Hummus - Mother's Bistro

Ingredients

• 2 15 ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), (Love Note 1) (drained and rinsed )
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon cold water
• 5 large cloves garlic, finely chopped ((about 2 tablespoons))
• ⅔ cup fresh lemon juice ((about 4 medium lemons))
• 2½ tsp salt
• 1⅓ cups tahini (sesame paste) (stirred well)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp sambal oelek (spicy chili paste) (optional (Love Note 2))
• 4 kalamata or other black olives (optional)
• Warmed pita bread or pita chips (Love Note 3), or cut raw vegetables such as carrots, cucumbers, zucchini and celery