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When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.

Mahatma Gandhi

I have recently travelled to Seattle to be with a friend who is going through a difficult time. I have no earthly idea how long I will be here, and am okay with that. The only thing I am sure of at this point, is that she needs support, I am available, and that’s enough.

Mediterranean Whole Wheat Pita Bread and Hummus: Pure and Simple

Flashback to several years ago, when I first had the privilege of meeting my friend. I was in need of a place to live while working on a temporary assignment in the Emerald city of Seattle. It also happened to be one of the darkest, most painful periods of my life. My feet had been knocked out from underneath me, nothing was certain, and I walked around living and breathing, but numb to my inner core.

My friend and I met through Craigslist of all places. We corresponded via email only a few times, but something clicked between us. When I arrived at her home, she greeted me with a smile and a glass of wine. Her home was magnificent, in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable. My soul was stirred. Even though I didn’t know it at the time, God was using this wonderfully giving woman and the calm and serene surroundings about me to restore me from the inside out.

I am extremely grateful for the time I had in this place during that time. The moment in time given to me was exactly what I needed. Those three months spent here changed me profoundly. It was no accident nor bit of happenstance. It was planned out in detail for my circumstances then and for her circumstances now. My restoration and healing then, her restoration and healing now. I just love how God works, don’t you?

One of my favorite restaurants is a a little hole in the wall Middle Eastern Restaurant located in San Marcos, California. Whenever I am in the area I make a point of stopping in and ordering up a falafel sandwich with a side of fresh homemade hummus. It is literally the best I have tasted anywhere besides a little roadside stand in Bethlehem where I had my first taste of Middle Eastern Food.

Seeing that San Marcos is about 1100 miles away from Boise, I decided to try my hand at making my own. I am so glad I did. There is nothing like freshly baked pita bread, hot off the griddle, dipped in a creamy hummus with an earthy olive oil on top. Don’t take my word for it though, try it out and you be the judge. You can thank me later.

Mediterranean Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Hummus With Roasted Garlic

Recipe for Hummus With Roasted Garlic shared with:

The Country Cook’s

Weekend Potluck

The 21st Century Housewife: Hearth and Soul Tuesday Blog Hop

“The secret of happiness is variety, but the secret of variety, like the secret of all spices, is knowing when to use it.” – Daniel Gilbert

Cooking can be intimidating. Just take a look around. There are Food Channels, Web Sites and Social Media like Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+.

Numerous search engines, all ready and waiting to give important information on the hows, whats and whys of cooking. And then there are a gazillion (is that a word?) recipes for everything under the sun, from boiling water, all the way to making Julia Child’s Soupe a L’Oignon Gratinee des Trois Gourmandes (interpretation: good old onion soup). Again I say, cooking can be intimidating.

I am no expert on cooking and I haven’t been trained in the latest culinary arts. I still do pretty well in the kitchen. So, what’s my secret? This leads me to the first of the Three Easy Ways to Cook Like a Pro: Don’t be afraid to experiment and to fail. Let me tell you I have had my share of failures, but as I have learned to trust myself and get out of my comfort zone a bit, as Emeril says, I have been able to “kick it up a notch”.

The second of Three Easy Ways to Cook Like a Pro: Take advantage of all the wonderful herbs and spices available to flavor your dishes. If your not sure what spices go well with what foods check out this Herb & Spice Chart from About.Com. Experiment, play, have fun with your food. Don’t take yourself too seriously.

And lastly. Three Easy Ways to Cook Like a Pro: Layer your foods with flavor. Let me give an example of what I mean by this. Let’s begin by making a beef stew. One of the first things to be done when making stew is to brown the meat, usually with an oil like canola or olive oil. Using the premise of layering food flavors, I might choose to substitute an infused garlic oil , or infused rosemary oil to brown the meat with instead, to create an additional layer of flavor with only a minimal amount of effort. Each step adds another layer. So be sure to flavor as you go for the best depth of flavor and taste.

Three easy ways to cook like a pro. Simple, easy and fun. Now go forth and cook!