Yesterday, while searching for ground cloves (my quest continues), I came across tahini at City Supermarket. You have no idea how many times I have gone to that damn place only to discover that they sold out of tahini. Who the hell is buying all this sesame paste? Anyway, looked like they were all stocked up this time; the jars lined several shelves. I had actually given up on locating tahini; figures it would appear after I’d stopped searching. So I stood there debating whether or not to buy: I just wanted ordinary tahini, but City only had this organic stuff, at about $7 USD a jar. Obviously, I caved. After all, who knows when I’ll see it again. Ah well, hopefully it will last forever.

So this afternoon, I prepped dried garbanzo beans (using the quick soak method) and gave this hummus recipe my best shot. The recipe came from an Iraqi cookbook (which I don’t actually own) called Delights from the Garden of Eden. And yummy, the hummus was stellar. Now I wish I could credit the recipe, but… the instructions called for 2 15-oz. cans OR 1 1/2 cups dry. I hadn’t measured the beans dry, so I just had wet beans. Now the 15-oz can, does that weight include the liquid or bean juice? See how confusing food stuff can be? Do you feel my pain? Yes, thank you for playing the violin for me. Oh well, I figured at least this time I had all the ingredients; that was half the battle. The rest was just a matter of throwing it all together, right? Wrong. My taste buds might as well be dead. My concoction was a pathetically bland mixture. Thank goodness Bubbey entered to save the day. Tons more salt, paprika, and lemon juice later, the hummus tasted perfect. I’m already craving the next batch for tomorrow. Unfortunately, recreating the masterpiece will not be easy. I’ll have to do some backtracking with the wet beans/dry beans portions. Either that, or call on the magic of Bubbey once again. Pain in my ass, really. All just for hummus.

So John and I went to a BBQ yesterday. My friend Susie is a big dog lover. She’s got her own lil’ pup, and she’s also fostering Lulu. Her other guests brought their dogs as well. Not to brag or anything, but geez, I’ve been around the doggie block, and seriously, R&M totally deserve their whole “Angels on Earth” appellation. I mean, in the course of three hours, two dogs got stressed from all the commotion and peed on the carpet, one had to be watched at all times (or else he would jump on the table and scarf down all the food), and the other was so attached to mommy that she whimpered when mommy went to the restroom. Come on, now. I know you’re a dog that depends on your human, but goodness gracious, some independence please! Yes, my angels deserve many, many more outings and kitty hunts.