Real Food...Yes!

I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it feels to be feeling better. More importantly, I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it feels to be EATING again! I've had more than enough dry toast, brown rice pasta, and rice crackers to last a lifetime. Unfortunately, although yesterday was the first day I began to feel human again, my poor hubby woke up this morning feeling ill. Oh, sickness...the gift that keeps on giving! At least my little monkey boy is feeling well, *cross my fingers**!!

So, last night, while all 3 of us were feeling good, we had a fun little meze-style dinner, highlighted by the Shabby Sheik Hummus out of Appetite for Reduction. If you don't make your own hummus, you really should. It is so easy to do and it tastes so much better than store-bought...AND it is insanely cheaper, too. This version of hummus is flavored with cumin, smoked paprika, and some cayenne pepper. I substituted chili powder because my tummy no-likey cayenne :) I also cooked up some millet and pan-grilled some eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash. I sliced up the veggies and marinated them in some Italian dressing for a few hours. I was going to grill them outside, but then I got lazy and decided to just pan-grill them instead. I found that putting a heavy cast-iron weight on top of the veggies helped them cook faster and get those nifty grill marks.

Finally, I assembled our plates: some millet, some grilled veggies, a little hummus, some mini whole-wheat pitas, and some raw baby carrots and cucumbers.

You could change up your veggies, or roast them, or try some other kind of dip, like baba ganoush or some tapenade. I liked the balance of flavors, textures, and nutrients this meal offered. I should really dig out my copy of Olive Trees & Honey and get some more meze inspiration! This was a fun meal that would be great for company.