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Better than Store-Bought

I was in my very early 20s when hippiedom began. I worked in a microbiology department at the University of Massachusetts Medical School before the university began teaching medical students and before the hospital opened.

Pure science was never very interesting to me. I had worked for surgeons in medical schools and hospitals. I liked the fast-paced work of surgery and the personality of surgeons—cut, stitch, and leave.

When we moved to Massachusetts from New York, I took a job in the UMass science department, figured I would change to another job when the hospital opened. But I became very friendly with the postdoctoral students. They were about my age and had little extra money; we had lots of parties. They were hippie types, smart and funny, and their work pace was glacial, as basic science must be. We all cooked for those parties, from cookbooks written by the likes of the Moosewood Collective. We made and ate hash brownies, and talked endlessly on how to make the world a better place

What we ate at those parties were CorningWare casseroles, onion dips made with sour cream, and lots of hummus. We threw our coats and babies on the beds. Our apartments (or sometimes houses) were small and we all worked on weekends to build bookcases and curtains and sometimes took care of our lawn with push mowers.

Some of us had gardens.

These days not many of us make hummus, but for a party a couple of weeks ago, I made finger sandwiches of egg salad and tuna (remember those for baby showers?) and hummus. Interestingly, one of the people at the party, who has an enormous garden and has a radio show at WLIS in Middletown, tasted the hummus and said it was much better than the commercial hummus people buy at supermarkets. In case you are interested, here is the hummus I made for that party. And, along with that recipe is another from my daughter (who was one of those babies we stowed on beds in the ‘60s and ‘70s). She is very much a woman of the older millennials, but she can cook just like I learned to do decades ago.

Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.

Hummus

Yield: serves 8 to 10

2 to 3 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup tahini (sesame paste, found in health stores and

most supermarkets)

¼ cup olive oil

Juice of 2 to 3 lemons

¼ cup water

Lots of cloves of garlic (I use at least 6 to 8)

Salt and pepper to taste

Dash or two of cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

For garnish, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a toss of

chopped pistachio nuts (optional)

Place all ingredients except salt, pepper, cayenne, and paprika into a blender or food processor. Purée until smooth. Taste and add salt, pepper, and cayenne (careful about that cayenne!). Pour into a bowl and serve with pita, tortilla chips, and/or raw vegetables.

Baja Sauce

Darcy says this will feed her and her husband for three meals, whether tacos, fish, chicken, or on sandwiches

1 8-ounce Neufchatel or regular cream cheese at room

temperature

4 ounces half and half

2 ounces canned jalapenos (or more if you like the heat)

A handful of cilantro, chopped, (she does not use the stems)

Purée cream cheese, half and half, and jalapenos in a blender or small food processor. Remove the sauce and mix with the cilantro. Refrigerate the extra.