Hummus

• 1 big can of chickpeas
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tbls tahini (sesame paste, you can use smooth peanut butter if you really need.)
• 2-4 tbls olive oil
• 2-4 tbls water
• Juice of 3 lemons
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Place garlic in work bowl of food processor and pulse a few times to chop it up.
2. Add chickpeas, tahini and lemon juice and start processor
3. Stream in olive oil to taste followed by enough water to make it process smooth. The amounts are variable -- you can use no olive oil at all and just water, or you could use all olive oil. I like a mix.
4. Stop processor, taste and add salt and pepper until it's seasoned to your liking.
5. During the garlic phase you could also add fresh mint, parsley, roasted red peppers, anything you want the hummus to be flavored with. Also, too garlic-y? Reduce the amount of garlic. Too lemon-y? Reduce the lemon. This is one dish where it's really up to you to make it like you want it.

Babaganoush

• 2 medium sized eggplants, female if possible
• 4 tbls tahini
• 2 tbls cumin, toasted and ground
• 1/4 cup tightly packed fresh mint
• 2-4 tbls olive oil
• Juice of 3 lemons
• 3 cloves garlic

1. Roast eggplants, pierced to let steam out, for 45-70 minutes in a 350°F oven until soft. Split in half and let cool completely.
2. Chop the garlic and mint in the workbowl of the food processor and add remaining ingredients, except olive oil.
3. Turn on food processor and stream in oil until an emulsion is formed. Season to taste.

Grilled Lamb Canapes

• 1 lbs leg of lamb, de-boned and trimmed almost entirely of fat.
• 10 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup fresh rosemary, chopped roughly
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tbls kosher salt, 1 tbls freshly ground black pepper.

1. Place all ingredients in a zip top bag, and let marinate for 2-10 hours in fridge.
2. Get either charcoal grill or stovetop grill plate going over high heat and lube grill surface.
3. Remove lamb from marinade and let excess oil drip off.
4. Grill lamb until it's crusty outside with an internal temp of 130°F, wrap in foil and let rest for 30 minutes.
5. Serve on top of crusty baguette rounds or toast with Tzatziki sauce, garnish with fresh mint if desired.

Tzatziki

This probably is totally off the mark from real Tzatziki, but whatever, I never claimed to be Middle Eastern.

• 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped.
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 3 tbls mint, cut chiffonade
• 1 tbls ground toasted cumin
• 1 cucumber, seeds removed, small dice
• 2 containers greek-style yogurt (I use Fage 0%)
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix everything together, let sit in fridge for at 2 hours to come together.