Non-traditional falafel and a tahini discovery

Every now and then I take pity on my neglected cookbooks and try out a new dinner recipe from a real life, printed, owned by me, book. I wish this happened more than once a month or so, but once a month seems to be my average.

Last Sunday, I am pleased to say, was one of those days.

The recipe was chosen in part by flipping randomly through cookbooks, and in part by seeing tahini feature in the one I ultimately chose. You see, traditionally I haven't liked tahini. At all. But last week I read Brydie's discovery of unhulled tahini, where she found it to be very different from, and much better than, the hulled variety. I wanted to try it.

So, falafel burgers it was. The recipe came from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, which I've posted from on several occasions previously. The serving suggestion involves a yoghurt and tahini-based Falafel Sauce, which I didn't make, along with salad filled pita pockets. The original recipe also featured garlic, but I discovered along the way that ours was too old to use.

Our less faithful version also involved several commercial sauces, wrap bread, cheese on one plate, and bok choi on the other.

Thus the 'non-traditional' part of this post title.

Regardless of how you serve these, the falafel patties are easy, quick, and tasty. I'm not usually a big fan of falafel and related products, so I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed these. My version of the recipe made 5 burgers as I halved the recommended ingredients, but you could easily make a full batch and feeze some.

Falafel patties

Lightly adapted from The Vegan Table (Colleen Patrick-Goudreau)

Vegan

Makes a half batch - approximately 5

Print recipe

Ingredients

1/2 of a 420g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 onion, diced

Up to 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 tbsp tahini

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Pinch salt

Few grinds black pepper

Optional - the other 1/2 of the onion, to fry and serve with the burgers

Method

Preheat oven to 200'C.

Pulse chickpeas briefly in a food processor, until crushed but still thick, or mash by hand.

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except the bread crumbs (chickpeas, onion, parsley, tahini, cumin, coriander, paprika, baking powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper).

Add the bread crumbs and mix together. The mixture should be firm and hold together; add more bread crumbs if needed.

Shape into patties and place on a nonstick baking tray (I sprayed mine with cooking oil first).

Cook for 10 - 12 minutes, then turn and cook for a further 10 - 12 minutes until both sides are golden.

While the patties are cooking, saute or fry half an onion, chopped, until golden brown. 

You might want to dice your onion more finely than I diced mine, 

if you don't want visible onion chunks at the end!

I think these patties would be suited to burger buns, pita bread, wraps, or just atop salad. 

And the tahini? I am pleased to report that I have a new rival to almond butter. It is definitely savoury and not sweet (I find nut butters to sit at the interface), but the unhulled version tasted incredibly different to what I'd tried previously. It worked well in these burgers. It worked well on Ugly Duckling Muffins. It even works off a spoon. Try it!

Do you enjoy falafel and similar flavours? How about tahini?

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Technology and a lemon tree

Yesterday, for reasons that are still unknown to me, my comments all disappeared from my blog briefly. Or at least, they were visible in Blogger and in Disqus (the comments platform I use) but not on the blog itself. After much trial-and-error, and several uninstall / reinstall efforts with Disqus, things were fixed in the evening but I'm still a little unsure of what went wrong. If you experienced anything odd in the process, I apologise!


The above comment glitch presented me with a technological challenge of my own yesterday, but that isn't actually the focus of today's post. The technology in question relates to the second of my two workplaces, which I returned to for the first time yesterday after the Christmas break.

In what has to count as the biggest workplace computing drama I have yet to see, I returned to a building with absolutely no network coverage. No email, no internet, no intranet, no access to internal drives and folders, and no access to printers.

The cause? A burst water pipe on the roof, which happened last weekend, and sent water through a meeting room on the first floor, the seminar room on the ground floor, right down to the computing and network section on the lower ground floor. I can't imagine the challenges they faced in getting everything back to functioning again, and certain aspects are still not fixed. The soggy carpet in the two affected rooms certainly suggests that it was rather a lot of water.

This experience threw up the musings I find myself having every now and then, on just how we would cope if there was a worldwide shut down of the internet and other wireless communication. I don't think we would cope, frankly, and it's a little startling to realise that. Most of those who came in to work yesterday morning had left to work from home by midday. To imagine a similar scenario on a city-wide scale (as has happened several times over previous years, in various places, after natural and not-so-natural disasters), never mind worldwide, is daunting indeed.

Technology musings aside, this is also a post about something altogether simpler. My courtyard garden to be general, and a lemon tree to be specific.

You see, the front corner of my courtyard used to look like the above picture (taken in November 2011). And also the below picture, taken after I got my new camera, in October 2011.

Panoramic photo combining can lead to odd curves where no curves exist

Now that same corner looks like this.

Spot the new addition? :-)

I am the proud new owner of a semi-dwarf lemon tree, which I really hope I can get through summer safely. Theoretically citrus trees like sun, so this should be a good test of just how strong that sun-loving streak is.

The plants that used to sit where the lemon tree now is have just been moved, an arrangement made possible by this box...

Going up here...

Now one side of the courtyard is fully lined with planters, giving me more space overall.

There's also one other new plant that I'm rather excited about, in the form of rainbow heirloom carrots. I have never been able to find coloured carrots available to purchase, so I'm hoping that these seedlings will allow me to grow my own. I'm not sure that mid-summer is ideal carrot planting weather, but for $3.95 it seemed worth a go...

...especially, it would seem, as no technology is required.

Do you have any current home or garden projects?
Any experience with large-scale technology glitches?

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Ugly Duckling Muffins, for work

With the first full work week of 2012 ahead (not to mention the first 12 hour work day), I thought I might want something more than containers of cut up fruit on hand.

These Ugly Duckling Muffins were the result.

A hybrid of my Apple and Zucchini Muffins and Carrot, Apple and Sultana muffins, these Ugly Ducklings are very low in sugar (and fat), can almost count as a vegetable serve, and are perfect for just about any time of the day.

I think I still like the Apple and Zucchini / Carrot, Apple and Sultana varieties best in their original forms, but these make a nice change and certainly deliver nutritionally. The low sugar content is not something I've tried before, but the apple sauce and natural sugars were enough to give a slight sweetness, and in the aftermath of Christmas, lower sugar still seems appealing.

As the name suggests, though, you do have to look past their appearance.

Ugly Duckling Muffins

A mix of apple, carrot and zucchini, with just a hint of sweetness and lots of goodness

Vegan, low in sugar and low in fat

Makes 16

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour

1 cup plain wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp mixed spice

1 - 2 tbsp brown sugar (I used 1 tbsp; use more to taste)

2 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 1 cup of water for at least 10 minutes

1/2 cup sweetened apple sauce

2 tbsp soy milk (or milk of choice)

1 tsp vanilla

1 medium zucchini, grated

2 small carrots, grated

1 small apple, grated

1 small apple, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 180'C and prepare muffin tins.

Soak the chia seeds in water and grate the zucchini, carrot and 1 apple (I used the grater attachment on a food processor). Chop the second apple.

Combine the dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, baking soda, spice, sugar) in a very large bowl.

Add the soaked chia seeds and water, apple sauce, soy milk and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. The mixture will seem quite dense at this stage.

Add the grated zucchini, carrots and apple, and the chopped apple. Mix thoroughly.

Divide between 16 regular muffin pans.

Bake for 20 minutes at 180'C, then reduce the heat to 160'C and bake for an additional 10 minutes. The muffins should be just set in the middle and slightly brown on top.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before removing and cooling completely.

Moist, apple scented, and with a hint of carrot (no detectable zucchini), these are perfect with a cup of tea. The fact that they are good for you whilst still being enjoyable to eat is a bonus.

Just don't judge on appearance!

What's the ugliest product to come out of your kitchen? (I have a few!)

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Koko Black chocolate

In Perth's fanciest shopping precinct (or at least, the fanciest I venture into), there is a fancy chocolate shop. Koko Black has several stores around Australia, with the Claremont store being the first, currently only, in Perth.

To highlight my point about 'fancy', they call the stores salons rather than stores. Truly. I discovered this when I looked at their webpage and thought I had inadvertently found a Koko Black hairdresser's.

I forgive them the fanciness, though, because they make impressive chocolate. At the Claremont store (salon...), you can also watch chocolate being made and there is a chocolate-themed cafe, which incorporates some of the inside space and then spills out on to the pavement. After looking at the menu online, I now wish I'd tried it out on my visits, rather than just gazing at the chocolate available for purchase.

Given that this chocolate is a little pricier than my usual purchases - the 100g blocks cost around $8 - it was something I'd mentioned in the lead up to my birthday and Christmas. Between us, Mr Bite and I ended up with three blocks, thus allowing me to not only try Koko Black produce for the first time, but to make comparisons across flavours.

I do think it's only fair to include a warning, for those who aren't fond of fruit in their chocolate, and especially aren't fond of orange. Look away from the orange and place your faith in cocoa nibs!

As the above picture highlights, our selection included 54% Dark Chocolate with Walnut & Crystallised Ginger; 80% Dark Chocolate with Cocoa Nibs; and 54% Dark Chocolate with Orange and Almond. All are dairy free.

All of the 'bits', in terms of nuts and fruit and nibs, are on the top of the bars. However, because these are fancy bars, the top is actually the bottom, at least if you are like me and think that the squares have to count as the top.

Right? Definitely the top.

This approach to chocolate construction, where the non-chocolate ingredients are left somewhat separate from the chocolate, is one I used to be skeptical of. I quite like bits in my chocolate. If the bits are separate, I tend to eat them separately, and the whole experience is different to when they are mixed throughout the bar.

However, I am now a convert. After the Harem Dream chocolate I reviewed last year, which had a similar approach, I realise that this separate business works wonderfully when the chocolate is good enough to stand alone.

This chocolate is good enough to stand alone. As a bonus, if you are in a house where one person doesn't like nuts, and the other person doesn't want a lot of ginger or any orange peel, you can easily cope with this. You just take the bits you don't like off.

In terms of flavours, the 54% dark chocolate in the Walnut & Ginger and Orange & Almond blocks was the same. It was wonderful. The 50 - 70% cocoa range is the chocolate category I most commonly consume, and I think this rates as amongst the best I've had.

It is a relatively sweet dark chocolate. However, the sweetness isn't cloying. The tastes are smooth, reminiscent of brown sugar and fudge, with no hint of bitterness and plenty of cocoa. I suspect it would suit people who are tentative around dark chocolate.

Mr Bite is very fond of orange chocolate, so he was happy with the orange pieces decorating the Orange & Almond block. He also enjoyed walnut-free pieces from the ginger block. For my part, I found that the whole (and I think raw) nuts made a wonderful flavour and texture ontrast to the dark chocolate. As a bonus, they also worked well as hand holds, an effective way of not geting your fingers chocolatey when eating chocolate at room temperature in Australian summer!

With my enjoyment of the 54% cocoa blocks, I was really, really looking forward to the 80% cocoa nib option.

Again, there was no bitterness. Deep, deep flavours and underlying notes of burnt toffee made a perfect, delightful contrast with the crunchyness of the nibs. I didn't find the cocoa nibs to carry much of a taste on their own, but when set against the main chocolate block the texture provided a nice edge.

All in all, I would recommend this chocolate without hesitation. And now I've ventured in, I suspect I'll be trying more flavours. Maybe for Easter...

Have you tried Koko Black? What is your favourite cocoa percent range?

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Returning to work...and a container confession

Today, I am somewhat sad to say, was my first day back at work for 2012. The sadness doesn't come from any aspect of the day, or even work per se - rather that the break is over and the busy work stretch I have ahead is starting.

Still, I can be (and am!) grateful that I had an enjoyable enough break to not want it to end. And that by returning on a Thursday I am starting with a 2 day work week, which is rather a good arrangement.

I looked back over my I'm Dreaming Of... post yesterday, where I'd noted things I was hoping to do over the break. I was pleased to realise that I'd managed almost all of them: reading, some photography practice, baking and cooking (albeit mostly before Christmas), some shopping, some blog updates, time outdoors, and even cleaning the blinds. I didn't, however, wash the windows, clean the fridge very well, or re-organise the pantry. I guess I know my priorities ;)

Given that today marks a return to work, with packed lunches and snacks, I thought it might be appropriate to reveal something about my relationship with Tupperware-like containers. You see, I have a slight obsession with them. Particularly the small ones.

It's starting to cause storage problems.

I am also rather fond of using these containers to store and/or organise pre-prepared food in the fridge.

This latter tendency is a bit more hit-and-miss - there are some weeks when I bemoan my lack of organisation in cutting things up in advance - but my small plastic containers get a lot of use during the working week.

Some of them are perfect for cereal, dried fruit and nuts, or even yoghurt.

Others are better suited to a whole packed lunch, and are almost like a lunchbox.

 As I type this, there are six containers or similar in the fridge. In addition to the watermelon pictured above, there are washed grapes (albeit not in a container as such)...

Washed salad leaves and perhaps a surplus of chopped carrot...

And three smaller, single-serve options...

With mango...

And two serves of dinner leftovers, vegetable and tofu stir fry to be precise...

Fortunately, there are some benefits to an obsession with plastic containers. For a start, they are re-usable, and so my use of disposable plastic has reduced. They also allow me to look past some of the commercial packaged snacks that used to catch my eye in the supermarket. The idea of paying for individual packaging when I can use a brightly coloured container instead...well, it's not so appealing.

I do think, though, that it is time to stop expanding the collection. There is only so much space in our kitchen. What's more, I wouldn't want to neglect other categories of possible items. I'm thinking that my bowl collection could do with some attention this year...

Do you have obsessions with any dishes, containers, or kitchen utensils? 

And do you pack work lunches or snacks?

(As an addition, lest the above pictures paint an excessively healthy version of our kitchen, I should note that a whole section of the pantry is currently filled with chocolate!)

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2012 aspirations

I know it's the 3rd January today. And that most people seemed to post their 2012 goals, if they made them, at the end of December. The 1st January at the very latest.

However, clearly I am not that organised.

I do, nonetheless, have some things I'm hoping for in 2012. Not resolutions, perhaps, but goals and aspirations - things I'd like to keep in mind over the next 12 months.

What I hope to achieve in 2012

In work -

Making the most of opportunities without over-committing myself

Using work time to its maximum potential, so I can shut the door at home

Achieving several specific work goals that I won't outline here

Being more social at work!

In fitness -

Keep cycling and keep making it to Body Attack

Run in the Perth City2Surf for the second time, in August (my choices will be 12km or a half marathon)

In life -

Fulfill emerging travel plans, most immediately to Exmouth (northern WA) at Easter and then more provisionally to Europe and possibly Morocco (!) in September, around a conference I have in Portugal

(Possibly) buy a house with Mr Bite...not in Australia, to add a twist

Continue learning how to use my camera!

Continue expanding horizons in the kitchen, especially with main meals

This is the first year I've had a blog to record goals for the year ahead, and I think it will help with reflecting back at the end of the year. I can already sense that some may prove challenging, but then a list of easy-to-achieve goals wouldn't be much use at all.

In other news, there are some modest blog changes about;

• A new header, which I really hope appears ok on all browsers. The title will look better in Chrome and Firefox than in Internet Explorer, but should work in all (you might need to refresh the page though).
• An updated and much extended About page
• A new page for 'themed' posts (for lack of a better word), called Categories of Posts
• The final update to my Books list from 2011...2012 will start up soon

And one change that's still in progress:

• A new Google Site for organizing all my recipes. Links to the original recipes (in post form) will still appear under the Recipes page, but that now includes a link to the new site, which is easier to navigate and makes printing simpler. All new recipes will now include a "print recipe" link that goes to the Site and I'm gradually putting all of the old recipes in there too.

Please let me know if there are any problems with any of the above (or if you don't like any aspect)...I'm made very aware of my technological limitations when doing updates like these!

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