DEAR SUN SPOTS: Last year or so the Sun Journal had a series of stories titled “Tough Times, Smart Money.” I am especially interested in the segment with recipes, specifically the one for homemade hummus and tortilla chips. I did copy it but cannot find it in my elaborate filing system — ha! I would appreciate it if you could reprint them. Thank you. — Danielle via e-mail

ANSWER: Here are the requested recipes, provided by Ashley Edwards, a Lewiston dietitian who works for Central Maine Bariatric Surgery. She said this recipe is less expensive to make than buying already prepared.

Oven-baked tortilla chips

Ingredients:

Twelve 6-inch whole grain tortillas or six 6-inch whole grain pita pockets that have been cut into two round halves

2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

Salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush each side of each tortilla or pita pocket lightly with oil. Cut each tortilla into eight wedges. Place tortilla wedges on a single layer of a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly brown and crispy, turning halfway during cooking time.

Hummus (healthy and tasty dip)

Ingredients:

1 can of chickpeas, drained, reserve ¼ cup of the liquid

¼ cup chopped white onion

½ teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh, squeezed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground red pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon dried basil

Directions: Place all ingredients in food processor. Blend until smooth. Serve with vegetables, whole grain crackers, or baked tortilla chips.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: The attached article with a recipe for berry-rhubarb sauce was in The Taste of Home magazine many years ago. I have used it for a long time. I have made copies for friends and given many jars to many people. I have many people who give me all I want of rhubarb. The sauce is very easy to make. — John Kezal, Rumford

ANSWER: Sun Spots is unable to print the recipe Mr. Kezal sent along without violating the copyright. Unfortunately, copyrights on recipes are a recurring problem for the column.

Recently a reader remonstrated Sun Spots for referring readers to websites rather than providing the recipe for strawberry-rhubarb pie. Sun Spots always tries to help with a recipe, but most of the recipes online are covered by copyright regulations, and Sun Spots cannot reprint them without getting the Sun Journal into trouble.

Unfortunately for readers who don’t have computers and don’t want to get one, sources for information continue to move online. However, there is a way out of this conundrum: your local public library. Providing technology services is becoming a bigger part of libraries’ mandates every year, and in most larger libraries you will find someone willing to help you find items.

You will have better luck if you visit the library when they are not so busy, say a weekday morning, rather than Saturday afternoon.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Does anybody have a “Great Ground-Beef Recipes” book published by Family Circle in 1965? I have the chicken one, but I seem to have misplaced my beef copy. Thank you! — Shirley Cote, 38 Wyman Hill Road, Rumford, ME 04276, oebernard@hotmail.com

ANSWER: There are many used copies available on Amazon.com, starting at 1 cent plus shipping. You may call Amazon at 1-800-201-7575.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: In response to the recent inquiry about Cooper’s, I took color motion pictures of the restaurant on my day off one summer in 1983. The buildings were gray at the time.

I worked for the Lewiston Post Office for 30 years, retiring in 2007. This was a favorite place for the letter carriers to meet and have lunch almost every day.

I filmed a lot of downtown Lewiston that day. What a difference. Thirty years later, so many buildings gone now. — Wayne Viger, Turner, wcviger@msn.com

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be e-mailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.