Debbie's Avocado Hummus

OK, so I love avocadoes, but don't know what to do with them, for the most part, other than eating them out of hand, putting them in salad, making avocado rice, or making guacamole.

"Hmm," I wondered, "are there any recipes out there for avocado hummus?"

Yep. Google returned a boatload. I checked out the first few, and tried one. Didn't have any lemon juice, so tried True Lemon. Ick. The whole mixture turned brown on top, after a day or so.

Plus, I didn't care for the taste much . . . and so decided to doctor it up a bit, with more lemon juice, some cayenne pepper, and sesame oil. The result? Pretty good! Here it is; try it for yourself and let me know what you think. While each serving has nearly 9 grams of fat, only a little over a gram is saturated fat; the rest is lovely poly- and mono-unsaturated fats, the healthy sort.

(Note: the lemon juice is really necessary to make the mixture sufficiently acidic so as to prevent the growth of botulism spores, found in raw garlic. So, DON"T OMIT IT!! Use 1 tablespoon if you like, rather than 2, but don't leave it out. Oh, and keep it refrigerated after you make it! I don't want you guys dropping like flies.)

Avocado Hummus

Makes 18 ounces or so; I set 1 serving at about 2 oz. You probably won't be able to scrape the last half-ounce out of the blender, unless you're more diligent than I am.

1 each avocado, peeled, de-stoned and coarsely chopped 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (mostly to remove some of the sodium) 3 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp lemon juice 3 each garlic cloves, minced 1/4 large vidalia onion, finely chopped 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp sesame oil 1/8 tsp cracked pepper, or to taste

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender, until mostly smooth. Refrigerate.

Servings: 9

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 1 serving Percent daily values based on a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. Amount Per Serving Calories 145.16 Calories From Fat 74.01 % Daily Value Total Fat 8.56g 13% Saturated Fat 1.33g 6% Cholesterol 0.00mg 0% Sodium 135.43mg 5% Potassium 282.40mg 8% Carbohydrates 15.46g 5% Dietary Fiber 4.16g 16% Protein 3.06g 6% Vitamin A 259.73IU 5% Vitamin C 7.58mg 12% Calcium 24.37mg 2% Iron 0.88mg 4% Vitamin E 0.61IU 2% Thiamin 0.06mg 4% Riboflavin 0.06mg 3% Niacin 0.76mg 3% Vitamin B6 0.35mg 17% Folate 51.89µg 12% Pantothenic Acid 0.49mg 4% Phosphorus 61.84mg 6% Magnesium 26.98mg 6% Zinc 0.67mg 4%

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