We just finished our Greek Mythology unit in reading. This year my kids got so “into” it. I mean the kids usually  enjoy reading the Storynory version of the Iliad and the Odyssey, but my class this year has been consumed by everything Greek. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is the new most popular book in my library, and I have several boys who can’t get enough of the Greek basket in my library (this basket includes Greek Myths and nonfiction books about Ancient Greece). The other day at pickup, the sky was very ominous looking and it was blustery and drizzly. The student I was taking to the car shouted over the the howling wind, “We must have angered the gods!” Gotta love it!

I usually let my kids try hummus at the end of the Greek mythology unit, but last summer I got really into making my own hummus. Naturally, I decided to make hummus with them instead. This was one of the funniest experiences to date. The kids LOVED it. They wanted to taste and smell everything that I put in the food processor, and one of my girls repeated “This is the best day ever!” over and over again with every ingredient. Here is “Greek Hummus” in pictures:

Everyone wanted to try a garbanzo bean…

Put it all in the food processor

Little bit of lemon…

And we mash em’, we mash em’

A little math problem. We have 5 pitas, there are 18 students and 1 teacher in our class. How many pieces should we cut each pita into?

Eat it! Some kids loved it, some kids hated it, one kid said he liked it, then told me later that he “fake liked it”, whatever that means :)

Here is my recipe for Greek Hummus:

• 1 can of garbanzo beans (chick peas)–drained, but reserve liquid
• A few squirts of lemon juice (about a table spoon)
• A good shake of salt (maybe a teaspoon or two)
• A palm full of cumin (1-2 table spoons)
• 1 heaping spoon full of Tahini
• 2 cloves of garlic

Put everything together in your food processor and let ‘er whirl. Add some of the bean liquid until you have a smooth consistency. Serve with pita!

**Note: You know how much I love Picasa…here’s another reason! I used the editing program “Picnik” in Picasa online to pixelate my pictures for obvious privacy reasons. You don’t need to a fancy photo editor to make your student pictures Internet friendly!