During Restaurant Week (Aug. 16-25), I ate at some fantastic restaurants, wrote a lot of reviews and got a break from cooking for a few days. Since we don't eat out a lot, it was nice to enjoy a few nights out.

But by the end of the week, I was homesick for my kitchen. I missed the click-click-click-whoof! of my gas stove, chopping vegetables, looking up recipes and enjoying something I made with my own hands.

It was a nice vacation, but I was ready to be back in my comfort zone: the kitchen.

Preparing daily meals is fun, but when I need cooking to be more than just enjoyable — therapeutic — I delve into making something from scratch that normal people would buy from the grocery store: spaghetti sauce, cereal, sausage, beer (OK that one is my husband's), chocolate syrup, bread, laundry detergent … etc.

So at the end of Restaurant Week, I needed another therapeutic kitchen project. And I knew exactly what I would make. Hummus.

Because hummus is the best tasting salty goodness ever created, you'd think it would be complicated or at least time consuming to make. But really, it's not. It has five ingredients, and a Crock-Pot and food processor do all the work.

It's always sad when I run out of my expensive little tub of hummus. But one batch of homemade hummus made two pounds of the stuff — enough to have some in the fridge for a while and plenty to share with friends!

Everyone doesn't find these kinds of do-it-yourself projects therapeutic. But everyone should make their own hummus. It's more flavorful, has no preservatives and is extremely affordable compared to buying those tiny tubs for $3.99. It is completely worth the time — just try it. You won't be able to go back to store-bought hummus; I promise.

Smooth, creamy hummus

Ingredients

1 pound dried chickpeas, cooked in a slow cooker (recipe follows) or 2 pounds canned chickpeas

5 cloves garlic, roasted (place whole cloves, unpeeled, on a cookie sheet in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes)

3 teaspoons kosher salt

5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup tahini, stirred well

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving

Kalamata olives for serving, optional

For a smaller batch of hummus, feel free to cut this recipe in half

Preparation

Place the chickpeas, garlic and kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process for 15 to 20 seconds. Stop, scrape down sides of the bowl and process for another 15 to 20 seconds. Add lemon juice and water. Process for 20 seconds. Add the tahini. Process for 20 seconds, then scrape down sides of the bowl. With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil.

To serve, transfer the hummus to a bowl, drizzle with additional olive oil and top with olives.

Slow Cooker Chickpeas

Ingredients

7 cups water

1 pound dry chickpeas, sorted and rinsed (will turn into 2 pounds cooked chickpeas)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda 

Preparation

Place the water, chickpeas, and baking soda in a 2 1/2-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for 4 hours, or on low heat for 8 to 9 hours, or until tender. Drain and serve immediately, or use in desired dish.

Tip: For extra creamy hummus, place cooked, cooled chickpeas in a salad spinner. Cover chickpeas with water. Grab handfuls of chickpeas and roll between hands to remove skins. To collect skins, spin the salad spinner (still full of water). The chickpea skins will rise to the top. Collect skins and discard. You may have to repeat this process several times to remove all skins.