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