Baba Ghanoush

I had been craving it for a few days.  Delicious charred eggplant, lemon, tahini slathered on nice, warm pita bread.  So last night I finally gave in and made it.  So. Worth. It.

First, the scary part.  You have to char the eggplant to get that delicious smokey flavor.  Poke some holes in the eggplant, wrap it with a bunch of foil and place it over the open flame on a gas stove or a grill. Turn every five minutes or so.  It will take 15-30 mins, depending on the size of your eggplant.  I had medium ones and they took about 20 mins. Remove them when they feel squishy.  Yes, that's a technical term.

Let them cool a little then open the foil (watch out for the hot, escaping steam), split them open and place the eggplant pulp (not the skin) into a bowl.  Let it cool slightly then mash them with a fork (or you can put them in the food processor if you prefer a more pureed dip).  Add the rest of the ingredients (adjust for your personal taste) and enjoy.

Serve with pita bread, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, or just eat it straight out of the bowl.


2 eggplants roasted
1/4c tahini
1/8tsp chipotle powder
1 tsp cumin
1 lemon
1/2tsp salt

Drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika 

I can't wait until lunch time so I can eat this (along with the pita bread and hummus).

Pita bread, hummus, and tzatziki

Today's lunch consisted of  hummus, tzatziki and pita bread.  These recipes are all pretty easy to prepare and so much better than store bought stuff.  Enjoy! 

Pita Bread

Makes 8 pitas

3 1/2 cups flour (depending on your flour you may need a little less.  Start with 3c and add if it's too sticky)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 packet yeast 

1 1/4 cup room temp water (you may need a little more depending on your flour.  Start with 1 1/4 and work up until it's all incorporated but not too sticky to work with)

2 tablespoons olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, or shortening

Add yeast to water in a mixer (or a bowl if you're doing by hand) and stir to combine.  Add the flour, salt, sugar and oil and mix on low until combined. Knead on low for about 10 minutes. Check the dough and see if you need to add more flour.  If it's too sticky, add a little more at a time until feels like you can knead it by hand without having it stick to everything. Lightly coat a bowl with oil and put the dough in and cover with plastic wrap or a damp dish towel.  Let double in size (about 1 1/2-2 hours).  Once it's doubled, punch it down to release gas.  Divide dough into 8 equal portions.  Roll each portion into a ball and set on a greased cutting board.  Let rest 20 minutes.  While it's resting, place a cookie sheet upside down in the middle of your oven.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Once the dough has rested, on a floured workspace, roll out the balls into 1/4-1/8 inch thick pita.  Place on the the preheated cookie sheet (I did two at a time) and cook for about 3 minutes.  They will puff up beautifully!  Take them out of the oven and flatten the pita with a spatula. Continue until all 8 pitas are done.  You can store these in a plastic bag for several days. If they last that long.

Tzatziki
2 small contains plain yogurt
1 cucumber, deseeded and finely chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
1T vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of lemon zest or dried lemon peel (optional)
pinch of chipotle powder (optional)

Mix together.  Let chill in fridge for about 30 mins.  Enjoy.



Hummus recipe is linked here.

Life is good!