hummmmmmus

(Left) Pounding chickpeas to make hummus in my grandmother's mortar and pestle.
(Right) Wrap with hummus, sundried tomatoes and wild rocket.

1/2 can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained almost completely
3 tbsp of lemon juice
1 tbsp gomasio
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
3 slices of sundried tomatoes, cut into slivers for easy pounding

I love chickpeas, but have never made hummus before, deterred by all those recipes which called for tahini. One morning, I had a brainwave and thought, "Well, why don't I just pound some gomasio and just use that instead?"

So I did. And the result was good.

I started by pounding the gomasio, which is essentially sesame seeds and salt (mine had some seaweed in it too), then adding the sundried tomatoes and garlic. When that was a paste, I added the chickpeas (I used only half a can because my mortar and pestle, one of the few items I have from my grandma, couldn't fit the entire can). Finally, I added the olive oil and lemon juice and mixed all the ingredients evenly.

I didn't pound the hummus to a pulp because I prefer mine chunky. Ate it in a wrap with wild rocket and it was yums.

In fact, it was so good that I insisted on feeding a spoonful to my mom. Imagine how someone would look if she was being force-fed vomit or crap. Now imagine my mom with the very same look of suspicion and revulsion, mixed with resignation, because, how can one reject food made by one's own flesh and blood, right?

I laughed until I wept. This was payback for all the times she forced me to eat durian.