The Gustatory Terrorist

[DISCLAIMER: The title of this blog post does not in any way indicate that I am an actual terrorist, nor that I support or approve of the doings of terrorists of any sort, nor that I actually believe the stereotype that things of Middle Eastern descent are necessarily associated with terrorism. This is merely an amusing name I made up for myself, musing to a politically conservative friend of mine that, having spent the morning making a Middle-Eastern-themed lunch, I had the edible "axis of evil" marinating in my refrigerator: Tabbouleh, Tztatziki, and Hummus, making me, the amateur cook, a "gustatory terrorist" of sorts.] (Now, really, was the title funny enough to be worth that full-paragraph explanation, written in paranoid, irrational fear of whoever in the government might be monitoring these blog posts, or any innocent individual of Middle Eastern descent who might be offended by my thoughtless generalization. To the government: please don't take my computer. To the Middle Eastern passerby: I apologize, and should not be taken seriously anyway.) 

Ok, so I wanted to make tabbouleh. Also, I wanted to make tzatziki sauce (that stuff is damn good). And then it simply made sense to make some hummus. So goes my idle morning in June. Plus, I took pictures. Perhaps this will turn out to be a food blog? A terrifically amateur and probably not-too-exciting food blog, but a food blog no less. At least I'll be enjoying myself. 

So here is my lovely, fresh, parsley-and-cucumbers-and-tomatoes-full tabbouleh salad:

And here is my dill, lemon, and garlic-spiked tzatziki sauce:

And here is my very-garlicky hummus: 

Here is the trifecta (or, perhaps, the axis...) of all three, arranged in attractive bowls: 

And here is the lovely lunch I made with them, plus some romaine, pita bread, and alfalfa sprouts:

Well, this has been a day well-spent. Despite all the dishes and counter-wiping :-) 

(By the way, the carrot cake was amazing, if I do say so myself, and it was rapidly demolished to a wee pile of crumbs at the party. I guess I should bake cakes more often.)