We know we all love hummus. I do not know how much we really think about it though. The word hummus means chickpeas in Arabic. What Americans call hummus is actually refereed to hummus bi tahini in Arabic, meaning chickpeas with tahini. And just as the French have protected the word champagne, The Association of Lebanese Industrialists petitioned the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade in 2008 to protect hummus as a uniquely Lebanese food. Crazy talk.

Hummus has been around for awhile. The earliest documented hummus recipes, or something very similar to it, dated back to 13th century Egypt. Now, like so many other things, hummus is evolving. Hummus comes in every variety imaginable from roasted garlic to red pepper, toasted pine nut, spinach and artichoke, sun dried tomato, spicy, lemon, and jalapeno. Hummus dips are usually served with pita bread or vegetables but lately it is also becoming more common to see recipes using hummus, such as sandwich spread or salad dressing.

When hosting a party, I like serving hummus alongside classic mild salsa and spicy fresh guacamole. We all know salsa but I am finding that I need to tell people about the delicious wonderment of spicy fresh guacamole. I have found great store bought spicy fresh guacamole but I have my own recipe too. All it is is mashed up avocado with chopped onion, tomatoes, chili peppers, and seasoning. And salt of course. My spicy fresh guacamole requires salt to make it pop. After my guests got used to the green color, they jumped on the spicy fresh guacamole bandwagon. And there they shall remain. References.