I sooo love hummus.  Let me rephrase that, I LOVE homemade hummus, the store bought stuff I can do without.  It would always be in my fridge if I could only restrain from eating the entire recipe as soon as I make it. 

For the past two months I have been thinking a lot about everything you could possibly do with Tahini, sesame paste. Most of my thoughts have focused on hummus. Jinan, the city in China I have been calling my temporary home is in the middle kingdom's sesame belt.  You find it in everything.  Street vendors offer oil, flour, seeds and will even grind it into a sauce for you on the spot.

What you don't find alot of in Jinan is chickpeas.  My mission to find them has been unfruitful.  Then the other day I spied a can of butter beans in the French grocery store, Carrefour.  An epiphany led me to realize I just needed to think outside the box.  The result was a creamier version, perfect for all the vibrant vegetables I carry home each day from our neighborhoods farmer's market.

• 1 can of butter beans (If you are a hummus purest - you can use chick peas)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion or 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbsp Tahini
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp Lemon Ginger Curry
• 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
• 1tsp sea salt or Fish Sauce

Drain beans keeping 1/4 cup of their liquid.  Pour the ingredients into a bowl or food processor and  blender or pulse until smooth. Adding small amounts of the reserved liqud until it becomes soft and creamy. Great as a vegetable dip or for adding to your sandwich roll-ups. For a different rice or pasta sauce, add some of the hot cooking water and toss.

More for sesame lovers;

• Sesame Kale Salad from Enterprise Farm

• Oasis Naan, a gluten and yeast free version

• Veggie Rice

• Toasted Berry Crumble Bars

Photo Credit: Julie Cecchini