"A popular practice is beginning the meal with a bite of freshness - whether it's an Israeli-Lebanese diced salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions; a profusion of herbs rolled up in lavash flatbread with a little feta cheese in the Persian manner; or a selection of fresh and grilled vegetable meze."
"Food fusion, a modern concept to many of us, has been happening here for millennia as a result of commerce, conquests, and the movements of tribes and ethnic groups."
"Locals love grapes but do not usually cook with wine. Instead, they use pomegranate, citrus, and other fruit juices, as well as dried fruit like raisins and dried apricots, to give a tangy sweetness to their entrees. They also use treasured fruits, such as dates and figs, to sweeten the daily diet and make desserts."
"Certain key ingredients, such as fava beans, pomegranate paste, baharat spice mix, halloumi cheese, and lavash flatbread , give dishes their Mideast identity." [My note: Lavash is so, so, so good! Trader Joe's sells a really tasty version. I will attempt to make it, but I've read it's quite difficult to do well.]
"The Middle Eastern menu has the same nutritious characteristics as the Mediterranean diet... The research found less chronic disease and the highest life-expectancy rates in southern Italy, Greece, and notably, the island of Crete, which had the lowest heart disease rates of all... Crete is the gateway to the Middle East and its people share many of the eating patterns of the other eastern Mediterranean countries."
By the way, the countries I'm including in "Middle East" is Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, and Iran.
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