More Middle Eastern Food Memories

After my recent stuffed pepper meal, I headed to a nearby supermarket that carries imported food, to hunt for a jar of vine leaves, in order to make the Middle Eastern version of what was a staple meal when I was growing up: cabbage rolls.

In the Middle East, grape vine leaves are wrapped around a mixture of rice and meat and slow cooked, just as cabbage leaves are in East Europe. Vine leaves are much smaller, so of course the rolls are smaller too. But otherwise they are made in almost the same way, though the water vine rolls are cooked in can be either tomato-water or olive oil, lemon juice and and water. This recipe from Recipe Link has them cooked in a mix of water and olive oil.

I have grapes growing in my yard, and on occasion I have used them, but vine leaves are available in jars at supermarkets as well.

I was surprised to find, not only vine leaves, but cans of already stuffed zucchini...














And eggplant (another Middle Eastern favorite)...














And grape leaves...

So, of course, I had to try them! I see they are imported from Turkey.














Not quite as good as home-made, but they would be a welcome change from baked beans on a camping trip!