There's Good Hummus And There's Bad Hummus

Thursday, at around 6p.m., Aaron and I drove to the Newhall Farmer's Market. It's located on Market Street and hosts about 10 or so different vendors. We've been here once before, so we already knew what we were planning on purchasing. Right on the corner, there was a man selling hummus and pita. He had about eight different flavors of hummus, and we picked out roasted red pepper, lime and cilantro, and spinach and artichoke.

Here's the problem: It's crap.

I have to say that there are similar properties of hummus that I like in goat cheese. Tecture and taste are two very important towers on which I base liking or disliking hummus and goat cheese. In texture, I look for creaminess and smoothness. In texture, pronounced flavors. I want food to be elevated when I add it, not bland.

His texture was off and his flavor was off.

It was chunky, not blended properly, and it was bland to say the least. But we had already invested money in this storm of flavorless chickpea gravel, so it was necessary to figure out a way to cover it up and use it. Here's a recipe for covering up, and using bad hummus, as well as good hummus.

Recipe: Chicken Wrap with Steamed Veggies

Serves: 2
Prep time: <10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes.

1 chicken breast
6 tablespoons of lime and cilantro hummus
2 large pieces of Romaine lettuce
1/2 salad onion (white part)
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
2 tablespoons of ginger, spreadable goat cheese
2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of of garlic powder

Prep
1. Chop zucchini and yellow squash in pinky thick slices and then in half once more.
2. Spread hummus evenly across each slice of Romaine lettuce.
3. Dice onion.
4. Spread onion evenly across each slice of Romaine lettuce.

Cook
1. Place zucchini and yellow squash in a steamer in a pot. Sprinkle cayenne pepper and garlic powder over the vegetables and place on high. Slide chicken breast into a small skillet on medium heat.

2. Cook the chicken for about five minutes. Flip, and allow to cook for another five minutes. Zucchini and yellow squash should be finished, but allow to steam if you prefer more tender vegetables. Spoon onto plates.

3. Pull the chicken out, dice, and recook for another 5 minutes and increase heat to medium high. Sprinkle a light layer of cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Spoon the chicken onto each piece of romaine lettuce, and roll. Fork the goat cheese off of the spoonfuls overtop the zucchini and yellow squash.