I grew up eating Tabbouleh, Hummus, Dolma, Paklavah and other Mediterranean foods, but Falafel has been a fairly new dish to my palate. And I have been craving the vegetarian sandwich since Niel introduced me to the take out place Chickpea during the holidays.

Fortunately a friend (thanks Shawnda) gave me the cookbook The Healthy Pregnancy Cookbook. And one of the recipes in their was how to make a Falafel. I combined the recipe with another cook book I had in my library The Pregnancy Survival Cookbook and below is my adaptation of the two recipes. Much better than the boxed Falafel mix I had purchased one time. The below recipe is definitely moister.



Ingredients:
2 cans chickpeas drained
3 tablespoons of flour
1.5 Teaspoons of cumin
1/2 cup of Italian Parsley
1/4 cup of Mint leaves
2 garlic cloves
1 egg
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 squeeze of lemon
1/2 chopped onion
salt & pepper
Pitas that are cut in half
1/2 cucumber chopped
Shredded lettuce

Assembly:
Mix all ingredients except cucumber and pita in a food processor. Form small balls(makes 38) out of the mixture and fridgerate for 15 minutes. Fry till golden.

Add lettuce, a few thin slices of cucumbers and three Falafels in a pita (cut in half). Moist enough to eat on own or add Tahini mixture.

Tahini Mixture
4 Tablespoons Tahini
1 small garlic, minced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Generous pinch of sweet paprika
Salt

Don't forget if you want to participate in Weekend Cookbook Challenge I am hosting this round. Please email me your Nigella Lawson recipe by Feb. 21. Thanks.

There is a new type of product available for pizza lovers, well only in Overland Park Kansas right now though. It's the pizza cone. Not it's not an ice cream on pizza. I thought that too. Then I read the article. It's pizza shaped like an ice cream cone. Basically wrapped pizza.



Don't forget if you want to participate in Weekend Cookbook Challenge I am hosting this round. Please email me your Nigella Lawson recipe by Feb. 21. Thanks.

Since the New York Times's published their recent article about high levels of mercury being found in sushi tuna, the food and health industry has been up in arms. I've been hearing and reading a variety of reports on the topic. On the Today Show this morning Dr. Raj though said people who eat 30 or more pieces of tuna, mackerel, swordfish, tile fish and shark are at risk, and especially if you are thinking of becoming pregnant, are pregnant and/or nursing. And cooking any of those fish does not decrease the levels of Mercury. Fish with low levels are mercury are salmon, flounder and sardines. So unless you are in the above four categories not too worry because fish in general is recommended by doctors and dietitians to be in everyone's diets at least for two meals weekly. Of course that's not to say that people haven't gotten sick by eating raw fish, but that's a whole other topic. It is however rare and you should go to a Japanese restaurant you trust.



Don't forget if you want to participate in Weekend Cookbook Challenge I am hosting this round. Please email me your Nigella Lawson recipe by Feb. 21. Thanks.

To say I adore Nigella Lawson is an understatement. I anticipate any new program or product from Ms. Lawson as much glee as getting a meal perfect. But I've been known to happily sit and watch reruns from previous shows as well. Right now I enjoy watching her latest show Nigella Express on The Food Network. She brings an easy and relaxed approach to cooking a variety of recipes from simple to more advanced. And I've tried several of her dishes with success. So I was very happy Sarah agreed to let me host another Weekend Cook Book Challenge (# 25) with Nigella Lawson as the theme. Pick any recipe of Nigella's whether it be sweet or savory, from appetizer to dessert and send me your post by February 21st.


Image from nigella.com

This is an easy recipe for lunch or dinner. You may have already made it yourself.

Pita Piazzas

Ingredients:

A cup and a half of partial skim Mozzarella(or any kind you like)

4 Whole Wheat Pitas(or any kind you like)

8 ounce can of tomato sauce( or any kind you like)

20 slices of pepperoni

Pinch of salt

Pinch of Italian Seasonings

Directions:

Take the pita bread and bake it on a tray in the oven for 350. While the pita is crisping up. Prepare your sauce. And while the sauce heats add the salt and Italian seasonings (just to meld the spices together). Cut up the pepperoni and take out the shredded mozzarella in the freezer or the fridge. Remove the pitas from the oven. They should be nice and crispy. Next add the sauce, the mozzarella(melts nicely even frozen) and make happy faces with the pepperoni(if you so desire, who doesn't) and bake it for 15 minutes. I find when I first bake the pitas by themselves they don't get soggy from the sauce. I usually serve the Pita Pizzas with a salad.

Let me start off by saying that I love Trader Joe's. Niel and I both do. They are not pretentious like Whole Foods is. And they're certainly more affordable. Plus they always have neat new items to try. The other day we were getting cereal. (There store brand of Cheerios much cheaper than the supermarket. Plus they have a cute name Joe's O's.) When Niel picked up some corn chowder. The man doesn't like soup very much but he does like corn chowder. The can was easy to open, (a snap off top) and all we had to do was heat it up. It was thick, had potatoes in it, with flecks of red pepper and of course delicious corn. But the soup tasted a bit bland. So I would recommend it as a good base, but you will need to add more to the soup for it to be more flavorful. Perhaps ground black pepper and some yellow or pepper jack cheese. Luckily I had made panini's on the side so we weren't completely left with wanting more.

Did you all hear about the reporter from Texas who had a life sized cake of herself made for her wedding?

Well if not. Here is the story. I kind of thought it was in poor taste.

This month's Weekend Cookbook Challenge hosted by its originator Sara from I Like To Cook is all about veggies.

Mmmm. I love veggies. If it wasn't for bacon I would totally be a vegetarian. Not vegan though cause I love dairy also.

Vegetables were a big part of my family's diet while growing up. My brother pointed out at a family dinner recently that my mom cooked a lot of veg while my dad loved to barbecue. Seems right since this is also true for my household and also with my brother's.

Anyway I chose to make a dish that is near my heart. Zucchini fritters/pancakes. This is my mother's recipe and I am sure she got the recipe from a family member as well. Right now I omit the Feta from the recipe though as not good for the little one. Zucchini fritters/pancakes are great as a side dish or appetizer for a party. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Zucchini fritters/pancakes

1 medium Zucchini grated & drained of excess water
1 heaping tablespoon(use a real spoon) of flour
1 teaspoon of fresh Dill or more if you like
2 eggs
Crumpled feta(if you so desire)
salt and pepper
Quarter cup of Olive Oil

Mix all the ingredients together and form into fritters or pancakes. Should make four or five large ones and a bunch of little ones. Let them set in the fridge for ten minutes. Then fry in a shallow pan in olive oil. Enjoy warm. Simply delicious!

Over the holidays while Niel was doing some shopping he found a guy in a cart who sold amazing waffles, so he purchased one for us to share. This was the best waffle ever. It was drizzled in Hazelnut, chocolate, and topped with whipped cream and strawberries. Truly sinful!

I saw a commercial over the weekend that Jamie Oliver is returning to the Food Network with a new show Jamie At Home. Woo hoo.I used to watch his shows the Naked Chef and Oliver's Twist. First Nigella is back and now Jamie. The British are taking over and I couldn't be giddier!

Happy New Year Glitters