CONFESSION: I used to be very narrowminded about vegetarian cuisine. When we first started Meatless Mondays back in November, we kept things really simple and traditional. Stir fries with tofu, and this, a simple falafel pita. I make my own falafel, mostly because I’m extremely picky about the texture. I like my falafel when it’s not at all mushy. I picked up my falafel mix at the local Mediterranean grocer (god how I love living in the melting pot that is Chicagoland!), but to be honest I think when this package is done I’ll be going back to the Casbah brand falafel that had a better flavor and texture for me.

I made the Israseli couscous with red pepper and some spices, then mixed in some mandarin oranges when it was done. A close second to my favorite couscous salad at Roti, but I was really happy with it.

With our new house comes a new grocery store, and lucky for me, that’s Trader Joes. It’s playing a huge role in my meals now, and with this meal it was a star. Their Mediterranean yogurt sauce was delicious on the falafel and the kalamata olives were super yummy, but the stars of this meal were the Feta and Caramelized Onion Pastry Bites.

If they hadn’t been sampling these at the store, I’d never have known. These were so delicious they were like dessert. Since then, they’ve become a favorite side dish. I can’t recommend these enough!

Who knew a crappy little hole-in-the-wall restaurant would have one of the best meals out I’ve had in a long time? My friends and I had dinner at Taste of Lebanon in Chicago before seeing our friend Don play Tom Cruise in a reenactment of Legend at the Neo-Futurists Theatre and were treated to a dirt cheap meal with so much flavor that it had me craving more for the better part of a week.

My falafel (made with  Near East brand falafel mix), really, can hardly hold a candle to theirs, but it was mighty tasty. I actually prefer Casbah brand for flavor and texture.

It was also my first time making Maftoul, middle eastern couscous. It’s an interesting grain that was really delicious. To the broth I cooked it in I added the remaining water from the roasted red peppers, which added a great sweetness to the dish that reminded me of the couscous from my favorite lunch place when I worked in downtown Chicago, Roti. I wish I’d had some mandarin oranges to add to the side dish like they do there, but the carrots and roasted corn were great too. I look forward to making a cold salad like Roti’s with the Maftoul for my next potluck.

CONFESSION: Nearly all my über-gourmet ingredients come from the Clearance Bin. I can’t help it; I simply can’t pay full price for gourmet ingredients, and I don’t really care how fancy they are. $10 for infused grapeseed oil? Tell me $4 and we’ve got a deal. $6 for Japanese Panko breadcrumbs—hell no. But for $2, I won’t pass it up. Hell, for $2 there’s not much I’d pass up when it comes to gourmet goodies.

And so gourmet store clearance bins are a dangerous place. Ditto the bins at places like HomeGoods and Tuesday Morning. Where else can you get Black Truffle Olive Oil for $6, a good-sized jar of Vanilla Bean Paste for $7 or any number of really yummy luxury treats? So, of course, when we stopped at a gourmet store during Saturday’s Girl’s Day Out shopping trip I got a couple fun items and, with the determination to use shrimp for dinner tonight, came up with something incredible.

Frozen Shrimp is a tough purchase for me. Brand after brand tasted fishy and weird and so I eventually relegated shrimp to the “extra special meals” category, opting to only buy fresh and do my own peeling/de-veining. Thank the gods I found Supreme brand frozen shrimp. Just a $5 or $6 for a 1lb bag of it when it’s on sale, it’s almost too good to be true.

First I sautéed some thinly sliced red pepper, a leek, one clove of garlic and some oregano in some Basil & Garlic Grapeseed Oil. I peeled the tails off the shrimp and tossed them into the mix. When done, I tossed this with some Kalamata Olive Pesto and served it all alongside some canned Mediterranean Dolmas.

We served this with our favorite wine, Luccío Moscato d’Asti.