Dill Pickle Hummus

 Los Angeles, California

It has come to this. I'm actually writing a blog post about hummus. I am not a fan of hummus. It's not like goat cheese which is about the only non-exotic food that I really cannot eat. It's not like cheesecake, which I can eat, but hope I will never again have to. It just like... hummus. I love chickpeas. Love sesame seeds. I go through liters of olive oil. So, put it all together in a blender and what have you got? Hummus. The texture of baby food. The blandness of wallpaper paste. If you chile it up a lot, you can give it some flavor. But you're still stuck with that baby food thing. I don't get why there is so little attention paid to the texture of foods. When the Cuisinart first came into our consciousness, everyone was whipping the crap out of avocados, so that guacamole became nasty, and a bit like marshmallow fluff. Hummus isn't whipped and airy. It's pasty. Then again, I have always liked my peanut butter chunky.

So, to continue on this hummus thing, I will write that I recently purchased some... hummus. At Trader Joe's. What was I thinking? I don't like hummus. But we are in a pandemic and doing all kinds of uncharacteristic things. I've been watching Loony Toons cartoons and sitcoms on TV. So not me. In its favor was the flavor of this hummus: Dill Pickle Hummus. And, truthfully, it tastes a lot like dill pickles. Of course crackers help. I've been buying these sesame, rice, and nut crackers, that for all that it sounds like a whole foods (whole foods in the Birkenstock sense, not the actual market chain) product, they're actually very crunchy and tasty. I have never been a fan of crudités, so the thought of dipping an uncooked vegetable into this makes me shudder. But, I have to say, with decent crackers, I will give this with my once-a-year hummus award.

In full disclosure, I'm not a big fan of middle-eastern food. What I have really been craving is Indian food. Good Indian food. And both good Mexican food and simple, street, green burritos. I have been craving oysters. And craving the best hamburgers (currently Fatburger. I'm fickle. This changes). Oh let's be honest, I have been craving a lot of things that are simply not cooked by me.

Tonight I am cooking red beans and rice. It seems like a winter dish, and the truth is, I bought the andouille quite a while back when it wasn't so hot. It is time to cook it. Last night I roasted salmon with tomatoes and olives. It is a fairly-new recipe and a good one. Simple and quick to prepare with a salad and no dessert. I had a glass or two of sauvignon blanc; one while cooking, the other with dinner. I watched the Dodgers game.

Everyone's life is more or less like this right now. We scramble to eat, watch, and read things that fill the void. I can't say the dill pickle hummus filled any void. Nor will the red beans and rice. But I am reading and writing a lot, and occasionally watching something rather wonderful. These sustain for awhile, which is what we need for the time being. In The Durrells of Corfu, Spiro said: Even precious things end. You can't chase a sunset around the globe. So while Covid19 is being chased around the world, we can take heart in some of the precious things and people around us. For me, hummus is not one of those things. But the dill pickles helped a lot. Thank you for reading my blog. Try some kaya toast sometime...