I distinctly remember the first time I had hummus. I was relaxing poolside with two of my girlfriends (future bridesmaids) in Raleigh in 2011, when we realized we were hungry from all the strenuous activities we had been doing, you know flipping every 20 minutes for an even tan and cooling off in the pool. So we headed over to the take out window of the Grill and while I couldn't figure out what I wanted the girls insisted on some hummus and pita. This was when hummus was really making its debut as the item to eat, and I of course was resisting because a. I hate following the crowd and b. I was not really a fan of dips. Our number was called and we grabbed our drinks and settled the food between us as we continued lounging. I finally conceded and tried the hummus, and it was delicious. It wasn't any special flavor, probably plain or maybe garlic, but it started the hummus ball rolling.

Thankful for these babes having introduced me to what would become a must in this vegetarian house.

Fast forward to today and a common staple in the house is Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. My mother, once she realized she liked hummus, ended up experimenting with a few recipes, and this was my favorite, so I have stuck with it. It takes roughly two days to make as I like to soak the garbanzo beans over night, cook them, let them cool and then put together with the rest of the items. Plus I live and breath red peppers.

Ways I encourage you to use Hummus:

As a substitute for pizza sauce, or combined with pizza sauce.
As a substitute for butter or mayo on your sandwich.
Make your pasta creamy by adding some hummus into a pan of cooked pasta and veggies. You may want to add some water to thin it out while it is cooking.
As ice cream. This is so bad but I can't help it if I can't stop my spoon from dipping into the mixer. This is usually the worst when I have just made it and I am "taste testing," or if I am ravenous and I look into the fridge and can't find anything else.
Spread it on your significant others body parts and lick it up (that was Andrew's contribution). Don't do it. It would be a waste of delicious hummus (no offence toward your significant other).

Not sure where this recipe originates from, but it works, and if/when you combine the ingredients and it seems off, it probably just needs salt (or you forgot something). I am terrible with adding any salt to my dishes, so I am always adding more at the end.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of dried garbanzo beans (once soaked looks closer to 3 cups)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 whole fresh red peppers
1/3 cup tahini (leave out prior so it can get soft, or mix with a spoon so it is soupy)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Salt to taste
Oil to your liking

DIRECTIONS

Soak dried garbanzo beans overnight

Cook the garbanzo beans for 1-1.5 hrs, until they are soft. I put in enough water to make sure the beans are always covered. Once cooked, drain, store and let cool. I usually leave them out on the stove or in the fridge overnight (just depends how lazy I am).

Next day, heat oven to 350 degrees and put the two red peppers in for 20 minutes. Once they start to turn black remove and quickly put in plastic zip-lock bag. Seal and put in fridge for ten minutes.

In the meantime, in a food processor combine the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, cumin, cayenne pepper, a teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of oil.

Once you are done it should be time to remove the peppers out of the fridge. By doing this process with the peppers it should help with peeling the skin. If you get frustrated with peeling the skin, give up, cut the peppers into 4-6 slices (minus the seeds) and just put them in food processor ( I do this all the time now because the skin does not bother me and I have little patience).

Add some more salt and cayenne to taste. The salt is a personal preference, so add some, mix and then try it. Continue until it tastes like something you want to eat. The oil you might want to add more if it looks like the hummus is struggling in the food processor and needs some liquid to help it move.

Enjoy!