Mediterrano

I make dinner almost every night. My family loves the cuisines of the various countries that surround the Mediterranean Sea (For the record, they are: Gibraltar, Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, Malta, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco). We eat this food for health reasons, yes, but mainly because it's varied, simple, and incredibly delicious. We (and that includes Maddie) like our food spicy, bold, and interesting, so we go through a very large amount of just about every kind of spice and herb you can think of. I think we could keep a stall in the Delhi spice market in business.

Yesterday we made one of our frequent trips to Penzeys Spices for a major re-supply. This is always a fun thing because the store smells great, and I always find something new and exciting to try. This time it was Mahlab, the pit of the sour cherry. It has been used in Turkey and Syria for thousands of years to add an interesting flavor to breads such as Qurban. So, off I go to find ways to integrate this into our ever-expanding palette of flavors.

Incidentally, I really think it's a great thing for the kids, this kind of cooking. For one thing, it gives them a full and nutritious diet, full of interesting textures and flavors. Maddie loves Hummus. Zach is crazy about Indian curries. Heather likes Channa Masala and I am a seafood stew nutcase. But even more than that it introduces them to a world of different foods, something they will not get by going to Bennigans or eating something microwaved that slid out of a frozen box. We all do what we can, and I am glad that I can do this for my family, who I love so much.