You say houmous, I say humus.

Humus has its origins in the ancient and dusty Middle East. It was not a happy beginning, though; apparently, impoverished Syrians introduced humus in order to save on the cost of meat. This act of economy was not overlooked by the Baghdadi ladies, who would sneer at the Syrians for their cheapness, saying things like, "The humble chickpea is no match for a hunk of meat!" However, humus tastes good, and so the dish spread rapidly, despite its unhappy start.
A quick note on my piece: I'm experimenting with different media. Here I've used watercolour, acrylic, pencil crayon and ink. Hmmm... too much? Oh, and collage too.
And if you want to know more about Middle Eastern dishes, Sami Zubaida, professor emeritus of Sociology and Politics at London University wrote a book called "Culinary Cultures of the Middle East."