shwarma confessions.

I've got some.

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Nothing racy, I just realized this week that I really believe in shoarma, specifically Amsterdam shoarma as an Idea of Wonderful Potential. I'm not trying to start any "yeah whatever my city's shoarma can kick your city's shoarma's ass etc etc etc" battles, so calm down.

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Other than today, I don't think I've ever actually left the house intending to have a shoarma. It's just kind of everywhere, all the time. It's one of those "I had 11 beers tonight and now it's three in the morning, if I don't eat something right now there will be trouble" foods, but it's got a wholesome side as well: pre-spiced and -cut lamb for shoarma is in every grocery store. It's a non-exotic dinner staple.

The thing I realized yesterday or so, and the probable reason that I am so pro-shoarma at the moment, is that...the only place I ever eat shoarma is in my apartment.

There are a number of benefits to this, including the possibility of skipping the normal arc from "wow that's a good sandwich" to "how do I get home from here" to "man I need to pee" to "zzzzzzzzzzz". You can just kind of aim for going to sleep directly at the end of the sandwich (important to time this right, though...can someone remind me who just told me a story about falling asleep with a shoarma propped on their chest?).

But really the big win is: this way, you see, I can control the range and application of condiments with the punishing awesomeness that is my culinary trademark. In fact lately I've been skipping the bread and just making a shawarma salad (different spelling looks better): lamb, pickled cukes, sriracha, mint, cilantro, toasted pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, yoghurt, tarator, lettuce, etc. You really don't miss the bread.

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I also went to Scheveningen for the first time, but no I didn't have a Scheveningse shoarma. I did sweat a bunch and drink a couple of expensive beers. The whole thing kind of reminded me of Miami, but not in a bad way.

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tahinli tarator.

1/2 cup tahini (yeah...it depends on your tahini quite a bit, adjust with water if you're too thick)
slightly less than 1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp water
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp parsley, finely chopped
pinch of cumin

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