Mr. Right's Perfect Hummus, from Leslie Budewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Regulars on the blog and readers who follow me elsewhere know that I often refer to my husband as Mr. Right. And you know he enjoys cooking and loves dips—many of the dips I’ve shared over the years have been his recipes, or ones I’ve found that he’s taken over. We also have learned to trust recipes from the New York Times food writer Melissa Clark, so when I saw her recipe for hummus, the Middle Eastern dip made with chickpeas and tahini, I knew we had to try it.

It was good. But readers, I’m here to tell you: Mr. Right’s version is even better. We use canned chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans, instead of cooking dried beans—seriously, who plans that far ahead? He’s changed the proportions and spicery. But the trick he kept? Using ice cold water to smooth out the sauce.

Perfect.

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. 

Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Mr. Right's Perfect Hummus

1 - 15 ounce can low-sodium chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained 

1/4 cup tahini

2 cloves garlic, minced (or more to taste)

1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed

½ to 1 teaspoon cumin or curry powder, to taste

½ cup sliced and seeded peperoncini, optional 

paprika or sumac for topping, optional

fresh parsley for garnish, optional

Grilled pita, baked pita chips, baguette, chips, or crackers for serving. 

Rinse and drain the chickpeas.

Put several ice cubes and cold water in a glass measuring cup or other small container with a pour spout. Use a blender or food processor to process the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and cumin or curry powder into a thick paste. While the blender is running (if possible), add 1/3 to 2/3 cup ice water, slowly, until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Add the chickpeas and peperoncini and continue processing until smooth, adding more ice water if necessary. Taste and adjust salt, lemon juice, or cumin, as needed.

Spoon into a small serving bowl. Sprinkle with paprika or sumac if you’d like, and add a sprig of parsley. Serve with wedges of grilled pita, sliced baguette, chips, or crackers—whatever your little heart desires!

Perfect! 

Isn't the bowl adorable? And -- well, perfect!

Summertime, and the Aperol Spritzer was the perfect cocktail on the deck!

Who does the cooking -- and dip-making -- in your house?

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .  

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who’s taken to the hills. 

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there’s one in every pocket. 

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz’s success, and a local growers’ cooperative. She’s also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf. 

As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. Watch for Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop Mystery, on July 15, 2025.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine. 

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.