Grape Leaves and Eggplant

Katie and I danced with our folk dance group at a local Mediterranean Festival yesterday. In return, we were given a free dinner. Now historically, I have had a reasonably adventurous palate, but this plate pushed the limits of my experience. We had ground lamb mixed with rice, dipped in vinegar and lemon juice, and wrapped with grape leaves into an egg-roll-sized bundle. Next to this was a salad composed entirely of chopped herbs, such as parsley, cilantro, celery leaves, and onions. Such things have their place as accents or seasonings, but they are strong when eaten by the mouthful. On the side was a bowl of something which looked like hummus, but rather than being made from chickpeas, it was made from eggplant, and spiced in such a way so as to insure than no one but a Turk or a Tunisian could eat it with enjoyment.

All these and other similarly exotic dishes were consumed in the midst of a scholarly discourse from one of our fellow folk dancers. As he described the foods we were eating, he rattled off names which I cannot pronounce, much less hope to spell.

After it all, our family motto (one of them) still stands:

Never turn down free food.