Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Tato, mozzarella sticks, and falafel

Two days off resulted in some high stress. For no real reason, mainly just concerned that I will not be able to pull off the real estate career. Despite my best efforts. I am sure it will all come together but I just get a little anxious sometimes.

Some of the highlights of the two days off is that Tato was here. In fact, he seems to have found himself a new place to sleep. He is an interesting character.


I have been glued to the playoff games. I even got a special TV station so that I can catch all the games and news I miss while at work. It has been a lot of fun but has hindered my time and motivation for cooking. So I stole some! A shirt time ago, I saw a recipe for vegan mozzarella sticks over at Hell Yeah Its Vegan! I have been following this blog for awhile and this was great and was the perfect playoff food.

At the vegan bake sale in Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe I grabbed some Teese and tried them out. They came out great and were fairly easy to make. A great recipe!

I also made some falafel. Now, I have eaten falafel all over the county and strangely the best falafel I have ever had was in Tulsa Oklahoma. Today was the first time I had made it. Same with the tahini dressing, and they all some out awesome.

Falafel

the patties

1 can of chicpeas
2 tablespoons of chicpea flour
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley (chopped)
2 teaspoons of fresh cilantro (chopped)
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of cumin
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of sesame seeds

Strain and rinse the chicpeas. In a large bowl, using a fork, mash the chicpeas. Once there are no large pieces remaining, add the remaining ingredients and mash until well blended together. Chill for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, complete the dressing portions and the prep portion of the sandwich of the falafel. Once chilled, heat frying oil (based on you pot size) to 375 degrees. You can also use the "water test" to make sure the oil is hot.

While the oil is heating, form chicpea mixture into 6 patties about twice the size of a quarter. Once the oil is hot, carefully begin to deep fry the patties. This should take about 3-5 minutes for each batch of patties.

Remove from oil and set on a paper towel to soak up some of the excess oil.


the dressing

2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of vegan unsweetened and unflavored yogurt
1/3 cup of cucumber (peeled)
2 tablespoons of tahini sauce
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 teaspoons of fresh parsley
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of sugar

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Chill.


the sandwich

2 pita breads
2 handfulls of greens
4 large slices of pickle
6 slices of cucumber
1 cup of cucumber (cubed)
3/4 cup of tomatoes (cubed)

With a sharp knife, slice the tops of the pita breads open so that you can assemble the sandwich. Gently stuff the pitas with the greens. Then add the cubed cucumber and tomatoes. Then take the chicpea patties and set 3 of them in the pita. Place the pickles and cucumber beside the patties and spoon the dressing over the top.

6 comments:

kmouse said...

You got me at falafel! Probably my favorite food. I never get sick of it!

Tato is adorable and his sleeping place is definitely interesting.

Just curious, how do you deal with high levels of anxiety/stress? I'm usually a very calm person but lately with work and all, I've been overly anxious and nervous. And like you, I've been known to worry and go over events in my head and stress out during my weekend when I should be letting them go and enjoying my time off.

Rach said...

The falafel looks delicious! I simply love falafel chawarma:)

Rachana said...

I love falafels!!! looks really delicious.

Tato is adorable :)

two vegan boys said...

Tato is super cute. Love it.

Sorry for the stress. It can be hard to start a new career. We are sending lots of good wishes your way.

Mozzarella sticks?!?! How far of a drive is it to your place from Texas? Hee hee. Wow. They look awesome. As Arthur would say, "I want that in my mouth."

Anonymous said...

You can do it! I am sure it must be a little stressful to go into the real estate market right now, but you have worked so hard and you will do great. New things are always a little scary/stressful, but like you say--give it some time and it will all come together soon. Good luck!

Courtney

miss v said...

nice recipe for falafel. i don't make mine with cooked chickpeas, but i'm not sure it changes the taste. i love your take on the dressing - sounds perfect.