What’s For Lunch

I go through food phases where I can eat the same thing for days and weeks. A few months ago, I went through a hummus phase. I have eaten hummus before, of course, but I never had any as good as Natasha’s. After eating her freshly made hummus I became obsessed with it and started making it from scratch daily for weeks. Before my brother was due to arrive for a small visit to DC, I asked him what kind of food he liked, and what he wanted me to cook for him. He told me “hummus”! I was so excited that my brother liked hummus also, that I served it to him every meal for his whole visit. He told me that he makes it with extra garlic and uses a “mihras” (mortar and pestal) to soften the ingredients. I guess we went through the same phase together.


Here was a typical dinner during my hummus phase. Hummus with olive oil, meat, pine nuts, and pita bread.


Here is where I started to get extravagant with the hummus adding tomatoes, avocados, eggs, harrisa,meat, pine nuts, and pita. My husband looked at it and said, ”Do you have enough protein there?” He asked if I started bodybuilding.



After my brother left I got tired of hummus and since the weather turned cold again I switched to nice hot bowls of chili. My husband was working from home one day and surprised me with some homemade chili when I got home from work. It was really delicious, but since I was still into hummus I didn’t think too much about it. After I got tired of the hummus, I moved right into the chili. My enthusiasm for my new dish forced me to expand on my husband’s recipe, so I went out and bought bags of vegetables.




I’ve been going to work more often lately, so I brought a big bowl of chili everyday for weeks. My husband is used to me so I don’t have to give him any explanations about my “phases” or my moods. I could eat grass and fried rat and he wouldn’t even question me. He knows that I don’t like to be asked too many questions so he leaves me a alone with my “unique” habits. At work though it is another story. My coworker asked me every single day what my plans were for lunch and if I brought my own. Each day I would tell her “chili”. Her answer was always,” Again?”
Yes, again and again and again and she should thank her lucky stars that I haven’t had a fried fish phase.
Last Monday while I was making a new batch of chili, I told my husband that I shouldn’t bring it to work anymore. Everyone was starting to notice how often I had been bringing chili to work and I think they think I have some sort of problem.
I haven’t had chili since Tuesday and I miss it. Time for a new dish. Hmmm…. if I only knew how to make the Egyptian Kushari!!!!!!! That is the dish I had everyday when I went to Egypt.