I love me some falafel. I love me some peppers. So I guess it is natural that I would want to stuff falafel inside of peppers and eat them all to my face right? I think so.
As we all already know, most of what I cook is depicted by whatever I get at farm share. And the past few weeks we have been getting a lot of peppers. I have been happily eating one or two a day, just as they are, but I figured it was time that I did something else with them. Now what is the first thing that comes to mind with peppers? Stuffed peppers of course. And there you have it, falafel stuffed peppers.
So I am not going to lie and say the mr ate them and swooned. He is not the biggest fan of peppers (I am starting to realize that he doesn%u2019t have all the right taste buds in his mouth. So sad for him.) so he dumped the falafel out of the pepper and ate it with most of the pickled onions, the tahini, and rice. That he really liked. Lucky me, I wanted his pepper anyway because roasted peppers are freaking fantastic amazing and whatever him. Me, as a pepper and falafel lover, I found these stuffed peppers to be everything that I wanted and needed and then some. Eaten pretty much right away warm, with pickled onion and covered in all the tahini, it was a very very satisfying meal. But also a left over stuffed pepper that was stuck in the fridge, eaten cold standing in front of said fridge, right before bed. That was something great as well. I might have even gone in for a second one%u2026%u2026
Anyway, a pepper stuffed with falafel is a good idea if you want food, like peppers, like falafel, and are cool. Just saying.
To the falafel stuffed peppers!
The stuff. A few sweet peppers, some cooked chickpeas, chickpea flour, an onion, a bunch of fresh cilantro and parsley, a few cloves of garlic, red wine vinegar, a little water, tahini, cumin, chili pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.
First, take the onion and cut in half. Take one half and cut into very thin slices, place in a bowl, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and toss with the vinegar and a few tablespoons of water. Set that bowl aside. The other half of onion just cut into a few smaller chunks.
To make falafel. Add the chunks of onion and garlic to food processor and pules a few times to start chopping it up. Add in the cilantro and parsley, the chickpeas and chickpea flour, the cumin and chili pepper flakes, and a good few pinches of salt and lots of pepper. Pulse until completely combined but still a bit chunky. OR pulse until smooth if you would rather it like that. It%u2019s up to you.
Grab peppers and cut each in half. Remove the ribs ad the seeds.
Take falafel mix and stuff it into peppers.
Place peppers onto a baking sheet and into the oven they go.
In the meantime while the peppers are cooking, toss the onions around in the brine a few times. Then right before you take the peppers from the oven, drain the brine from the onions into a jar with the tahini and mix until smooth. Add a splash of water to the mix if you need to loosen it up a bit more to make the consistency of the tahini drizzle-able.
And out they come when all roasted and crispy and my oh my, so good!
Now you eat. Garb a bowl, maybe a grain of some sort if you like (I made the mr rice), plop a pepper down, add some pickled onions and drizzle that tahini all over.
Eat.
-C
Makes 6 half peppers stuffed
3 medium sized sweet peppers
2 cups cooked and drained chickpeas (or one can)
1 large onion
1 bunch (about 1/2 cup packed) cilantro
1 bunch (about 1/2 cup packed parley
2-3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili peper flakes
1/3 cup chickpea flour or oat flour if you don%u2019t have chickpea
salt and pepper
1/4 cup tahini
a few tablespoons water
3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Preheat oven to 425
Grab the onion and cut in half. Take one half and cut into very thin slices and place in a bowl. Spinkle with a pinch of salt and dump in the vinegar along with about 2 tablespoon water. Toss around until all the onion is coated and set aside.
Take remaining half onion and cut into big chunks. Toss into a food processor along with the garlic and pulse a few times until the onion is chopped up. Add in the cilantro, parsley, chickpeas, chickpea flour, cumin, chili pepper flakes, and a good pinch of salt and lots of pepper. Pulse the hole shebang until the mixture is combined, the herbs are incropeted, but there is a little chunk left. Or you could make it smooth if you wanted too. It%u2019s up to you.
Grab the peppers and cut them in half. Remove the ribs and seeds then take the falafel mixture and evenly distribute it between the peppers halves.
Place stuffed peppers on a baking sheet, falafel side up, and place into oven to bake for about 45 minutes. You want the falafel mix to have a chance to cook inside and out and to get nice and golden brown and crispy on top.
Right before the peppers are done, grab the onions and the tahini. Toss the onions one last time in the briny mix it%u2019s been sitting in, then drain that brine into the tahini. Mix around until smooth. The tahini should be at the consistency to drizzle so if it is still to thick, add in a splash of hot water to loosen it up.
Once peppers are cooked, remove fro oven. Place on a plate with or without some grain, toss on some pickled onion and drizzle tahini all over.
Eat.
Store left over peppers in a the fridge. To eat, just reheat or eat cold. I really enjoyed eating one cold.
The mr has a soft spot for tortilla chips. He doesn’t get chips often, but when he does it is usually the super fried, super salty, in a plastic bag, tortilla chips. And I am ok with that because it is not often and the dude deserves chips when he wants them. But I hate how crappy they are for him, especially all the salt. So much salt that I can smell it in my mouth (yes, I said that right). So, as with everything else we eat in the house, I now make chips from scratch. (Slowly I have eliminated just about everything that is pre packaged and started making it myself.%u00a0I think it’s pretty much just the dried pasta and the mr’s yogurt and cheese that I haven’t gotten to.Yet.) This way he can eat his chips and I don’t have to sit there tasting the smell and thinking about the crap that he is eating.%u00a0%u00a0I know I say this a lot, but lets just take a minute here and acknowledge how I really am the best girlfriend ever.%u00a0
Ok, now about these chips. I have made plan tortilla chips a few times before and figured it was time for a twist.%u00a0%u00a0In come black beans. Why, because I was pretty sure beans were going to be awesome, and lo and behold, I was completely right. Adding the beans take little to no more effort then making the chips without, and bonus here, more fiber and protein and good stuff going into a chip. Then they are lightly oil, lightly salted, and eaten without any guilt because I made them and they are the best. Seriously, the mr thinks they are amazing and doesn’t miss those pre package ones a bit.%u00a0%u00a0And sure, they might take a little time and minimal effort, but really they are super easy and the time and effort to make them is probably no more then going into a store, waiting in line to pay, and driving home to eat your chips. You can have these chip made in that amount of time. So you might as well just make them.
To the chips.%u00a0
The stuff. Masa harnia, black beans, water, salt, and a little oil. There should be a lemon or lime here too, but I forgot to stick it into the picture. Oops.%u00a0
Pretty easy.%u00a0%u00a0Add the beans to a food processor and blend untill completely smooth. Add in the masa and pulse then gradually add in water until a dough forms. Stop and feel the dough. If it feels like play dough and comes together into ball easily, then you are good. If it is to wet, add a little more masa, to dry, more water.
Dump the dough onto the counter and form into a ball. Place the doguh into a bowl and cover with a damp closer for 15-30 minutes to let the dough rest.
After the rest, divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place the balls onto a damp cloth and cover while you are making the tortillas so they don’t dry out.%u00a0
To flatten those balls into tortillas.%u00a0%u00a0After doing this a bunch of times, I have a system that works the best for me.%u00a0%u00a0I use a large ziplock bag (the plastic is a little thicker and easier to deal with, plus I don’t use plastic wrap), a cutting board, and a rolling pin. Place a dough ball into the center of the bag then take the cutting board and press directly on top, placing all your weight onto it. It gets flat, but not flat enough so take the rolling pin and flatten some more. Then press the rolled out dough with the cutting board one last time. Carefuly remove from bag and place direrely onto a hot dry skillet.%u00a0
Cook each side 3-4 minutes or until it starts to get a few light brown spots. Once cooked, place on a plate or baking sheet. If I were just making tortillas, I would place then in between a kitchen towel to keep them warm, but because they are destined for chips and don’t care.%u00a0
Black bean corn tortillas.%u00a0Hey, you could stop here and make a taco or something if you need to. Feel free to use a tortilla or two before using the rest to make the into chips.%u00a0
So chips. Grab baking sheets, oil, salt, a knife, and the tortillas. Take a few of the tortillas and oil them. (The easiest way I found to do this is to rub oil on with my hands then rub the oil onto the tortillas.%u00a0)%u00a0Oil 3 at a time, stacked them on top of each other and cut into 8 triangles,%u00a0
Get as many of the triangles onto a baking sheet as you can, without overlapping. %u00a0Once all nice and tight, sprinkle the tops with salt and pop them into preheated oven.%u00a0
Pull the chips out of the oven when they are crispy and done (about 10 minutes)%u00a0then squeeze a little lemon juice all over the chips. Toss around and pop the pan back into the oven for another minute or two just so the juice doesn’t %u00a0leave the chips soggy.
Dump cooked chips %u00a0onto a wire rack to cool. Eat as you work, you deserve it.
Pile chips into a bowl, and serve with some salsa or guacamole or whatever you eat you chips with. %u00a0They are your chips.%u00a0
-C
Makes 98 chips, or like a good sized bag worth
2 cups masa harina%u00a0
1 cup cooked black beans in bean juice
1- 1 1/4%u00a0 cups warm water
couple teaspoons neutral oil (I used grape seed oil)
2-3 teaspoons salt
A lemon or lime
Beans go into a food processor and blended until completely smooth. Add in the masa and blend, slowly adding 3/4 cups water until a dough starts to forms. %u00a0Stop and check dough. It should feel like play dough and come together easilty onto a ball. If it feel wet, add in a couple of tablespoons more of the masa. If it is still too dry and crumbly, add in more water until it’s to the right consistnacey. Dump dough onto counter and form in a ball. Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp towel and let sit for abut 15-30 minutes.
Preheat a skillet on medium high heat on stove.
Once dough has rested, divide into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place balls onto a damp towel and cover when not working with them.%u00a0Grab a large ziplock bag, a cutting board, and a rolling pin. Take a dough ball and place in the center of the bag. Press down with the cutting board, placing all your weight on top. It got flat, but not flat enough. Continue to flatten out with the rolling pin until it is about %u00a01/8 inch thick. Press again one last time with the cutting board. Gently remove from bag and place directly onto the hot skillet. Cook each side for 3-4 minutes or until it %u00a0starts to get a few light brown spot. Place cooked tortilla on a baking sheet or in between a kitchen towel. Repeat until all 12 dough balls are cooked into tortillas.
Preheat oven to 375
Working in 3’s. dump a little oil onto your hand then lightly rub it all over the tortillas. Stack them on top of each other then cut into 8 wedged. Place wedges onto a baking sheet, get as many as you can onto sheet without any overlapping, then sprinkle with salt. to taste. If you have them, use multiple baking sheets.%u00a0%u00a0Place in oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the chips are crispy. Remove and sprinkle lemon juice all over the chips. Toss around and place back into oven for a minute or two just until lth lemon juice evaporates. Remove and dump chips onto a wire rack to cool.
Eat chips. Any left over can be placed into a airtight container or bag and will last about 3-4 days.%u00a0
I picked up out last winter farm share this week which makes me sad just thinking about it. Where am I going to get my food?%u00a0 Luckily it’s only like 3 weeks until the summer share starts so I think I will survive.
At the last pick up we got the usual roots, cabbage,and greens, but we got a bunch of spring greens. 3 lbs of them and I was just all smiles and glee. I legitimately get super excited when there is a large quantity of fresh spring greens in my fridge. Greens make me happy. And of course I share my green wealth with the mr. (I am so nice) He is not thae biggest fan of just handfuls of greens to the mouth for dinner so I figured a nice dressing to dress up those greens and any other veggies was something I could do. And I just so happen to have bought a giant bag of walnuts and walnuts go great with everything so yeah. And it’s really freaking good.
The stuff. Walnuts, oil(I used avocado but walnut or olive oil would be great) a lemon, a little honey, and salt and pepper. Also probably going to need a little water.
Stuff goes into blender and gets blended until creamy. This dressing starts off really thick and can be left thick or a little bit of water can be added to thin it out. Up to you.
Poured into a jar and that’s that.
Creamy walnut dressing.
Not just a salad dressing. You can eat it with anything and everything. I was dipping carrots and apple slices in it and the mr was dipping his pizza in it cause that’s how we roll.
-C
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
1 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 cup of oil. (I used avocado but olive or walnut would be good)
1 lemon
%u00a0Teaspoon or two of salt and pepper
1 teaspoon honey or agave
Water
Place walnuts, juice of lemon, honey or agave, and a pinch of salt and pepper into a blender or food processor. pulse to break up nuts then turn on and stream in oil. Blend until smooth, adding a few tablespoons of water to thin out as needed. This is a thick dressing so you can add as much water as you like to thin it out, just do it slowly. When blended, taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. . Pour into a jar.%u00a0 Stick in the fridge when not in use. Will last a couple of weeks if you don’t eat it all.
Every year I play this game with myself.. Is it allergies or am I sick. The past few days I have been feeling kinda crappy, waking up with itchy, gunky eyes. My throat hurts, my head is like a balloon, and I am just feeling beat..%u00a0
I think it’s that I am sick (because I don’t want to have allergies) but whatever it is, it sucks, but usually goes away after a week (like every year because its really allergies). Blah.
But enough about my balloon head, lets talk these maple banana walnut oat squares. These yummy gems of the oat square world are just what you need in your life. Healthy, protein packed, nutty, and a touch sweet. No junk, just good stuff all made with little to no effort. If you like banana bread, you will be all into them. I was inspired to make these by the extremely ripe bananas that need to be eaten asap and the mr’s lack of eating a healthy breakfast (I want him to eat, and I want it be oatmeal). I know him well enough that if I make a snack like thing and leave it out to eat, that he will eat it. For breakfast.
So weather or not you are looking for a good way to get in some good stuff into your tummy or just want some good tasting stuff in your mouth, this is the breakfast/dessert for you.
The stuff. A couple of ripe bananas, a bunch of rolled oats, some yummy walnuts, real maple syrup, cinnamon, baking soda and a wee bit of water.
Start with the walnuts in a food processor. Turn it on and process until….
You got this walnut butter. Do not eat it, it’s for the squares (it is so good).
Add in the oats, cinnamon and baking soda and turn the processor back on until you get a nice unified crumbly mixture.
Now in goes the bananas and the maple syrup. And you guessed it, blend some more. While you are blending, if the mixture seems to dry, add in a splash of water, to wet, just toss in another handful of oat. The mixture should be like a muffin batter consistency.
And that’s it. If you want some nut chunks, add in a handful more of walnuts (do it) and pulse just to get them mixed into batter.
Then pourthe mixture into a well greased 9×9 baking pan and spread out evenly. Toss those suckers into the oven to bake.
Oh so good bananas give off the best smell when baking. After about a 1/2hour, these bars are nice and golden brown and a fork stuck in the center comes out clean, which means, they are done.
Cut into square , eat one or two, and save the rest. Eat for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert. And a smear of peanut butter on top is aces too!
Later dudes.
-C
3 cups old fashion rolled oats (gluten free ones to keep in GF)
1 cup plus a a small handful walnuts
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 rip bananas
1 /2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
Place 1 cup of walnuts into a food processor and blend until it turns into walnut butter.. about 3 minutes. Add in the oats and blend together until it becomes a crumbly mixture. Add in the maple, baking soda, cinnamon and the bananas (break into chunks) and blend until incorporated. If the mixture seems lie its too dry, add in a splash of water, and if to wet, add in another handful of oats. The batter should resemble a muffin batter.%u00a0 Once blended, mix in the remaining walnuts and pulse just to mix them in.
Pour mixture into a well greased 9×9 baking pan and stick into the fridge for 10ish minutes and preheat oven 350
And after the time in the fridge, remove the pan and slide them into the oven. Bake until golden brown and a tester stuck into te middle comes out clean. (about 30 minutes)
Remove and let cool. Pop out of pan, cut into square, and eat to you face.
Squares will last 3-4 days in a airtight container or freeze them and they will last until you eat them.
HEY Hey Hey%u2026 It’s Taco TUESDAY, which means that you are obligated as consumer of food to eat some tacos today!
So ok,%u00a0I am not going to lie, these tacos were not actually made on a Tuesday (GASP) but were made in lu of pizza Friday (another GASP!!)%u00a0
But guess what? No one died. People were happy. Food was fantastic, and there was no mention of the pizza that was not.%u00a0 So sure, taco tuesday is totally a thing around here, but %u00a0you know how “Nobady puts baby in a corner”.. %u00a0well nobody buts tacos in a corner. We don’t let the day of the week depict when tacos are eaten cause we think tacos are for everyday!
And these tacos, well, I got down with these. Made with lentils, cause lentils are the best, and topped with a hearty scoop of super fresh, chunky veggie salsa%u2026. Not much is better then that. Easy and fast with lots of pretty in every bite, these tacos are a great addition to any taco dinner rotation!
Now lets get taco-ing!!!
The stuff. First off, you are going to need some type of taco shell.. soft or hard or both , that is entirely up to you.( I made taco shells a little early in the day, but store bought is totally cool.) Also need lentils, water to cook the lentils, a jalape%u00f1o (optional), taco seasoning (pre blended or your own blend)%u00a0and onion. Also needed is a gigantic tomato, some red cabbage, a few kale leaves, a lime, and salt and pepper.
To get this party started, chop up half the onion, the tomato,%u00a0cabbage ,and kale and toss into a big bowl. Oh, and chop up the cilantro and toss that in as well.
Sprinkle with salt and add the juice of the lime. Mix oh mix and set aside to let all the flavors meld.
Now that the salsa is doing it’s thing,%u00a0chop up the jalape%u00f1o and the other half of onion and toss into a big skillet and place on medium heat.
And when the bits start to brown like so…
Dump the lentils in to the pan with water.Bring it all %u00a0to a boil then turn heat down to low.. Add in the taco seasoning and sprinkle of salt and pepper and place some type of lid on ithe pan.
And simmered until cooked.
Note. Check the lentils every few minutes while they are cooking. If you think they seems to dry, add in another 1/2 cup of water.
Now it’s ssembly time! Lentils in shell, topped with a generous amount of %u00a0salsa. That’s it!%u00a0Maybe some guacamole would be nice (I had an avocado saved for guac, but it was rotten on the inside.. I was super pissed) But with or without, these are some freak yeah yummy tacos! I served my next to a bed of some jasmine rice which was nice, but do what you want my friends.%u00a0
Happy Taco Tuesday! (or any taco day!)
-C
Makes about 8 -10 tacos
For the Lentil Filling
1 cup dried lentils
2 1/2 -3 cups water
2 tablespoons taco seasoning*
1/2 of an onion
1 jalape%u00f1o%u00a0
Fot the Garden Veggie Salsa
2 big tomatoes (or one gigantic tomato)
1/4 head of red(or green)%u00a0cabbage (about 2 cups shredded)
1/2 %u00a0of an onion
4-5 kale leaves
1 juicy lime (2 if they are not very juicy)
a bunch of cilantro%u00a0
salt and pepper
And don’t forget the taco shells!
*Note. You can use any type of taco seasoning that you like, store bought or home made. I make my own with cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and a little coriander.%u00a0
Dice the tomato and 1/2 the onion into small chunks and toss into a big bowl. Finely chop the cabbage an the kale into small shreds and toss that into the bowl. And chop up as much cilantro as you would like and that goes into the bowl as well. Spinkle with some salt and add in the juice of the lime. %u00a0Mix everything all around and set aside.
Once the salsa is made and sitting, chop the jalape%u00f1o and other half of onion and toss into a large skillet. Place on medium heat for a few minutes until the pepper and onion start to brown. Now dump in dried lentils and 2 1/2 cups of water. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, them back down to low. Seaosn with salt,%u00a0add in the taco seasoning, and stick a lid (or cover with something),%u00a0and let simmer for about 20- 25 minutes or until the lentils have absorbed %u00a0all the water and are nice and soft. If you find the lentils are still hard and there is no liquid,%u00a0, add in another 1/2 cup of water.%u00a0
Once the lentils are cooked to your liking, remove from heat and get assemble tacos.%u00a0
Scoops some lentil mixture into shells. Add on a big scoop of the fresh veggie salsa and eat with you face.
Guacamole, cheese, sour cream, or whatever are optional topping that you may consider adding but are definitely not necessary.%u00a0%u00a0.%u00a0
THE LOVELY CRAZY
February 16, 2020 by maximios • Blog
I love me some falafel. I love me some peppers. So I guess it is natural that I would want to stuff falafel inside of peppers and eat them all to my face right? I think so.
As we all already know, most of what I cook is depicted by whatever I get at farm share. And the past few weeks we have been getting a lot of peppers. I have been happily eating one or two a day, just as they are, but I figured it was time that I did something else with them. Now what is the first thing that comes to mind with peppers? Stuffed peppers of course. And there you have it, falafel stuffed peppers.
So I am not going to lie and say the mr ate them and swooned. He is not the biggest fan of peppers (I am starting to realize that he doesn%u2019t have all the right taste buds in his mouth. So sad for him.) so he dumped the falafel out of the pepper and ate it with most of the pickled onions, the tahini, and rice. That he really liked. Lucky me, I wanted his pepper anyway because roasted peppers are freaking fantastic amazing and whatever him. Me, as a pepper and falafel lover, I found these stuffed peppers to be everything that I wanted and needed and then some. Eaten pretty much right away warm, with pickled onion and covered in all the tahini, it was a very very satisfying meal. But also a left over stuffed pepper that was stuck in the fridge, eaten cold standing in front of said fridge, right before bed. That was something great as well. I might have even gone in for a second one%u2026%u2026
Anyway, a pepper stuffed with falafel is a good idea if you want food, like peppers, like falafel, and are cool. Just saying.
To the falafel stuffed peppers!
The stuff. A few sweet peppers, some cooked chickpeas, chickpea flour, an onion, a bunch of fresh cilantro and parsley, a few cloves of garlic, red wine vinegar, a little water, tahini, cumin, chili pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.
First, take the onion and cut in half. Take one half and cut into very thin slices, place in a bowl, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and toss with the vinegar and a few tablespoons of water. Set that bowl aside. The other half of onion just cut into a few smaller chunks.
To make falafel. Add the chunks of onion and garlic to food processor and pules a few times to start chopping it up. Add in the cilantro and parsley, the chickpeas and chickpea flour, the cumin and chili pepper flakes, and a good few pinches of salt and lots of pepper. Pulse until completely combined but still a bit chunky. OR pulse until smooth if you would rather it like that. It%u2019s up to you.
Grab peppers and cut each in half. Remove the ribs ad the seeds.
Take falafel mix and stuff it into peppers.
Place peppers onto a baking sheet and into the oven they go.
In the meantime while the peppers are cooking, toss the onions around in the brine a few times. Then right before you take the peppers from the oven, drain the brine from the onions into a jar with the tahini and mix until smooth. Add a splash of water to the mix if you need to loosen it up a bit more to make the consistency of the tahini drizzle-able.
And out they come when all roasted and crispy and my oh my, so good!
Now you eat. Garb a bowl, maybe a grain of some sort if you like (I made the mr rice), plop a pepper down, add some pickled onions and drizzle that tahini all over.
Eat.
-C
Makes 6 half peppers stuffed
3 medium sized sweet peppers
2 cups cooked and drained chickpeas (or one can)
1 large onion
1 bunch (about 1/2 cup packed) cilantro
1 bunch (about 1/2 cup packed parley
2-3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili peper flakes
1/3 cup chickpea flour or oat flour if you don%u2019t have chickpea
salt and pepper
1/4 cup tahini
a few tablespoons water
3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Preheat oven to 425
Grab the onion and cut in half. Take one half and cut into very thin slices and place in a bowl. Spinkle with a pinch of salt and dump in the vinegar along with about 2 tablespoon water. Toss around until all the onion is coated and set aside.
Take remaining half onion and cut into big chunks. Toss into a food processor along with the garlic and pulse a few times until the onion is chopped up. Add in the cilantro, parsley, chickpeas, chickpea flour, cumin, chili pepper flakes, and a good pinch of salt and lots of pepper. Pulse the hole shebang until the mixture is combined, the herbs are incropeted, but there is a little chunk left. Or you could make it smooth if you wanted too. It%u2019s up to you.
Grab the peppers and cut them in half. Remove the ribs and seeds then take the falafel mixture and evenly distribute it between the peppers halves.
Place stuffed peppers on a baking sheet, falafel side up, and place into oven to bake for about 45 minutes. You want the falafel mix to have a chance to cook inside and out and to get nice and golden brown and crispy on top.
Right before the peppers are done, grab the onions and the tahini. Toss the onions one last time in the briny mix it%u2019s been sitting in, then drain that brine into the tahini. Mix around until smooth. The tahini should be at the consistency to drizzle so if it is still to thick, add in a splash of hot water to loosen it up.
Once peppers are cooked, remove fro oven. Place on a plate with or without some grain, toss on some pickled onion and drizzle tahini all over.
Eat.
Store left over peppers in a the fridge. To eat, just reheat or eat cold. I really enjoyed eating one cold.
The mr has a soft spot for tortilla chips. He doesn’t get chips often, but when he does it is usually the super fried, super salty, in a plastic bag, tortilla chips. And I am ok with that because it is not often and the dude deserves chips when he wants them. But I hate how crappy they are for him, especially all the salt. So much salt that I can smell it in my mouth (yes, I said that right). So, as with everything else we eat in the house, I now make chips from scratch. (Slowly I have eliminated just about everything that is pre packaged and started making it myself.%u00a0I think it’s pretty much just the dried pasta and the mr’s yogurt and cheese that I haven’t gotten to.Yet.) This way he can eat his chips and I don’t have to sit there tasting the smell and thinking about the crap that he is eating.%u00a0%u00a0I know I say this a lot, but lets just take a minute here and acknowledge how I really am the best girlfriend ever.%u00a0
Ok, now about these chips. I have made plan tortilla chips a few times before and figured it was time for a twist.%u00a0%u00a0In come black beans. Why, because I was pretty sure beans were going to be awesome, and lo and behold, I was completely right. Adding the beans take little to no more effort then making the chips without, and bonus here, more fiber and protein and good stuff going into a chip. Then they are lightly oil, lightly salted, and eaten without any guilt because I made them and they are the best. Seriously, the mr thinks they are amazing and doesn’t miss those pre package ones a bit.%u00a0%u00a0And sure, they might take a little time and minimal effort, but really they are super easy and the time and effort to make them is probably no more then going into a store, waiting in line to pay, and driving home to eat your chips. You can have these chip made in that amount of time. So you might as well just make them.
To the chips.%u00a0
The stuff. Masa harnia, black beans, water, salt, and a little oil. There should be a lemon or lime here too, but I forgot to stick it into the picture. Oops.%u00a0
Pretty easy.%u00a0%u00a0Add the beans to a food processor and blend untill completely smooth. Add in the masa and pulse then gradually add in water until a dough forms. Stop and feel the dough. If it feels like play dough and comes together into ball easily, then you are good. If it is to wet, add a little more masa, to dry, more water.
Dump the dough onto the counter and form into a ball. Place the doguh into a bowl and cover with a damp closer for 15-30 minutes to let the dough rest.
After the rest, divide the dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place the balls onto a damp cloth and cover while you are making the tortillas so they don’t dry out.%u00a0
To flatten those balls into tortillas.%u00a0%u00a0After doing this a bunch of times, I have a system that works the best for me.%u00a0%u00a0I use a large ziplock bag (the plastic is a little thicker and easier to deal with, plus I don’t use plastic wrap), a cutting board, and a rolling pin. Place a dough ball into the center of the bag then take the cutting board and press directly on top, placing all your weight onto it. It gets flat, but not flat enough so take the rolling pin and flatten some more. Then press the rolled out dough with the cutting board one last time. Carefuly remove from bag and place direrely onto a hot dry skillet.%u00a0
Cook each side 3-4 minutes or until it starts to get a few light brown spots. Once cooked, place on a plate or baking sheet. If I were just making tortillas, I would place then in between a kitchen towel to keep them warm, but because they are destined for chips and don’t care.%u00a0
Black bean corn tortillas.%u00a0Hey, you could stop here and make a taco or something if you need to. Feel free to use a tortilla or two before using the rest to make the into chips.%u00a0
So chips. Grab baking sheets, oil, salt, a knife, and the tortillas. Take a few of the tortillas and oil them. (The easiest way I found to do this is to rub oil on with my hands then rub the oil onto the tortillas.%u00a0)%u00a0Oil 3 at a time, stacked them on top of each other and cut into 8 triangles,%u00a0
Get as many of the triangles onto a baking sheet as you can, without overlapping. %u00a0Once all nice and tight, sprinkle the tops with salt and pop them into preheated oven.%u00a0
Pull the chips out of the oven when they are crispy and done (about 10 minutes)%u00a0then squeeze a little lemon juice all over the chips. Toss around and pop the pan back into the oven for another minute or two just so the juice doesn’t %u00a0leave the chips soggy.
Dump cooked chips %u00a0onto a wire rack to cool. Eat as you work, you deserve it.
Pile chips into a bowl, and serve with some salsa or guacamole or whatever you eat you chips with. %u00a0They are your chips.%u00a0
-C
Makes 98 chips, or like a good sized bag worth
Beans go into a food processor and blended until completely smooth. Add in the masa and blend, slowly adding 3/4 cups water until a dough starts to forms. %u00a0Stop and check dough. It should feel like play dough and come together easilty onto a ball. If it feel wet, add in a couple of tablespoons more of the masa. If it is still too dry and crumbly, add in more water until it’s to the right consistnacey. Dump dough onto counter and form in a ball. Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp towel and let sit for abut 15-30 minutes.
Preheat a skillet on medium high heat on stove.
Once dough has rested, divide into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place balls onto a damp towel and cover when not working with them.%u00a0Grab a large ziplock bag, a cutting board, and a rolling pin. Take a dough ball and place in the center of the bag. Press down with the cutting board, placing all your weight on top. It got flat, but not flat enough. Continue to flatten out with the rolling pin until it is about %u00a01/8 inch thick. Press again one last time with the cutting board. Gently remove from bag and place directly onto the hot skillet. Cook each side for 3-4 minutes or until it %u00a0starts to get a few light brown spot. Place cooked tortilla on a baking sheet or in between a kitchen towel. Repeat until all 12 dough balls are cooked into tortillas.
Preheat oven to 375
Working in 3’s. dump a little oil onto your hand then lightly rub it all over the tortillas. Stack them on top of each other then cut into 8 wedged. Place wedges onto a baking sheet, get as many as you can onto sheet without any overlapping, then sprinkle with salt. to taste. If you have them, use multiple baking sheets.%u00a0%u00a0Place in oven for about 10-12 minutes or until the chips are crispy. Remove and sprinkle lemon juice all over the chips. Toss around and place back into oven for a minute or two just until lth lemon juice evaporates. Remove and dump chips onto a wire rack to cool.
Eat chips. Any left over can be placed into a airtight container or bag and will last about 3-4 days.%u00a0
I picked up out last winter farm share this week which makes me sad just thinking about it. Where am I going to get my food?%u00a0 Luckily it’s only like 3 weeks until the summer share starts so I think I will survive.
At the last pick up we got the usual roots, cabbage,and greens, but we got a bunch of spring greens. 3 lbs of them and I was just all smiles and glee. I legitimately get super excited when there is a large quantity of fresh spring greens in my fridge. Greens make me happy. And of course I share my green wealth with the mr. (I am so nice) He is not thae biggest fan of just handfuls of greens to the mouth for dinner so I figured a nice dressing to dress up those greens and any other veggies was something I could do. And I just so happen to have bought a giant bag of walnuts and walnuts go great with everything so yeah. And it’s really freaking good.
The stuff. Walnuts, oil(I used avocado but walnut or olive oil would be great) a lemon, a little honey, and salt and pepper. Also probably going to need a little water.
Stuff goes into blender and gets blended until creamy. This dressing starts off really thick and can be left thick or a little bit of water can be added to thin it out. Up to you.
Poured into a jar and that’s that.
Creamy walnut dressing.
Not just a salad dressing. You can eat it with anything and everything. I was dipping carrots and apple slices in it and the mr was dipping his pizza in it cause that’s how we roll.
-C
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Place walnuts, juice of lemon, honey or agave, and a pinch of salt and pepper into a blender or food processor. pulse to break up nuts then turn on and stream in oil. Blend until smooth, adding a few tablespoons of water to thin out as needed. This is a thick dressing so you can add as much water as you like to thin it out, just do it slowly. When blended, taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. . Pour into a jar.%u00a0 Stick in the fridge when not in use. Will last a couple of weeks if you don’t eat it all.
Every year I play this game with myself.. Is it allergies or am I sick. The past few days I have been feeling kinda crappy, waking up with itchy, gunky eyes. My throat hurts, my head is like a balloon, and I am just feeling beat..%u00a0
I think it’s that I am sick (because I don’t want to have allergies) but whatever it is, it sucks, but usually goes away after a week (like every year because its really allergies). Blah.
But enough about my balloon head, lets talk these maple banana walnut oat squares. These yummy gems of the oat square world are just what you need in your life. Healthy, protein packed, nutty, and a touch sweet. No junk, just good stuff all made with little to no effort. If you like banana bread, you will be all into them. I was inspired to make these by the extremely ripe bananas that need to be eaten asap and the mr’s lack of eating a healthy breakfast (I want him to eat, and I want it be oatmeal). I know him well enough that if I make a snack like thing and leave it out to eat, that he will eat it. For breakfast.
So weather or not you are looking for a good way to get in some good stuff into your tummy or just want some good tasting stuff in your mouth, this is the breakfast/dessert for you.
The stuff. A couple of ripe bananas, a bunch of rolled oats, some yummy walnuts, real maple syrup, cinnamon, baking soda and a wee bit of water.
Start with the walnuts in a food processor. Turn it on and process until….
You got this walnut butter. Do not eat it, it’s for the squares (it is so good).
Add in the oats, cinnamon and baking soda and turn the processor back on until you get a nice unified crumbly mixture.
Now in goes the bananas and the maple syrup. And you guessed it, blend some more. While you are blending, if the mixture seems to dry, add in a splash of water, to wet, just toss in another handful of oat. The mixture should be like a muffin batter consistency.
And that’s it. If you want some nut chunks, add in a handful more of walnuts (do it) and pulse just to get them mixed into batter.
Then pourthe mixture into a well greased 9×9 baking pan and spread out evenly. Toss those suckers into the oven to bake.
Oh so good bananas give off the best smell when baking. After about a 1/2hour, these bars are nice and golden brown and a fork stuck in the center comes out clean, which means, they are done.
Cut into square , eat one or two, and save the rest. Eat for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert. And a smear of peanut butter on top is aces too!
Later dudes.
-C
Place 1 cup of walnuts into a food processor and blend until it turns into walnut butter.. about 3 minutes. Add in the oats and blend together until it becomes a crumbly mixture. Add in the maple, baking soda, cinnamon and the bananas (break into chunks) and blend until incorporated. If the mixture seems lie its too dry, add in a splash of water, and if to wet, add in another handful of oats. The batter should resemble a muffin batter.%u00a0 Once blended, mix in the remaining walnuts and pulse just to mix them in.
Pour mixture into a well greased 9×9 baking pan and stick into the fridge for 10ish minutes and preheat oven 350
And after the time in the fridge, remove the pan and slide them into the oven. Bake until golden brown and a tester stuck into te middle comes out clean. (about 30 minutes)
Remove and let cool. Pop out of pan, cut into square, and eat to you face.
Squares will last 3-4 days in a airtight container or freeze them and they will last until you eat them.
HEY Hey Hey%u2026 It’s Taco TUESDAY, which means that you are obligated as consumer of food to eat some tacos today!
So ok,%u00a0I am not going to lie, these tacos were not actually made on a Tuesday (GASP) but were made in lu of pizza Friday (another GASP!!)%u00a0
But guess what? No one died. People were happy. Food was fantastic, and there was no mention of the pizza that was not.%u00a0 So sure, taco tuesday is totally a thing around here, but %u00a0you know how “Nobady puts baby in a corner”.. %u00a0well nobody buts tacos in a corner. We don’t let the day of the week depict when tacos are eaten cause we think tacos are for everyday!
And these tacos, well, I got down with these. Made with lentils, cause lentils are the best, and topped with a hearty scoop of super fresh, chunky veggie salsa%u2026. Not much is better then that. Easy and fast with lots of pretty in every bite, these tacos are a great addition to any taco dinner rotation!
Now lets get taco-ing!!!
The stuff. First off, you are going to need some type of taco shell.. soft or hard or both , that is entirely up to you.( I made taco shells a little early in the day, but store bought is totally cool.) Also need lentils, water to cook the lentils, a jalape%u00f1o (optional), taco seasoning (pre blended or your own blend)%u00a0and onion. Also needed is a gigantic tomato, some red cabbage, a few kale leaves, a lime, and salt and pepper.
To get this party started, chop up half the onion, the tomato,%u00a0cabbage ,and kale and toss into a big bowl. Oh, and chop up the cilantro and toss that in as well.
Sprinkle with salt and add the juice of the lime. Mix oh mix and set aside to let all the flavors meld.
Now that the salsa is doing it’s thing,%u00a0chop up the jalape%u00f1o and the other half of onion and toss into a big skillet and place on medium heat.
And when the bits start to brown like so…
Dump the lentils in to the pan with water.Bring it all %u00a0to a boil then turn heat down to low.. Add in the taco seasoning and sprinkle of salt and pepper and place some type of lid on ithe pan.
And simmered until cooked.
Note. Check the lentils every few minutes while they are cooking. If you think they seems to dry, add in another 1/2 cup of water.
Now it’s ssembly time! Lentils in shell, topped with a generous amount of %u00a0salsa. That’s it!%u00a0Maybe some guacamole would be nice (I had an avocado saved for guac, but it was rotten on the inside.. I was super pissed) But with or without, these are some freak yeah yummy tacos! I served my next to a bed of some jasmine rice which was nice, but do what you want my friends.%u00a0
Happy Taco Tuesday! (or any taco day!)
-C
Makes about 8 -10 tacos
For the Lentil Filling
Fot the Garden Veggie Salsa
And don’t forget the taco shells!
*Note. You can use any type of taco seasoning that you like, store bought or home made. I make my own with cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and a little coriander.%u00a0
Dice the tomato and 1/2 the onion into small chunks and toss into a big bowl. Finely chop the cabbage an the kale into small shreds and toss that into the bowl. And chop up as much cilantro as you would like and that goes into the bowl as well. Spinkle with some salt and add in the juice of the lime. %u00a0Mix everything all around and set aside.
Once the salsa is made and sitting, chop the jalape%u00f1o and other half of onion and toss into a large skillet. Place on medium heat for a few minutes until the pepper and onion start to brown. Now dump in dried lentils and 2 1/2 cups of water. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, them back down to low. Seaosn with salt,%u00a0add in the taco seasoning, and stick a lid (or cover with something),%u00a0and let simmer for about 20- 25 minutes or until the lentils have absorbed %u00a0all the water and are nice and soft. If you find the lentils are still hard and there is no liquid,%u00a0, add in another 1/2 cup of water.%u00a0
Once the lentils are cooked to your liking, remove from heat and get assemble tacos.%u00a0
Scoops some lentil mixture into shells. Add on a big scoop of the fresh veggie salsa and eat with you face.
Guacamole, cheese, sour cream, or whatever are optional topping that you may consider adding but are definitely not necessary.%u00a0%u00a0.%u00a0