Here's one of the recipes from our 'make' list this week. We had never tried it before. It gave me horrid garlic breath, but it was really good. The teenagers (Am I supposed to stop calling them that now that some of them are in their twenties? Let's just think of it as an honorary title.) liked it too.

Spicy Black Bean Hummus

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1-2 Tablespoon Tahini (roasted sesame seed paste)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

Dash crushed red pepper

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

Dash ground red pepper

Chop garlic and jalapeno. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. The original recipe suggested using a food processor. I use a mezzaluna. (Mine's pretty similar to this one. If you have neither, just chop the garlic and pepper, mix up the rest, and smash with the back of a fork til smooth.)

Sprinkle with another dash of ground red pepper to distract from the fact that it doesn't look all that appetizing. Weird color.

Serve with chips or toasted pitas, followed by tic tacs.