Sunday's Soup

I must be in a middle eastern frame of mind as today's soup is another nod to the middle east. I absolutely love hummus. At any given time, there is usually a container in my refrigerator. It's easy to make, very nutritious and a great source of protein. So I thought, hmmm, I think the basis for hummus could make a lovely soup, and according to my husband, it did! So today's soup is

Creamy Hummus/Chickpea Soup 

 The ingredients;

1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 29 oz. cans of chickpeas
1 cup of tahini(tahini is ground sesame seeds that have been made into a paste, similar to peanut butter, but do not substitute peanut butter!)
3 cups of shredded carrots
1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley
1 bunch of green onions chopped
3 cloves of garlic chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
juice of 1 lemon
salt and black pepper to taste
paprika and feta cheese for garnish

Heat oil in large pot. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add chickpeas along with the liquid, reserving 1/4 of the chickpeas. Add tahini and stir well. Using an immersible hand mixer, blend the chickpea mixture until creamy. Add reserved chickpeas, carrots, green onions, parsley, water, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and stir well.
To serve, garnish with paprika and feta cheese. You can also add fried bacon, pancetta or ham to the soup if you would like a non-vegetarian version.

A little joke...
This past week, both of my dogs were sick. My husband and I searched our minds trying to think of what could have possibly made them sick. Of course them being sick meant a trip to the vet. But, as it usually goes, they did not get sick at the same time, so there were two trips and of course this is never cheap. Anyway, I do think the world of my vet. He's a very caring person and always seems to never be in a rush, but takes time to hear about how they as well as how I am doing. I told him that we think they may have had a drink from the pond. It just thawed recently and my husband has not had a chance to drain it or clean it out. We also thought that maybe their food had somehow gone bad. We discussed the possibility of cooking food for them which I have in the past.  Today, while I was making the soup, I also boiled chicken for them. My husband is always so wonderful to clean up my mess. As he was washing the pot where I had boiled the chicken he asked what had been in the pot. I said, "the chicken for the dogs." He replied, "O, the dogs get chicken and all I get is vegetables!!" O well :-)
Hope you're having a wonderful Sunday!
Rhonda