Desert Oracle Gut-Activating Recovery Hummus™
(Created under heat, stress, and Gatorade-fueled divine inspiration. This one came to life when a certain belly needed healing, and the desert had its say.)
Ingredients:
3 cans (15 oz each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed (save aquafaba)
¾ cup tahini
3 tbsp lemon juice
6 tbsp aquafaba (liquid from chickpea cans)
~½ cup cold water (add slowly to adjust texture)
6 garlic cloves (yes, really — we’re serious here)
1½–2¼ tsp salt (start low, adjust to taste)
2¼ tsp cumin
1½ tsp smoked paprika
1½ tsp turmeric
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Instructions:
1. Combine everything except the water in a blender or food processor.
2. Blend and add water slowly until smooth and creamy.
3. Taste. Adjust salt, garlic, lemon, or water to get that perfect hit.
4. Chill in fridge or eat warm out of the processor because you earned it.
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Serving Ideas:
With carrots, celery, peppers
Spread on baked corn tortillas (or let the desert bake them)
Spooned directly into your mouth while emotionally recovering is always good too!
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Poem: Desert Oracle Gut-Activating Recovery Hummus™
A Kitchen Poem by Saul Ember
It began with a prayer,
but not the holy kind—
unless you count the whispered, stoned liturgy
of “Please let the belly find peace.”
The desert was in us—
dry mouths, cracked patience,
motility as sluggish as a sun-stunned lizard
flattened on hot stone.
So I opened the pantry like a scroll,
and the cans stared back with prophecy.
Three chickpeas.
A jar of tahini crusted with past attempts.
Six garlic cloves, militant and unrepentant.
Lemon like a slap, salt like a memory.
Turmeric for the rage.
Paprika for the Smoke I was exhaling.
I fed it all to the processor.
Held my breath.
Pulsed the pain into a paste.
Tasted. Cried. Adjusted.
They took one bite and exhaled
like someone finally resting
in the cool shadow of a saguaro.