Hummus
Thank you hummus for existing as the perfect base to which I can place almost any summer vegetable and seasoning. A pita filled with your gorbanzo-seasame delite and cumin-sauted eggplant, sirracha mushrooms, basil charred summer squash, pickled onions, carmelized onions....The best versatility for helping you to use local produce at every time of year. Chickpeas, in my brief research, to not seem to be on the GMO affected list. Buying dried chickpeas is not a local good but that is not what sustainable means. Some products we purchase from other countries because it is a good thing to trade with one another. So, yes, the chickpeas did have to travel many miles to get to the dry goods section of your grocery store BUT what we are striving for in a modern society is not to give up these kinds of joyous international products. Food sovereignty hopes for a system where dairy, produce and cereal products can be as locally sourced as possible with a stress on seasonality. That with a balance of minimal successful sustainable trade. Point: make some hummus and eat it with some farmer's market cucumbers. Hummus makes 3 cups
1 1/4 cups of dried chickpeas in a large bowl filled with enough water to cover by an inch; allow to soak overnight. On the next day, drain the chickpeas and sauté in a medium sized sauce pan with 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 6 1/2 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer for 20-40 minutes skimming off the foamy white bubbles until the chickpeas are easily crushable in your fingers. Drain chickpeas and add to a food processor with 2-4 tablespoons of tahini, peanut butter or sesame seeds (add extra oil if just using seeds), the juice of a lemon, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 2 cloves of garlic. Blend for about a minute. Slowly pour in 6 1/2 tablespoons of cold water while continuing to process for 5 minutes or until desired consistency. Stays good in the fridge for 5 days.