This is from "The Book of New Israeli Food" by Janna Gur BASIC HUMMUS DIP Ingredients (serves 8-10) 1lb 2oz. small dry chickpeas 1Tblsp + 1/2 tsp baking soda 1cup raw top quality tahini 1Tblsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 cloves garlic, crushed salt to taste Directions 1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in a large bowl of cold water with 1 Tblsp of baking soda. 2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and put them in a large pan. Add water until it reaches 1 inch above the chickpeas. Add remaining 1/2 tsp of baking soda and bring to a boil. Cook covered over low heat for 2-3 hours, until the chickpeas are very soft. Cool slightly, drain and save some of the cooking liquid. 3. Put the chickpeas in a food processor, add 2/3 cup tahini and process until smooth. If the paste is too thick, add a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid. Season with lemon, garlic, and salt; taste and adjust the seasoning. For a richer creamier version, add the remaining tahini and process until the hummus is completely smooth and fluffy, *****Galilee Style Hummus Set aside 1 cup of chickpeas. Puree the rest with 1/2 cup tahini and the seasonings. Add the whole chickpeas and mix, slightly mashing the chickpeas. The texture should remain somewhat chunky.

I agree with Linnea, all beans do not taste the same and do not have the same applications. I love all beans, but I do not particularly like plain beans, any more than I like plain tofu. Beans have a bland taste IMHO, which is why I love them, they can be spiced up in so many ways. But I don't like to mix and match either. What I make in the crockpot is baked beans (I like mine sweet and sour and spicy), black bean soup--again, spicy with chilis, and curried kidney beans (I just tried that recipe, dark red kidneys with a spicy curry sauce-yum, but then I like curry.) I use garbanzos and cannelinni beans with pasta and italian, middle eastern and spanish flavors. I would hate either one plain, I eat garbanzos in hummus, highly seasoned salads, or stews. Lentils taste earthy to me too, I do not like some lentil soups, but when I make mine I add tomato sauce, a bit of vinegar at the end, and something bitter like spinach, green pepper or celery. That's greek style. I also do sweet and sour lentils with pineapple and peppers. Or baked spaghetti with lentils, italian seasoned tomato sauce, and a hearty red wine like burgundy, topped with sharp parmesean. That would be yummy, but plain lentils would taste like dirt to me. I'm not a huge fan of blackeyed peas, although I like them in hoppin' john which I make with tabasco to counter the "earthy" taste. I'm not a huge fan of pintos, they also have an "earthy" taste to me. Particularly plain pintos. Those I can enjoy with a spicy salsa and sharp cheddar topping though. Same with kidney beans, they have an earthy taste which IMHO contrasts nicely with something spicy--so in my mixed veggie and spiced minnestrone or chili, I like them! I also like a tangy three bean salad, but not plain, I like it on lettuce with some other vegetables and croutons or sunflower seeds mixed in. So it seems to me, the key to enjoying beans is to season them well and mix them with sour, spicy, bitter, sharp and tangy flavors. That's part of the idea behind adding epazote to dried beans when cooking. I eat beans almost every day, but I would also find a bowl of plain beans very hard to palate. On the other hand, a spicy bowl of mixed bean chili with a dollop of lowfat sour cream and a few tortillas crumbled on top is my idea of heavan. Yesterday I had mixed color bowtie pasta, spicy ratatouille with lots of garlic, etc., and garbanzos all topped with parmesean and toasted pine nuts, that was delish. I've had plain garbanzos once, in a spicy curried gravy, that was good too--over brown rice.

Vinegar is a very poor choice for cleaning wood. 1 - Wash ALL surfaces with warm water and a mild soap. Don't forget the underside. Use a toothbrush on the cracks. 2 - Rinse with water and let it dry 3 - Wash all surfaces with mineral spirits and 0000 steel wool or a green scrub pad. Wipe it dry. You should be odor free, grunge free, and ready to paint.

A kitchen exhaust is a convenience; no serious or permanent harm will be done by not using one. The splatter guards will probably reduce grease on adjacent surfaces far better than you would have to open a window when food burns even if you were running a hood since the hood is normally struggling to draw in fresh air through cracks. I used a Vulcan-Hart 6 burner restaurant range with a ceramic broiler/griddle in a townhouse for 10 years without a hood. It just required a bit more cleaning and odors permeated the house but opening a window was amazingly effective and it was usually necessary in order to cool the kitchen. I miss it, but not the spinning gas meter. I have heard appliance sales people tell buyers that an exhaust hood was required by code but they could never tell me what code they were talking about. One is required for a restaurant but so is a hot water grease extractor and a fire suppression system.