Homemade in the Microwave: Hummus

When preparing to venture out into college, one of many essentials on a student’s packing list is a microwave oven. An appliance fated for the use of popcorn during late night study sessions, or heating up a bowl of Kraft in place of dinner at the cafeteria. While those are yummy picks, it’s fun to use your microwave to its maximum potential and spice up your day with a clever homemade snack.
One of the current baking fads is “Microwave Brownie in a Mug.” Gentlemen, this recipe is most likely already on your girlfriend’s Pinterest board. (I admit…it is on mine.) So in an attempt at originality, I searched the web for a new treat to create on study breaks or in between classes. A recipe found its way to the top of my search engine that made my mouth water: Coffee Pecan Mug Cake.
I tried my hand at this sweet confection and, as it turns out, my cooking skills are not suited for such tasty treats. A 10 minute recipe turned into 45 minutes of frustration and failure. However, don’t let this discourage you. Such things may come naturally to you. If so, I would encourage you to look up the recipe on www.everylunchtime.wordpress.com and try it out for yourself. The ingredients are easy to get ahold of; in fact, you can find most of the ingredients at Bear Necessities.
After my failed attempt, my microwave seemed forlorn and I was determined to create a scrumptious treat by the end of the day. In my determination, I continued to look through the web page for another recipe, and found out that this blog was created by a college student, for college students, with easy recipes to make in a dorm room. The “Gourmet Dormet”, as she calls herself, shares how to make a variety of foods. To my excitement, I found another recipe that seemed to be a potential candidate: Homemade Hummus. This microwave-cooking attempt ended with great success. I would highly recommend that other hummus aficionados try it out as well:
The process was very simple and took about 5 minutes to prepare.
The ingredients were not as readily available on campus, but now you have an excuse to make another late night Walmart run with your friends - or sneak some extra garbanzo beans from the cafeteria if you are feeling frugal. To make this you will need the following ingredients:

3/4 cup of canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1/8 teaspoon of paprika

1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

Extra virgin olive oil (amount varies)

1 to 2 tablespoons of water

Your choice of mashing instrument.

In a microwavable bowl, put your garbanzo beans, spices, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil together and mix (do not mash.) Cover the bowl and microwave your ingredients for 2 minutes. Next, take your chosen mashing instrument. Mash the garbanzo beans until they reach your preferred texture. The mixture will be dry so add a drizzle of olive oil. Mash and stir. When it dries out again, mix it with water and continue to stir. You may need to add more olive oil. Taste your mixture, decide if it needs more spices, grab your favorite dipping food and enjoy your snack!