a taste for middle eastern cuisine

I really enjoy hummus and since chic peas are easy to find here, I make it a lot. A few days ago I also made some baba ghanoush... it's a middle eastern dip (similar in texture to hummus) but made with roasted eggplant. There is LOTS of eggplant where we live, so it's always good to have new ways to use it.

Of course, Julianna "helped" me make the baba ghanoush (she especially loves making anything that involves the food processor since it is so noisy and the food swirling around is fun to watch). I served it for lunch, along with the hummus and some pretzel sticks. Julianna ate gobs of both - she would scoop it with the pretzel, take a big bite, and lick the extra off her fingers.

Reminds me of our trip to the middle east (spring 06)... Julianna wasn't eating solid foods at that point, but she apparently picked up a taste for middle eastern cuisine while she was there!

here's one of my favorite photos from the trip - Julianna and me in Istanbul (that's the Blue Mosque in the background)