Spotted in Georgetown

Please pardon the terrible photo quality (the camera on my phone has lost its ability to focus) but I spotted this festive doorway, cascading with pumpkins and gourds of every stripe, and had to document it for longevity. What a great idea! They did such a good job finding just the right spot of every last pumpkin and gourd. I'm a huge fan of the mini pumpkin myself. We have a little guy keeping us company as a kitchen table centerpiece - and if you get a couple in different shades they just as colorful as flowers, but WAY less expensive and last for months.

Culinary Cheap: Homemade Hummus

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Hummus is a middle eastern chickpea-based spread that is delicious on wraps and sandwiches, alongside falafel, or smeared on pita chips, carrots, and other cut veggies. I love hummus and it's a regular in our fridge, but it also runs $4-$5 a pop at the grocery, so this weekend I made my own and was quite surprised with the result! It tasted just like the store brands, but can be easily tailored to your own taste preferences (spice it up, or not so much) and nutritional needs (less olive oil, more, or maybe water packed roasted red peppers instead). The best part was I had nearly all the ingredients in my kitchen already:

Can of chickpeas - $1
Garlic - a few cents
Juice from one lemon - $.60 *less if you use bottled lemon juice
TBS Tahini - $.16
Tsp Salt - a few cents
2 TBS olive oil - $.20
Black pepper - a few cents
Sprinkle of cumin - a few cents

Approximate total cost: $2.10

We just tossed it all in my VitaMix, but you could use a food processor or hand mash it together with a potato masher for a chunkier variety. The result? A yummy hummus that measured up to the store brands for less than half the price I typically pay. You can bet I won't be buying pre-made hummus again any time soon.