Sesame paste

Monday night I used tahini for the first time. I was prepared for its paste-like consistency, similar to that of peanut butter. I was even prepared for the separation of the paste from its natural oils, which you have to mix together. I was not, however, prepared for how difficult it ended up being to thoroughly blend the separated mixture to an edible form, nor was I prepared for how disgusting it would look in the process. Hal heard many an "ew" and "gross!" coming from the kitchen before he came to my rescue.

But ultimately it did its job and transformed our eggplant dip into the right consistency, putting me one step closer to matching that of The Greek Village's recipe.

Yes, this dip (which was on its way to our mini food processor) may look gross, but it's very tasty with warm pitas and flatbreads. Tahini by itself? Not so much.

And when Hal had trouble locating the tahini in the grocery store, he suggested we make our own. Ha! I couldn't imagine how many sesame seeds you'd need to ground, and thanks to the stuff that comes in a can, I don't have to.