Falafel

It's falafel time! Are you familiar with falafel? They are made from ground chickpeas along with spices and then formed into balls and deep-fried in oil. What's not to love? Hehe. They are a popular street food in the Middle East (and all over now) and are commonly eaten in a pita topped with pickled vegetables or salad and tahini sauce. I first tried falafel a few years ago when we lived in Pittsburgh and I loved it! Since then I've been wanting to try making them at home, but never got around to it until my super awesome sister Heidi came to visit last month. We made them together and they were SOOO good! There is a lot of wait time and you have to plan in advance if you want to make them, but the actual time spent working is quite minimal. Looking at this picture makes my mouth water! I better make them again soon!

My cute sister Heidi! Falafel-frying extraordinaire!

Falafel

You'll need to start soaking your chickpeas the day before you want to make this and then the mixture has to sit in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours after you combine everything, so plan ahead! You also need a food processor or powerful blender to make these. Makes about 30 falafels.

1 lb. (about 2 cups) dry chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1 small onion, quartered
1/4 cup. fresh parsley
3-5 cloves garlic
1.5 T. flour
1 3/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
pinch of ground cardamom
Vegetable oil for frying (grapeseed, canola, or peanut)

The night before you plan to serve these, pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover them by about 3 inches of water. Let them soak overnight. They will double in size. They will still be quite hard, but don't despair, they'll chop up just fine.

1-2 hours before you cook the falafel, drain and rinse the garbanzo beans well. Pour them into the food processor along with the onion, garlic, parsley, flour, salt, cumin, coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom (everything but the oil).

Pulse all ingredients together until a rough, coarse meal forms. You may have to scrape down the sides several times. Process until the mixture is somewhere between the texture of couscous and a paste. You want the mixture to hold together when you clump it with your fingers, but you don't want it so processed that it turns into hummus/mush.

Once the mixture has reached the desired consistency, pour it out into a bowl and use a fork to stir. Remove any large chickpea chunks the processor may have missed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator and fill a skillet or saucepan with oil to a depth of at least 1.5 inches. Heat the oil slowly over medium heat. Meanwhile, form the falafel mixture into round balls using wet hands or a cookie scoop, about 2 T. per ball. They should stick together quite well. If not, you may need to process them more until they become more paste-like.

Test your oil by dropping a tiny amount of the mix in the oil. If it sizzles and bubbles, you are ready to go! You can also fry a whole ball first to check your temperature. It should take about 2-3 minutes per side to get nice and deep golden brown. If it's faster than that, your oil is too hot and the middle will not be cooked all the way, but you also don't want them to take longer than that or they will get dried out.

Fry about 5 or more at a time, depending on how much space you have. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve the falafels fresh and hot. They are best alongside hummus or creamy tahini or stuffed into a pita.

Source: Tori Avey

Winter Salsa

I LOVE this time of year for many reasons - the cool crisp weather, the apples and pumpkins in abundance, the fall colors, etc.  However, I always find myself missing some of the great summer produce, namely tomatoes.  We eat so many delicious tomatoes in the summertime that nowhere near resemble the tomatoes you find in the stores year-round.  Salsa is one of those things we love to whip up with our summer tomatoes, but if you love homemade salsa all year long, don't fear!  This recipe uses canned tomatoes, and it is really delicious!  In fact, I make it a lot in the summer too, because it's so convenient, taking just a few minutes to whirl together, and it still has that fresh taste from the onions and cilantro.  Honestly, I couldn't believe how good it was the first time I made it and I have made it well over 10 times since.  Enjoy!

Peach Salsa

Sick of peach recipes yet?  Just wait, I have more!  This was a fun thing to whip up with our dinner a few weeks ago.  This peach salsa actually only calls for peaches - no tomatoes, which was great for us because I didn't have any tomatoes that day!  It's pretty much pico de gallo, with peaches subbing in.  Extremely addicting and delicious!  You can serve it with grilled chicken or fish, or just dig in with some tortilla chips.  Summer's not over yet with this around!

Bruschetta with Whipped Feta and Roasted Red Peppers

This is another recipe that blew me out of the water.  I was expecting it to be good, but I didn't expect it to be utterly AMAZING!  I'm a big feta-lover and whipping the feta and using it as a spread was the most genius thing ever.  It is so creamy and tangy and a perfect pair to the sweetness of the roasted red peppers.  This makes for an amazing appetizer, snack, or even dinner!  It comes together in a snap and is really worth trying.  Enjoy!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Here's another great recipe that has been waiting to be posted!  I made this at my sister's house on New Year's Eve and it was delicious.  While definitely not low-cal, it is fun for a party.  Serve with a sliced baguette or crackers, and it will surely be eaten up in no time!

Crispy Salmon Cakes with Creamy Lemon-Herb Dipping Sauce

If that title doesn't grab you right there, I don't know what will!  I've been making salmon cakes about once a month for the last 6 months or so and I usually just do my own thing and make some kind of tartar sauce to go along with them.  They're always tasty and we always enjoy them, but of course I found a recipe in my new book that just takes them to the next level!  The panko bread crumbs make them light and crisp on the outside and the flavors are amazing on the inside.  The dipping sauce is superb and we found ourselves dipping our oven fries into it as well.  These are a winner!  I hope you enjoy them.

Stuffed Mushrooms

I love stuffed mushrooms. My in-laws got me hooked. They always do fun hor d'oevres around the holidays and this has been one of them. Usually they stuff them with cream cheese mixed with some herbs and green onions. I was planning doing just that until I was perusing through recipes online and came across several that used the stems in the stuffing. Hmmm. Sounded tasty and better than just throwing the stems away, so I decided to try it. I bought baby portabello mushrooms in a 24 oz. package at Costco, and there were 47 mushrooms in the package. I only used about 32 (that's all that would fit on my baking sheet), but I also have some leftover stuffing, which I plan on using today. I think you could use the same amount of stuffing for a smaller number of mushrooms, and just stuff them more.

Bean Salsa

Yum!!! That's all I can say about this dip. I love it so much. Every year for Christmas Eve, my family gets together with another family that my parents met back when they lived in Pittsburg, CA and the past few years, they have brought this dip. It is sooo tasty. I asked for the recipe and found out it comes from the daughter's sister-in-law (make sense?), so I'm crediting this to Suzy Varga Patey, whoever and wherever you are! :) Anyway, this makes a GREAT party food and it's super easy. You only have to chop a few things and everything else you just dump in from a can. But don't be fooled....it is DELICIOUS.

Cheese Straws

I found these over at Smitten Kitchen and thought they looked like a fun party food. And fun they were! They were incredibly easy and tasted a whole lot like cheez its with a little kick. They came together in no time at all and were fun to have out on our spread. Try them!