Celebration!

My co-author and I have just submitted a paper to a peer-reviewed journal for a possible publication. It took us a year to complete, and we are terribly proud of our achievement. Submitting it in no way guarantees publication, but not submitting it guarantees LACK of publication, so we were celebrating increasing our odds ;-)

I bought myself a cookbook for Christmas, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden. While some may complain it is short on flashy pictures, I think that the ultra-clear directions suffice. In addition to recipes, the book is filled with cultural notes and historic anecdotes. A true pleasure to read for anyone interested in the link between the people and their food. The dishes you see before us are: hummus, baba ganoush, and a Moroccan carrot and raisin salad. Yum!