Pita Chips

I admit to being exceedingly fond of Trader Joe's hummus and have been experimenting with recipes for homemade pita chips to eat with the hummus. I've finally hit upon the right combination of pita, oven temperature and time and have developed a delicious and dependable recipe for low fat, crispy pita chips. It's important to use very thin pita. Thicker pita, which is great for sandwiches, does not get very crisp.

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Spray a small amount of oil onto a jelly roll pan and spread it with a paper towel or pastry brush so the pan is very lightly coated.
• Cut up 2-3 large pitas (about 12 inches in diameter) from a package of very thin, not puffy pita bread, such as pita from Alkhyam Bakery in Chicago. I like to cut the pita into long strips about an inch or so wide and then cut the strips to form squares. I don't split the pockets apart.
• Lay the pieces of pita out in a single layer on the sheet.
• Sprinkle lightly with table salt.
• Bake at 375 for 7-9 minutes, until the chips turn light brown. (In my oven I find 8-9 minutes gets them good and crispy.)
• Cool and then store in an airtight container.

These are really tasty, albeit a little delicate, and they have very little fat. And they are oh, so easy and inexpensive to make.

Unusual October

October is generally one of my favorite months, but this year it has been gloomy and we've had record breaking amounts of rain. The wet days have been punctuated, here and there, by a dry sunny day, only to revert to rain in a day or two. The rain has beaten many of the leaves off the trees early, so we've lost some of the fall color we would normally have. It also makes it hard to deal with the dogs, neither of whom particularly likes to go out in the rain. When I can coax them outside either due to a break in the rain, or out of their own desperation, I then have to wipe their paws are they come back inside, and there has been a little too much paw wiping for their comfort as well as mine. Tomorrow is supposed to provide some respite, so I hope to get out with my camera and seek a little color before all the leaves have dropped.

Sam and Maya

Birding from Bed

As I lie awake in bed on spring mornings, I listen to, and can identify many of the birds by their songs and calls:  The insistent chew chew chew chew of the cardinal, the warbling trill of the house wren, "match, match, match, pleaaase turn on the tea kettle" from the song sparrow, and the "weep" of the great crested flycatcher.

This morning I awoke much earlier than I would have liked and normally I would have turned over and tried for more sleep had I not glanced out my window.  Just outside my bedroom is a large sweet gum, its branches occupying much of my view. But it was movement in a very distant oak that caught my eye.  There seemed to be a lot of activity in the large tree whose leaves are barely open.  By chance, my binoculars were within reach so I picked them up despite feeling fairly certain that the birds were too far off to identify by sight.  As I scanned the branches I saw a bird flitting about amongst the limbs. I focused in as best I could through window and screen and caught a flash of bright magenta. It was a fleeting glimpse so I didn't know for sure whether I was imagining the color.  Although holding my binoculars above me while on my back was becoming more uncomfortable, I scanned the tree again and soon saw a bird of similar size fly from a branch and noted its large white rump patch. A deep pink breast and a large white rump; I was viewing handsome rose-breasted grosbeaks feeding among the tiny leaves and dangling flowers of the oak.  What a lovely start to the morning and the month of May!