cilantr-oh!

(that's what she said.)

as of late i have been experimenting with homemade hummus. this isn't the first time i've thrown beans in the food processor and seen what happens (for a fava been blast from the past, click here). last week, i used a combination of chickpeas and fava beens with sea salt, fresh lemon juice, garlic, cumin and turmeric. delicious. and it inspired me to see in what directions i can take this super simple standard...and so the bird hit the berkeley bowl to get some chickpeas and some ideas. i returned home with 2 hummus plans - one a hummus based on cilantro and the other a hummus flavored with tamarind. this afternoon i made the cilantro hummus. this recipe is a keeper.

but, before we get to that, let's take a moment and show cilantro a little love and attention. i'm gonna go ahead and start at the very beginning, i've heard it's a pretty good place to start. cilantro is the leaves of the coriander plant, which grows wild in south east europe and has been cultivated in egypt, india and china for, well, a very long time. thousands of years. it gets shout outs in sanskrit texts. cilantro was introduced to mexico and peru by spanish conquistadores, where it has gone on to become a staple in their cuisine. on the folklore/who-knows-if-it's-true front, coriander and cilantro have long been thought of as aphrodisiacs. (hey, no! that is not why i used it, the bird doesn't need any aphrodisiacs...but if that compels you to pick up a bunch and whip this up, by all means go for it, and i hope, in turn, you have a very good night. wink wink.) on the why is this so darn good for me front, well, this little herb is extremely high in vitamins a & k, a being good for mucus membranes and vision and k being good for the bones. overall, cilantro has quite an impressive % of rda (recommended daily amounts) profile:

15% of folates

11% of vitamin b-6

45% of vitamin c

225% of vitamin a

258% of vitamin k

22% of iron

18% of manganese

so, go ahead, use cilantro. and, hopefully, it will get you lucky. but, at the very least, it will help you be healthy. so you either win win or you just win. not too shabby.

cilantro garlic hummus

1 can chickpeas, drained and liquid reserved

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp chili flakes

2 fresh limes

put chickpeas, cilantro, garlic and spices in food processor. (a blender will also suffice) squeeze lime juice on top. blend until smooth, adding reserved liquid from chickpeas as needed.

enjoy.