let me hummus you a tune

Good evening, readers. Jen is still without the necessary equipment to download photos so she has asked various celebrities to sit in as a guest writer for her blog. Since I have been out of work for a while, I cheerfully accepted.
Quid pro quo, what would taste good with fava beans and a quality vegan wine? Fava beans of course. Not many people know this, but after all of that Hannibal nonsense, I decided to go vegan. My favorite afternoon snack has been hummus.
In strict middle eastern culinary terms, hummus is a dish of chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and spices. For this dip to truly be hummus, it must have chickpeas. The word hummus is largely inspired by himmus, the arabic word for chickpea. In fact, the world wide web has a number of blogs devoted entirely to this delicacy, and my favorite one is this one.
Now we have all seen people world wide make variations of this dish with other beans. Is it still hummus, even after the transformation into a puree? Depends on who you ask. I tend to think that it is perfectly accptable for a bean identify as a chickpea. We all identify as something else, now don't we? Jennifer has made a version with lima beans-(photographed above), and I found it absolutely delightful.

Which leads me back to my friend and yours, fava. Ziyad distributes cans of small fava beans with spices included. This makes the best bean spread I've ever had, and is a wonderful addition to any dinner party. Not your traditional hummus, agreed--but it is titillating to the tongue with any crudite.

Hannibal's deLecterble Fava Bean Spread

1 can Ziyad small fava beans with spices, drained and rinsed. No worries, the beans will still be spicy.
2T fresh chopped parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
generous pinch of salt and pepper
1 garlic clove
1 T nutritional yeast
1/4 c. olive oil
1/8 c. water

While listening to Chopin, prepare your ingredients and put them all in a blender. Dream of freeing the lambs as you puree everything. Serve with a gourmet crackers, grapes, and a nice vegan Chianti.

Now readers, do not forget Jen's contest to win your own copy of American Vegan Kitchen. Time is running out: tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock.....