eve happens.

Monday, August 8, 2011

fafafel burger recipe

falafel burger with parmesan parsley fries

so the other nite for girls nite christalyn and i decided to make falafel burgers. she found the recipe from the moosewood cookbook which i just love. got to get those! they turned out so yummy. there's a delicious yogurt tahini spread that goes with them, too.

i just copied the recipe from this blog that i found on google since i don't have the cookbook on hand. it's actually a great blog for recipes.

we of course tweaked some things here and there....and on top of the burgers we added sprouts, tomatoes, and pepperjack cheese.

final burger mixture

FALAFEL BURGERS
1 cup diced onion
2-3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced red bell peppers
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
pinch of cayenne, or to taste
12 oz firm tofu, pressed and crumbled
1.5 cups cooked chick peas (15-oz can, drained)
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 350. Oil a baking sheet.

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add peppers, turmeric, coriander and cayenne and sauté for 5 minutes more.

While the veggies cook, combine tofu, chick peas, lemon juice, soy sauce and sesame oil in food processor until well combined but not a paste.

Transfer tofu mixture to a large bowl. Stir in veggie mixture, parsley, tahini, bread crumbs and salt, until uniform.

Shape into 8 patties, using about 1/2 cup mixture per patty. Bake for 30 minutes until golden, juicy and firm.

Top with Yogurt Tahini Dressing.

YOGURT TAHINI DRESSING
1 cup plain yogurt or plain soy yogurt(we used greek yogurt which was perfect)
2 Tbsp tahini
1-2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp chopped fresh dill(dry works)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and let sit for 15 minutes before serving. Serve cold.

girls nite pot luck at my place

last week i invited the girls over for a pot luck. i'm always told by everyone that a nite is needed and i'm the one put to the planning portion of it all. that nite included; falafel burgers(next post will be the recipe with some photos) made my christalyn and i, parsley parmesan fries made by me, salsa made by michelle, 5 layer dip by jules, and a candied walnut/strawberry salad by paige. oh and dessert was made by christalyn but we were all so full we never got to it(how did that happen?) paige brought sangria for everyone as well which was lovely. i didn't get any shots of the food, but we did take some girly shots at the end of the nite....

more wall art

matt and i spent a good hour on our sunday off together putting up our last 2 wall decals.

in our bedroom


final result

love birds

and this one is in our spare bedroom.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

since we can't paint...

since we're not allowed to paint i decided to order wall decals to add some color and life to our extremely white apartment. these are only a few i put up so far. we still have a huge one to put on or bare wall in the bedroom and one other to put in the spare room.

and i even got one for my mac.

yeah, i like these. they're fun.

guest blog

my friend sierra just recently wrote a blog post that i just have to share.... it's about her thoughts on flying and she posts a link to a great article on body scanners and how you can opt for a pat down instead. i recently flew to baltimore and denied the body scan in the palm beach airport and got to go through the normal metal detector instead. apparently they said i was too young for a pat down but did choose my mom to do it on. i refused it on my way back home as well and the this time they wanted to pat me down. it was horrendous. i sat there watching my mom get one first, and as i was sitting there i noticed a really fat, creepy man that was on shift staring at the security officer feeling us up. i said something like "why is that man staring at us?"... and the woman stopped what she was doing to my mom and looked at me and said "what, who?!" with an evil eye. she was a total bitch and said "HONEY, we do this 150 times a day, he can do what he wants." and continued feeling my mom up. then it was my turn. she gave me a whole speal about how she is going to use the back of her hands when she gets to private areas. then asked me if i wanted to do it privately. i said no and i stood there, with my arms out and for approximately 2 minutes i got every area possible touched and patted, even her hands went into the band of my pants and underwear. to be honest, surprisingly this all wins over getting radiation. so, decide what you want, but first read this article.

excerpt from sierra's blog;

for all the travel i’ve been doing lately i have certainly spent a lot of time up in the air.

when i was young my mother worked for a consulting group that shipped her to all parts of the country on weekends. the most brilliant aspect of her job was that i could almost always accompany her. as a result, i grew up feeling totally at ease with the concept of air travel.

there are over 7,000 aircraft in the air over the united states at any given time. that’s more than two million people floating above us every day.* pilots take off and land over and over and over, until it’s as natural a process as breathing. i’ve been flying my whole life without the smallest hint of fear, so why is it that i’ve suddenly turned into a nervous wreck with every bump?

i go out of my way to do everything i can to make myself comfortable on a flight. i wear leggings and carry a jacket. i always throw on thick warm socks once i get settled in, and i keep moisturizer at the ready to counter the drying effects of recycled air. instead of sodas i drink tomato or cranberry juice on top of plenty of water, and i always have a knitting project or something to read to pass the time.......

read on here