaurants make this substitution since peanut butter is so much cheaper. Tahini, is a paste or sauce made from sesame seeds.
10) Scoop out of the blender into your storage or serving vessel.

Serve with celery sticks or more traditionally pita bread. If you are storing overnight, make sure it is in air tight container. It can stay exposed to air for about 12 hours without drying too much.
The total calories in the entire batch are less than 1500 which means about 150 to 200 calories per serving. Celery tends to have negative calories, and this dish is very high in protein, fibre and other nutrients (as the links indicate).

If you enjoy this dish, keep in mind the nice thing about good food is that it crowds out room for a lot of the crap you might end up eating instead so it has a double effect.