{"id":2565,"date":"2010-08-13T02:58:47","date_gmt":"2010-08-13T06:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/?p=2565"},"modified":"2010-08-13T02:59:24","modified_gmt":"2010-08-13T06:59:24","slug":"whats-for-lunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/whats-for-lunch\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s for lunch?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>So a few weeks ago, I decided I needed to make some changes in my life and start eating healthier.\u00a0 I figured the best way to do this was to experiment with Middle Eastern cuisine, because:<\/p>\n

1) it’s healthy,
\n2) it’s cheap, and
\n3) it’s fun!<\/p>\n

First, I made a batch of pita bread, using this recipe<\/a> (with 2 tbs sugar instead of 1).\u00a0 Pita bread is way easy to make; just roll them out and toss in the oven for four or five minutes.\u00a0 After letting the dough rise, it usually takes me about 45 minutes to an hour to make a batch.<\/p>\n

Pita bread is both cheap and tasty.\u00a0 A batch of pita bread roughly equals as much as a loaf of bread and costs considerably less (considering each ingredient by amount used).\u00a0 One thing I’ve found, though, is that pita bread doesn’t keep very well–after only a week, it starts getting moldy.\u00a0 This happens regardless of whether or not it’s refrigerated.<\/p>\n

I’ve tried letting the dough sit in the refrigerator overnight to enrich the flavor, but I’ve found that doing that makes the final product drier and more crumbly.\u00a0 Besides, I can barely taste the difference.\u00a0 It takes a bit more time, but I prefer cooking it right after letting the dough rise, usually for 90 minutes to an hour.<\/p>\n

Next, I made the hummus.\u00a0 Store bought hummus is ridiculously<\/strong> expensive, especially considering that you can make it yourself from relatively cheap ingredients found in any American grocery store.\u00a0 The one possible exception to that is the tahini<\/a>, but you can still make a tasty batch of the stuff without it.<\/p>\n

To make the hummus, I used:<\/p>\n