FALAFEL WITH PITA

        Falafel is made from fava beans or chickpeas or a combination of the two. The Egyptian variety uses fava beans, while the use of chickpeas is predominant in other Middle Eastern countries. Palestinians and Yemenite Jews in Jerusalem have historically prepared falafel only from chickpeas. The beans are not cooked prior to use. Instead they are soaked with baking soda, then ground together with various ingredients including onion, parsley, sesame seeds, and spices such as cumin and coriander. The mixture is shaped into balls or patties. This can be done by hand or with a tool called an aleb falafel. The mixture is then deep fried.

         
       I did not make them the traditional way but I used falafel mix instead. I added 2 cups of water and a little flour (because it was to liquidy), to the falafel mixture. Then I shaped the patties and deep fried them in canola oil until they floated and were golden brown. After I let them cool in a paper towel lined dish. I served them with Greek pitas and a tahini sauce and shredded iceberg lettuce.
 

MICROWAVE MUG BROWNIES

     These brownies are a quick and easy dessert that can be made in 10 minutes. I started making these brownies when my friend Lane typed up this recipe and told me all about them. A special thing about them is that they contain no eggs or milk but vegetable oil and water, which means that the batter will last a long time.  Here is the recipe. (Serves 1)


     Whisk 4 tbsp. of flour in a bowl with 4 tbsp. of sugar and 2 tbsp. of cocoa.  Make sure you break down all the clumps of cocoa. Add 2 tbsp. of veg. oil and 2-3 tbsp. of water as necessary. Now this is the part where you can get your hands dirty, using them to mix the batter, which should be almost the same consistency as bread dough but a little more sticky, until you have a big oddly shaped ball of chocolatey goodness. Now take a small mug and put the batter in it. Microwave for 2 minutes, but check on the brownie regularly after 1:30 to see if it is cooked or not. 

 Once done let it cool for a few minutes and the dig in!    

CAESAR SALAD

                               

          Try my Caesar Salad recipe that would make Ol' Caesar himself proud. 

          Mince 2 cloves of garlic and add 1 tbsp. of mashed capers in a bowl. Add 1 tsp. of Worcester sauce, squeeze half of a lemon, 1 tbsp. of Dijon mustard, 2 tbsp. of olive oil, 1 egg or 1 tbsp. mayonnaise and half a cup of Parmesan cheese, mix into a paste. When ready to serve toss in 1 head of washed, Romaine lettuce torn into bite sized pieces and your croutons.
      Drizzle olive oil over 4 pieces of bread that are laid out on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with oregano. Toast in oven at 400 C for 3-4 minutes and cut into cubes.

          

REFRESHING WATERMELON SHOTS

This is the recipe that gave me the idea of making this blog. I started by taking a watermelon and cutting a horizontal slice of the top about two inches thick and making little watermelon balls out of the flesh. Put the good melon balls in the leftover watermelon shell. Try to keep all the excess juice and pour it into a bowl. Once you have all the melon balls made pick out the oddly shaped and squeeze the juice out of them into your bowl. Strain the juice with a coffee filter and repeat the process until all the juice is gone from the watermelon. Squeeze half of a lime to the watermelon juice and add a tsp. of sugar to the mixture. If you want you could drizzle lime juice over the watermelon balls that you made earlier. Once you have done this put a couple melon balls into three small glasses and fill them with the juice. Garnish with a lime twist.