In a mixing bowl combine meat with garlic and onion. Splash bread with enough cold water to moisten the bread, then squeeze out excess liquid and crumble into the bowl. (This really keeps the meatballs nice and moist. But, with the turkey or chicken meatballs, be sure to add an extra 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs in addition to the soaked bread, or cut down on the egg, because ground poultry is so much less dense than the other ground meats.) Add egg, cumin, parsley, salt, and pepper to taste. Blend thoroughly to a smooth paste.

With lightly oiled hands, divide the meat into roughly 10 balls. For dinner, we usually make 11/2 to 2-inch balls, but for party appetizers, we make them more like 1-inch in diameter.)

Heat oil in a deep pan over medium-high heat, and fry meatballs until nicely browned on all sides. Add water to the pan, reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until meat is cooked through. Time will vary depending up which meat you use, and desired doneness. For example, we prefer the red meatballs cooked on the rare side, but the turkey needs to be completely cooked. Cooking time will take anywhere from 10-20 minutes after browning.

Add roasted red pepper and tomato sauce (recipe below) to the pan and heat until both sauce and meatballs are hot.

Serve with a side of hummus and warm pita bread. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese.

Preheat oven to 425⁰ F. Prepare a casserole dish or baking sheet with cooking spray.

Cut tomatoes in half and peppers in quarters. Mix olive oil with garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Coat peppers and tomatoes with this mixture.