Hummus traditionally is served as a dip for wedges of pita bread, or in wraps as a sauce. But there’s so much more you can do with hummus. First of all, making your own hummus is not difficult at all. The base is made with chickpeas or garbanzo beans, then you add lemon juice, tahini, crushed garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. I say “to taste” because I invariably end up adding more garlic and lemon than the recipe calls for. And then some. You can mix whatever makes sense to you with hummus. To add to the base, I have added plain yogurt, horseradish (not all together), chutney, red wine, even peanut butter. Yes, peanut butter. It’s delicious. Other ingredients you can add are: sun dried tomatoes, olives, avocado, onion, jalapeños, artichokes…whatever turns you on. You can add sweet ingredients such as dried apricots or raisins. Fresh herbs such as cilantro, mint, basil, etc. add to the flavor as well as the appearance. You can make the hummus chunky! Don’t puree the added ingredients with it, chop them up and stir them in! And it doesn’t have to be a dip!! You can make tuna fish or chicken salad with hummus instead of mayo! You can make pizza with hummus and other food items you like such as roasted red peppers and caramelized onions – throw in some chicken! One of my favorite dishes is sort of a hummus moussaka. One layer of sliced, grilled, eggplant, one layer of hummus, ground meat if you like, or without meat, and a layer of sautéed sun dried tomatoes, artichokes and onion topped with sprinkles of blue cheese. Bake just until the cheese melts. Serve with pita wedges and vegetables! So the next time you feel like having hummus, but are bored with the regular taste of it, throw in food items you wouldn’t have dreamed of combining with it and see what comes out! Of course, you would be using your judgment…I don’t know about chocolate and hummus, for example!