8 ounces dry linguine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ounce canned tomato paste
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup black olives, sliced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup feta, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh basil
water

1. Boil salted water and add linguine and cook until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter with tomato paste in a large skillet and add garlic, olives, tomatoes and basil.
3. When pasta is done, add the cream to the sauce and toss pasta to coat.
4. Top with feta cheese and serve.

Makes 4 servings

19 ounces canned chick peas
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
salt and pepper

1. Pulse chick peas and garlic in a food processor until smooth.
2. Gradually work in the oils and lemon juice, scrapping the bowl as necessary.
3. Stir in the cumin, salt and pepper and serve with pita bread or vegetables.

Makes 8 servings

We went to a house warming party for a friend of ours tonight. We brought Hummus as an appetizer, along with some pita bread, naan and baby carrots. There were other foods as well that basically ended up being our dinner. I've made hummus quite a few times now and have experimented with a variety of recipes. By fluke I stumbled upon one that I happen to favor. Instead of using tahini, I use extra virgin olive oil and a little bit of sesame oil. It gives it a little bit more punch.

I figured I should showcase more than just hummus, so when I got home I whipped up a Greek Linguine dish with the leftovers in the fridge. Black olives from the Tapanade, tomato paste from the Moroccan Vegetable Tajin and feta from the Asparagus with Feta.

Since I only recently started writing out recipes, I didn't realize this before. Apparently I follow a quarter cup technique for pasta that works quite well. Basically, take a quarter cup of anything that happens to be complimentary and add it to pasta with either wine, butter or cream (or all 3) and you'll have a tasty sauce.