A Light Summer Meal

During the summer, I prefer light--often vegetarian fare.

A few days ago I made this meal which Meg called "very refreshing."

Hummus, Cucumber Yogurt Salad, an assortment of grape and cherry tomatoes, an assortment of olives, feta and whole wheat pita.

With it Gana and I enjoyed an Armenian Pomegranate Wine.

Here are the recipes:

Mediterranean Hummus

1 sprig fresh Rosemary

2 cloves garlic, peeled.

1 pound garbanzo beans

approximately 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

approximately 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

approximately 1/4 cup water

salt to taste

1. Soak beans overnight. Drain and then boil in fresh water until very soft. Drain.

2. Strip the leave from the stem of the Rosemary and put in a food a food processor with the garlic. Pulse until chopped. I left some leaves almost whole, though. I think it looks nice.

3. Add beans and process. Add evoo, vinegar and water, alternating until the hummus is to the consistency you like. Taste occasionally to adjust the flavors. Add salt.

4. Chill for several hours or overnight to have the flavors blend.

I served it with a little olive oil drizzled on top and sprinkled with paprika.

Persian Cucumber Yogurt (Maast-o Khiar)

I followed this recipe very loosely. I used the Mediterranean cheese-style yogurt from Trader Joe's. I omitted the shallot, because I didn't have one. And I used a little less dill than it calls for. I also used two cloves of garlic.

Put garlic, salt, and dill in a mortar. Crush with the pestle. Let sit for a few minutes so the salt can work on the garlic. Crush it some more until it's like a paste. Put it in a bowl with the prepared cucumber and yogurt. Clean out the mortar and pestle. Crush a few peppercorn with the pestle. Add to the other ingredients and mix well.

Let sit for one hour to blend flavors.