Shish Kebab!

Lebanon is a tiny Mediterranean country bounded by the countries Syria (on the northern and eastern borders) and Israel (on the south) and is part of the vast desert we know as the Middle East.  The Middle East conjoins Asia and Europe and as such is both a contributor and recipient of cultural gifts to and from its neighbors.  This is not to say of course that these wonderful people do not possess a culture of their own, for they do.  And how!  Shish kebab!  (I used to say this as an expression to replace some other word that can't be printed here.)

But.  I am not a historical nor a culinary expert.  Just an avid fan of food in all its form and origin. I am its mere student and as a student, I am curious to learn what people eat in other places of the earth.  I always ask friends what food they were able to eat in places they have visited especially when they have just arrived from a place I haven't been to.  I'm happy to say that the boy has acquired this interest too and has a very wide and varied, not to mention, grown up palate too.  

He likes wine in his stews, orders his steak rare and is used to eating food with more exotic spices.  Of course he still likes his pizzas and KFC, but I am glad he's got a very "open-minded" palate which allows him to experience the many different tastes out there.  Middle Eastern food is one of those cuisines he truly enjoys.  He even eats some I myself do not enjoy as much since I find some too aromatic for my taste.   Who knows?  Maybe one day, he'll even want to eat bread. 

Today I made this Lebanese dish the recipe of which came from the same blog, Taste of Beirut.  It's supposed to be this sandwich with Pita pockets for the bread.  He asked me to serve it with rice because the pita would get cold, it won't be so good, it's a mess to eat...to which I promptly replied "Ay Shish Kebab!"

Today's lunch:  Shish Taouk (Grilled Lebanese Chicken, done on a smokeless grill), some Buttered Rice with Roasted Peppers, Homemade Toom (Garlic Mayonnaise) and a Tiny bottle of Sriracha