Why Bother Making Your Own Baby Food?

Homemade black bean and chickpea hummus III

Image by newwavegurly
I've taken to eating hummus with baby carrots instead of pita over the last several months. It makes for a wonderful crunch and freshness with the rich creaminess of the hummus.

The hummus is homemade, my first attempt at making it. I took two different recipes I found and combined bits of each of them to come up with my own. The only thing I would do differently next time is I would probably blend it for longer to make it really smooth.

Recipe for Black Bean and Chickpea (Garbanzo Bean) Hummus
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans,) drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 Tbs. tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
15 grinds of black pepper
1 tsp. allspice
2 cloves of garlic (fairly large cloves)
2 1/2 Tbs. flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped (no stems)
juice from 1/2 a lemon
juice from 1 lime

Put all the ingredients in the food processor, and mix until smooth.

A blender would work as well, it will just take a bit longer, and you'll have to stir the ingredients a bit to get it all blended properly.

Why Bother Making Your Own Baby Food?
I have tried to be a good mother to my two children. But if anyone had suggested to me, in the long-ago overwhelming days when they were tiny, that I make their baby food, I would have given that person the evil eye. Or burst into tears.
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