Going places like this makes me want to retreat to the woods, and become a hippie.

It’s been about two years since I last made falafels. I’m not sure why it has been so long, I am crazy about these tasty little fritters. As a kid my mom used to buy a mix, that I believe you just added egg and water to. This however is really so simple, I don’t know why one wouldn’t make them from scratch.

Tomorrow I am going with my brother and his fiance up to the mountains for a long hike. I figured I would double the batch, and serve them for lunch tomorrow after finishing up our morning hike. I also packed a delicious salad for us to eat alongside the falafels.

I have been using this recipe for quite some time, and though I don’t have the sources, I think it is an adaptation of a few different recipes. The tahini dressing I got out of Vegan with a Vengeance, and was perfect for both the salad and on top of the falafels.

Falafel

• 1 can chickpeas, or two cups
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 gloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
• 1 cup vegetable oil for frying

1. Mash beans in a large bowl, or puree in a food processor. Stir in minced onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, cumin, turmeric, baking powders, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Stir until combined. If necessary add a tablespoon or so of water.
2. Form small disc shaped balls of the dough, of equal sizes.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once it starts bubbling add a few of the falafels to the pan. Do not over crowd the pan, because it will make flipping them difficult, and could result in them breaking apart. Once the falafels start turning brown on one side, carefully flip to the other side. Let cool on paper towels when finished.

Tahini Dressing

• 8 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Fresh cracked pepper to taste.
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup lightly packed cilantro
• 1/2 cup water

1. Heat oil in a sauce pan over low heat. Add garlic, and stir. Do not allow to darken, you only want to cok until the garlic flavor is throughout the oil.
2. Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Spoon over salad or hot falafels.

“We attribute much to chance meetings, refer to them as turning points in our life, but these encounters could never have occurred had we not made ourselves ready for them. If we possessed more awareness, these fortuitous encounters would yield still greater rewards. It is only at certain unpredictable times that we are fully attuned, fully expectant, and thus in a position to receive the favors of fortune. The man who is fully awake knows that every ‘happening’ is packed with significance.”
–Henry Miller, The World of Sex (1940)

I came across this quote this morning, and have been thinking about it on and off all day.

Yesterday Russ and I rented Into the Wild, among other things.

If you have not yet seen the film, I highly recommend it. It is based on the real life story of Christopher McCandless, whom upon graduating college gave up all his savings and headed out to the open road. The film showcases the incredible two year journey that drove him to cut off all contact with those who loved him, and eventually led to his untimely death. It is filled with adventure and leaves an anxious soul wanting to go off on their own excursion.

For the longest time I thought that in order to have an adventure, you needed to go places, you needed to hunt it out. In the back of my mind I know that it is quite the contrary. There are new opportunities around at all times. When traveling, my mind is clearer and I find myself more willing to expect the unexpected. It is only when I am home and in my comfort zone that I don’t recognize the opportunities, and often brush them off thinking they are interruptions and quite bothersome.

Though I may not yet be able to escape and live out my lifelong dream of living on the road like Chris McCandless or Kerouac or Thompson–yet, if I can become more aware of what is going on outside of my little bubble I can at least welcome the adventure that presents itself a little closer to home.

The screening last night went really well. We had around thirty guests, almost all who had helped in the production of one of the two films. There was enough vegan food to feed a small country of herbivores. I made up a batch of Chai tea cupcakes with cardamom infused vegan buttercream frosting. I also brought a huge batch of my muhammara, which was one of the first things to be devoured.

Everyone seemed to love the films. The room was filled with laughter while watching HRH Electric and there were all sorts of oohs and aahs over the beautiful cinematography and dancing in Flamingo Tango. I am so proud of these two films.

Leasa and I made plans to start writing the script for their next movie. I am excited to start becoming more involved with the production of the films. We already have a story that we have been working on, we just need to get it down on paper.

Tonight is the world premier of the hugely anticipated Flamingo Tango. The film has been six months in the making, and feels great to know that it is finally done. I don’t have a major role in this one, but I did get to dance the tango in a couple of scenes. Alongside Flamingo Tango we are screening HRH Electric, which is the film I starred in. Both films turned out amazing, and I am beyond excited to see everyone else’s reactions.

I kept seeing pictures of this incredibly vibrant colored dip in several blogs. I had never heard of it, but looking at the photos and the list of ingredients really got my mouth watering!
So, when I was flipping through an old issue of Fine Cooking, and saw another recipe for muhammara, I knew I had to finally give in and make it.

On Monday I met with my friend Leasa. We sat down and planned out the menu for our movie premier this Saturday. Persnickety Pictures just wrapped up the film Flamingo Tango, and are showing it for the first time, alongside the one that I starred in, HRH Electric. We always have a huge array of things to nibble on and delicious cocktails. When Leasa mentioned dips to have out I chimed in that I had been wanting to try this new recipe for a while.

This morning I took some time to whip up a small batch of this as a tester. Like hummus, this dip couldn’t be any easier to make. The flavor was absolutely incredible, and the ingredients compliment each other perfectly. I bought the pomegranate molasses at an ethnic grocer, and am in love with it. It adds such a unique flavor to the muhammara.

Adapted from a recipe in Fine Cooking magazine.

• 3 large red bell peppers, roasted
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 small chili (I used a serrano)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
2. Serve drizzled with olive oil alongside fresh baked pita chips.

Oatmeal raisin cookies have been a long time family favorite. Chocolate chip cookies have nothing on the almighty oatmeal raisin. Maybe this deep love stems from a childhood obsession with Little Debbie’s Oatmeal Cream Pies, or maybe it is because it was the cookie of choice by almost every member of my dad’s side of the family. Whatever the reason, I am crazy about oatmeal raisin cookies, and once you try this recipe, you will be too!

I got the recipe from VegWeb, and am absolutely in love with it. I have made it a handful of times, and always end up eating way too much of the dough, drastically reducing the number of cookies I get in the end. The cookies turn out perfect; light, airy, not too sweet, but packed full of flavor.

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg replacer, prepared
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 3 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Combine all dry ingredients (flour through cinnamon) in a large bowl.
3. In a separate small-medium bowl, combine wet ingredients (egg replacer through vanilla). Add the wet to the dry and add raisins. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. The mixture will seem a little dry, but it should stick together to form little balls. (If it doesn’t, add another 1/2 tablespoon or so of nut milk or water.) Form the mixture into cookies with a spoon or by shaping little balls and flattening them on to the cookie sheet.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 13 or 14 minutes. Let cookies cool on a baking sheet before eating.

Sometimes it is so hard to get my family together. I am usually the one that organizes events or activities for everyone to do. We all love each other a ton, and get along marvelously, but they just don’t ever think to plan things out. Well, luckily for them, I am always up to plan a get together, otherwise we may never see each other.

Sometime last week my sister and I talked about cooking together. She hardly ever cooks, and has never, ever tried to cook Indian food. We planned a date, and figured we better get the family over to help eat it all.

We cooked all sorts of food, the usual dal I make, some spiced okra, a broccoli and spinach puree, a rice pilaf. My sister found a recipe for some chickpea flour and cardamom brownies, which was her main dish for the night. I taught her a lot about the spices, and I think she really enjoyed cooking, and now realizes how easy Indian food can be. Everything was so amazing, by the time we were done cooking we were starving and way to hot to snap any clear pictures of the food.

After dinner we all moved the party outside, where my dad was lucky enough to snap a group photo before my sister passed out in the grass.

Now that we are well into July, I feel like I am finally starting to feel the affects of summer. All year long I look forward to hot days and summer nights. I always forget how tired the heat makes me during the day, and how difficult it is to complete daily tasks. Today I let those feelings take over, and spent the greater part of the day lounging around.

A little after lunch I felt rather ambitious and decided I needed a new teacup. I walked down to the thrift shop and browsed the racks of clothes, housewares, and books. I finally settled on this little teacup.

Though it was hot, I had to break in my new cup. I made a huge pot of tea, lit some incense, and sat back looking for inspiration for dinner through the pages of my cookbooks. I finally settled on broccoli and spinach puree recipe from Lord Krishna’s Cuisine. Hopefully tomorrow I can be a little more productive!

I always like to plan out my dinner early in the day, and sometimes even the night before. When I do this I can casually prep parts of the meal; chop vegetables, mix spices, precook whatever needs precooking, etc. I have come to realize that not only does this make throwing the meal together much easier after a long day, but it also heightens the amount of enjoyment I get from the food.

Lately I have been craving Mediterranean food, and bought two eggplants just to satisfy my craving. However, after being completely unable to decide which dish in my newly rediscovered Mediterranean cookbook, I decided to go with Indian food. As I mentioned recently, Lord Krisha’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking is my new favorite cookbook. Since that first post about it though, I have tried several dishes, and am in love with every single one. I have made three of the recipes two or three times for dinner parties, in which everyone seriously lapped up the food. The book is a goldmine!

This sautéed eggplant with bell peppers was no different. It was so easy–easy to put together and even easier to eat! I cubed and cooked the eggplant in advance, cut the peppers, and mixed the spices a few hours before dinner. When Russ got home from work, throwing this delightfully fresh dish together was a breeze. Because you steam the eggplant before hand, it makes this dish incredibly healthy.

About two weeks ago I was contacted through my blog about doing and interview about thrift store shopping for an online publication. The lady who contacted me had come across How to Thrift Like a Pro and How to Thrift Like a Pro Part 2.

Anyway, here is the article; Shopping Thrift Stores Takes a Strategy and Patience

Happy Fourth of July!

Russ and I are getting ready to go to a barbecue at his parent’s house this afternoon. They have a huge party every year. We eat, swim, drink beers, and watch the fire works let off at a nearby park. Firework displays usually bore me though, I prefer just getting together with people I love. I guess because growing up in Washington we were allowed to set them off in our backyard…what fun are they if you don’t get to light them yourself??

Because I am the only ‘weird’ eater in the family I like to always bring at least one dish. With the rising temperature, cooking has been completely out of the question, so, I got up a bit early to cook the beans for this salad, before it gets too hot. Once the beans were cooked, putting this salad together was a breeze. This is absolutely perfect for hot summer days, it is light, refreshing, quick to make, and best of all-healthy!

• 4-5 cups black beans
• 1-2 cups mung beans
• 1 red onion
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Let sit in fridge for at least four hours so that flavors can mingle.

Ingredients can be altered to suit your taste. If you don’t have any mung lentils substitute any other kind of bean. I cooked all my beans, but to make this really simple use canned.

What are your plans for this beautiful 4th of July?

As a little girl my dad read this to me almost every night. To this day, this poem is still my favorite.

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people’s feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

-Robert L. Stevenson

Yesterday I received in the mail something I foresee becoming very near and dear to my heart, very quickly. I got quite possibly the most in depth, and also most intimidating Indian cookbook I have ever seen; Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking.

With over 500 recipes it was hard to choose where to start. So naturally I started on page one. Naturally, as soon as I started reading I thought of something else to look up, and hopped all around the book trying to take it all in.

Today for lunch I got a chance to finally make one of the recipes. I figured a dal would be the way to go–a perfect dish for a light and refreshing lunch. This mung dal soup with tomatoes caught my eye, partly because it was the first I turned to, and also because I had all the ingredients on hand.

So, I followed the recipe. It was simple, quick, and beyond delicious. For those unfamiliar with Indian ingredients, this book goes into detail about all the spices, herbs, dals, vegetables, rice, etc.

Move over Joy of Cooking, I think there is a new #1 in my kitchen!

Preparation Time (after assembling ingredients): 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 1/4 hours
Serves: 4

• 3/4 cup split moong dal, washed, without skins
• 7 1/4 cups water
• 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 2-inch piece cinnamon stick
• 3 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 3 whole cloves
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 5 black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1-2 seeded hot green chillies, cut into large pieces
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 medium-sized firm rip tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Combine the mung beans, water, turmeric, cinnamon stick and a dab of the ghee or oil in a heavy 3-quart nonstick saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderately low, cover with a tight-fitting lid and boil gently for 1 hour or until the dal is soft and fully cooked.
2. While the dal is cooking, warm a heavy iron frying pan over low heat. Add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, sesame seeds, cloves, cardamom pods and peppercorns. Dry-roast , stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes or until the sesame seeds are golden brown. Remove and set aside.
3. Take out the cardamom pods. Remove the black seeds and put them with the other roasted spices. Discard the pods. With and electric coffee mill or a stone mortar and pestle, reduce the spices to a powder. Add enough water to make a moist paste.
4. When the dal is cooked, remove from the heat and take out the cinnamon stick. Add the salt and beat with a wire whisk or rotary beater until the dal is smooth.
5. Heat the ghee or oil in a small frying pan over moderate to moderately high heat. When it is hot, add the chillies and the moist spice paste. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Pour in the sugar and stir. As soon as the sugar turns a rich reddish-brown, toss in the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle liberally with water. Fry for about 4 minutes or until the tomatoes are reduced to a puree. Remove the pieces of chili and pour the spiced tomato seasoning into the dal.
6. Bring the finished dal to a boil once more, turn off the heat and cover. Let the seasonings soak in the hot dal for 1-2 minutes. Add the minced herb, stir and serve.