Lovin the Lima Bean

My dear friend Terra from Cafe Terra and I were chatting about foods some people said they didn't like after I posed the question on my facebook fan page. One of the culprits was the lima bean. We both concluded it has been a lonnnng time since we've had one and rarely do you see posts about them.
That was it, we decided to each create a lima bean hummus recipe and post together on the same day.
See below.
Now the term "hummus" actually means chick peas so TECHNICALLY this isn't a true hummus but whatever its my variation of hummus.


First things first - monkey see, monkey DO NOT DO!

Now that I got that off my chest I should probably elaborate for you.
Long story short, I haven't had a lima bean in my vicinity since I was probably 10 years old.  I never cooked them, my mom did - remember this information for the next part of my post.

I tried to poison the Mr. with cyanide, or so he tweeted anyway.  This is not accurate people.
I did not intentionally give him something to make him sick!
I did not poison him.
I did not try to kill him.
Lima beans, actually a lot of beans when raw are toxic, so says Google/Wikipedia/everyone I know but me.....you're supposed to boil them first. 
Who knew?
Apparently everyone but me.

When I started out creating this recipe I decided to use frozen limas.
I did not boil them.
I used them straight from the freezer.  They are likely blanched anyway right?
THEN I did some research on other lima bean recipes because you know what, I kinda like em now.....which is when I discovered I probably shouldn't have eaten my creation, or given it to the Mr. to eat about a cup of it.  *remember, I have never made them, my mom did*

For the next 4 hours I wasn't sure if the heavy feeling in my tummy was because I was going to die of cyanide poisoning or because I felt so guilty and so stupid for NOT knowing I should have cooked them first.  It was the latter....we're still alive.
Lesson 1 - always boil your beans (kidney, lima etc.)
Lesson 2 - don't tell the other half you may have poisoned him/her because now they wont EVER try anything they haven't ever eaten before or be leery of what you cook.
Lesson 3 and the most important one - you can most certainly make the most delicious hummus using lima beans!!
I bet you're gonna love this (we did and even the second batch that was safer to eat too!)
Now, you should go and check out Terra's post too!!

I'm listening to:  Beautiful Disaster - 311

Glorious Green Hummus

makes approx. 1 1/2 c.

1-1 1/2 c. frozen lima beans
3 cloves garlic
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
2 tbsp. fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili flakes
olive oil (about 2 tbsp. or so)

Place lima beans in a pot of boiling water (not salted) with the lid on for about 7-9 minutes.  This did not happen the first time - monkey see, monkey do not do!

Drain and let cool to room temperature.
Once they are cooled, add all the ingredients except the olive oil to a food processor.
While it is whizzin around drizzle in the olive oil until it comes together like a paste.
Taste, re-season accordingly.
Serve with pitas/crackers/bread wedges but not a side of cyanide!

Hey, everyone makes mistakes in the kitchen :)