So tonight I did not want to cook, this chick has had it, and it is only Monday! Hopefully the rest of the week is going to be smooth sailing! I have had a box of falafel in my pantry for about three months. I have never had falafel, but I like to try new things. Until tonight.
I love Lebanese Tzatziki. It is seriously an obsession. I wish there was a LTA (Lebanese Tzatziki Anonymous) that I could go to. I would drink it if they had special straws to slurp up the cucumber!!
So tonight is all about Lebanese food!
Tabouli, Tabouleh, or Tabuli, no matter how your spell it, it is delicious! Vibrant flavors with a delicate dressing. It is very simple to make too!
Tabouli
2 cups cracked wheat (Bulgur)
2 cups very hot water
1 cucumber, chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch green onions, (8) sliced
1/2 cup fresh chopped mint
2 cups fresh chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
Dressing:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon pepper
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
Soak the cracked wheat in the hot water until the water is absorbed, about 30 minutes. When it's ready, drain any excess water, if necessary, and squeeze dry.
Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables for the salad and mix the dressing ingredients together. Set aside.
Stir the prepared wheat, other salad ingredients, and dressing together in a medium bowl.
Serve chilled or at room temperature. Makes about 8 cups, 12 to 16 servings.
What would Lebanese food be with out Lebanese Tzatziki? I made mine with sour cream, because that is all I had, and it worked great, you could also use silken tofu.Lebanese Tzatziki sauce
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
1/2 grated cucumber
2 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. dill
salt and pepper to taste
Mix and chill until ready to use.
Ok, I had nothing to do with the falafel. I bought Fantastic Foods Falafel in a box, you add water and fry it in a ridiculous amount of oil...
Form into balls or patties.
Fry in a half inch of oil!! OMG...I had a heart attack watching it fry!
Load on shredded romaine, sliced cucumbers, sliced tomato's and thinly sliced yellow onions, top with Tzatziki sauce.
Tabouli with FalafelFor dessert Kaiti decided to make snow cones.
I do not...at all... like falafel....Nope Nope Nope! Perhaps it was the prepackagedness if it. I do not know, but that was just awful.
I hope your evening has a snow cone in it!!!
17 comments:
The only way I like falafel is in half a piece of pita bread with lettuce, tomato, and drenched in hummus. Then it's perfect. The hummus saves it.
By the way, maybe it's my monitor, but in looking at the photos again, the falafel looks light colored. Usually every place I have had it, it is fried to a crusty brown, almost as dark as a meat burger.
VV, Nice write-up!
Tabouli is good stuff. So is Falafal, one of my faves.
There are a few Middle Eastern joints here, which we go to from time to time. We have to watch what all we order like hawks, otherwise, the bill goes through the roof LOL. Both myself and the boss love Baklava too.
Are you gonna make some and email it to me? J/K.
Peace :)
Karen Anne- Where are you getting your falafel? It sounds like no one knows how to cook it properly. I have seen alot of falafel done right, and that sounds wrong! I love Greek and Lebanese..well actually most Middle Eastern foods, and given the choice between Gyro's and falafel I chose tha Gyro(back in my meat days). Falafel is not meant to be burger colored, you want the chickpea color to shine through. I adore hummus, but I am a purist, I like it on cucumbers or lavash.
Chandra, I love Baklava, I have been toying with a vegan one, and also spanakopita!! Wouldn't that be brilliant!!! Now which nut to use in the Baklava? Walnut or pistachio???
I am sending you some right now!!!!
I've had that falafel and I didn't like it either. It tasted like ground-up cardboard box. Have you ever had it from a restaurant? I've never had bad restaurant falafel, and typically if you skip the tzatziki, falafel sandwiches or wraps are vegan.
It's relatively easy to make from scratch, too, and you don't have to fry it - it's delicious baked.
Pretty tabouli!
I've had that falafel and I didn't like it either. It tasted like ground-up cardboard box. Have you ever had it from a restaurant? I've never had bad restaurant falafel, and typically if you skip the tzatziki, falafel sandwiches or wraps are vegan.
It's relatively easy to make from scratch, too, and you don't have to fry it - it's delicious baked.
Pretty tabouli!
Thanks Claire, made anything spicy lately???
Oooh looks tasty, Brandi! I've never made tzaziki with vegan sour cream--I usually use soy yogurt--so I'll have to remember that for later. My last attempt at boxed mix falafel fell apart when I fried it, too...so I usually make patties from scratch and bake them. I don't like deep frying things, either, but I have to admit it can be really delicious. If you find a place that sells good vegan falafel (some places use egg to bind the mixture), give it a shot if you don't mind a little indulgence; it is so much better than the boxed stuff!
Looks good! Hey, by the way, I've been making vegan baklava for about a year now that's out of this world! I should post it soon...:)
that tzatziki sauce is almost the same recipe as mine! :) it's sooo good, isn't it!? i love it on falafel as well - i make big salads of it. yum!
the tabouli looks spring-time fabulous!
I make tzatziki with silken tofu all the time, that sub will work fine.
I also wasn't crazy about the boxed mix. As you probably guessed I bake me. Shocked rigth?
talk to you later,
Alicia
The food usually looks pretty good, sometimes just interesting to me, but I have no idea what a lot of it is. I am probably in the minority among your followers because I am not a vegetarian, but I find the idea of no meat intriguing.
Tzatiki sauce is soooo good! I make mine with silken tofu but it's the same basic flavor. I really love falafel but I'm no good at making my own! It's probably the only fried food I really eat...
Blessed Mama- what are you waiting for!!!! Give me advance notice so I can drive to your house!!!!LOL
Miss V- The tzatziki sauce is the bomb, I followed general directions on the back of the falafel box, adding my vegan spin, funny we have the same idea!!
Alicia-So how did the baking go, and did you make a homemade version? I feel like I am on a mission now, to make a good tasting falafal...LOL
Seth, That is sad you do not know what I am making sometimes, but I am overjoyed you read my blog anyway. Being a vegan is cool. Sometime I miss meat like pork chops and cheese, but usually I find substitutes. I am making a grilled mesquite vegan pork chop this weekend!! Can't wait for you to see that!. You probably eat alot of vegan food already, you just don't know it. When I first went vegan, I lost 43 lbs. and then an additional 17, in another year. I was not on a diet, just eating a different way, and plus I was way more active. I felt light!!
Thank you for following me Seth!
PbandJess,
I wish I had liked it more, I was seriously starving by the time I ate it, and what a dissapointment!
I am going to remake it next month, and I am going to try to make vegan gyro meat too!
I love falafel but have never managed to make it successfully at home either from scratch or a mix.
Found your blog recently and love it despite not being vegan myself. I only eat meat that I know has been ethically raised and would like to stop completely eventually. My youngest son is veggie so we do eat a lot of non meat based meals but would find it hard giving up eggs. Perhaps one day I'll be successful
Allybea,
I am acceptant of all people, vegans and meaties too. Please feel free to take what you can from here and always know that I accept you! Becoming vegan takes time and it is a huge commitment to step away from everything you know and start over from scratch! Eggs are difficult to give up, not so much in baked goods, because they can be subbed pretty easy, but if you like to eat scrambled eggs and such, it would be trying. There are some very good recipes for scrambled tofu out there. I have a frittata recipe that tasted like the real thing, no one knows it isn't but me. :)
Stop by and talk with me anytime!!!
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