Pita bread is very important in Middle Eastern food culture. It is eaten with many meals and has a variety of uses. There are even some fun, out of the ordinary ways to eat pita! However you eat your pita bread, nothing beats it when it is homemade. Don't get me wrong, it is easier to pick it up from the market, but the taste just isn't the same.

Pita may look difficult to make, but's it's actually pretty easy. Give it a try!

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_{Photo by Israel Talby}

I am going to be honest here with you. I am not really into strangely exotic foods or what could really be considered delicacies. You won't find me voluntarily munching on rattlesnake or even eating escargot. Call me boring, but I am a comfort food kind of guy.

I was flipping through the channels this morning and just happened to stop at a show called Bizarre Foods on the Travel channel. The host, Andrew Zimmern, I have deducted is either being paid quite generously for eating such foods or truly has a strange interest in eating, ummm, well bizarre foods to say the least! The episode I caught this morning featured Zimmern enthusiasticly searching a market for bull testicles. Lo and behold, he found them and ate them after they were fried in olive oil, of course. I was sickened by it, yet I still watched. He moved onto eating the entrails of steamed crabs. Heavily piled onto what appeared to be a cracker, the green mush of digestive bliss was comsumed by Zimmern without hesitation. And that is when I had to turn it out. You see, I have eaten the entrails of steamed crab. As a child, someone put one on my plate. They forgot to tell me how to eat the thing. Little did I know that the stuff in the belly of the crab was off limits. A taste I had forgotten, but brought back by viewing Bizarre Foods.

Bizarre Foods of the Middle East?

The show did get me thinking about bizarre foods in the Middle East. While you can find sheep's brain and testicles in some markets, its not as if people eat them daily or even are popular. Personally, I have no interest in eating those parts of animals. But could find such things if I truly wanted to. I guess taste in is the mouth of the beholder.

What kind of bizarre foods have you eaten? Let us know in the "Comments" section below!

Tabouleh is a salad like no other. Made with fresh veggies, olive oil and spices, it can be eaten in pita bread, scooped onto pita bread, or traditionally with a fork. In the Middle East, fresh grape leaves are used as a scoop. Tabouleh can be made with a variety of veggies according to taste. You can add carrots, cucumbers, red or green onions. I always suggest to taste as you go along in preparation.

More Fantastic Middle Eastern Salad Recipes:

• Fattoush Recipe
  
• Khyar Bi Laban - Cucumber Yogurt Salad
  
• Hwerneh - Mustard Green and Yogurt Salad

There are so many ways to eat pita bread. In my home, we have pita bread everyday, and the children have especially come up wuth fun ways to eat pita. From breakfast to lunch, there are ways to make pita part of your day! Read more...

Labneh is strained yogurt and has a cheeselike consistency. It makes a great alternative to sour or cream cheese. Spread it on bread, bagels, or fresh pita. It is popular for breakfast in the Middle East.

How do you like your labneh? Leave your comment below! Don't forget to sign up for the free About Middle Eastern Food newsletter - Sign up now!

_{Photo copyright Edward Karaa}

If you haven't guessed yet, it was a kebab weekend at the Fayed house. My five year old daughter asked why we eat things off of a stick (verbatim) as she chowed down on a shish kebab. I have to admit that I didn't have an immediate answer for my oh-so-inquisitive offspring. I eventually told her that it is an traditional form of cooking and it allowed different flavors to mesh together, while cooking at the same time. Okay, so that was a little over my little one's head, so I had to go a different route.

We made fruit kebabs together, alternating fresh fruits like bananas and strawberries. We let them sit for a half hour, and BAM - meshed fruit flavors. She completely got it.

So, if your child ever asks why you choose to eat meat off of a stick, feel free to use my weak, but effective example! Happy kebabing!

Middle Eastern Kebab Recipes

• Beef Shish Kebab
  
• Spicy Lamb Kebab
  
• Shrimp Kebab
  
• Samak Kebab
  
• Chicken Kebab
  

Naan is a flatbread found in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and other surrounding countries. Naan is served for dipping or stuffed with a variety of meats and vegetables. Toppings can also be placed in top of the bread.

Naan is like pita bread, yet softer and most of the time larger. It can be frozen in freezer bags for up to 30 days.

_{Photo (c) Kristen Johansen}

When in doubt, make a kebab. When I have no idea what to make for guests or don't want chicken or steak on the grill, I "kebab it"!

These days, you can throw anything on a skewer and call it a kebab, but the tried and true authentic Middle Eastern kebabs are the ones that really hit the spot. These are the kebabs that your guests will "ooh and ahh" over and beg you for your marinade recipe.

Vegetarian? No problem. Seasoned and even marinated vegetables threaded on a skewer are easy to make and so filling! Serve over a bed of rice or with some hummus, baba ghannouj, or even a cucumber-yogurt sauce for dipping.

In Cynthia Rowley's book "Swell Party" she talks about kebab bars, where lots of fresh veggies and meats are presented for the guests to make their own. Afterall, one may not like the veggies you have assembled. While this is a fantastic idea, it is not new. My family has been doing it for years. Offer a variety of veggies and meats like lamb, chicken and beef and have them created their own. You, as the host, do the grilling, of course!

Middle Eastern Kebab Recipes

• Beef Shish Kebab
  
• Spicy Lamb Kebab
  
• Shrimp Kebab
  
• Samak Kebab
  
• Chicken Kebab
  

When I was at the supermarket last week, I saw a young woman standing in front of the cooking oils. She had a puzzled look that I see many times in this supermarket aisle. With my kitchen ESP-like talent, I knew she had no idea what kind of oil to buy. Of course, I helped and the damsel in distress walked away with a good quality olive oil, instead of the vegetable oil she thought she needed.

If you frequently cook in the kitchen then you are probably familiar with using oil. Oil is used as an ingredient and is also used for frying. One of the most common cooking oils is vegetable oil, but do you really know what that is? Do you know what oils are best used for frying or the proper way to store it? Here you will find different types of common cooking oils and the proper use of each of them.

Tired of the same old vegetables as side dishes? Don't worry, most of us are. Why not try grilled asparagus with lemon and mint next time you cookout or prepare dinner. The mint really accents each crunch of asparagus.

Not only is it fast, it is so healthy! The kids will love it, too!

_{Photo (c)Daniel West}