Nomalicious Falafel Burgers

I've been doing research into recipes that will freeze and re-heat well, that are also vegetarian.  Of the many places I have been looking, cookbooks have been a great resource.  The recipe that I want to high-light today came from one such book, "The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook" by Kim O'Donnel.

I made a batch of these yesterday, and was really happy with the results.  So, here's the recipe!

Ingredients:
1 cp dried chickpeas
1 1/2 cups onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cp fresh cilantro or parsley (or 1/4 cp each), chopped
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4~1/2 cup olive oil


Equipment:
1x spatula
2x large bowl
1x food processor
1x measuring implements

Directions:
1. Soak the chickpeas at least 8 hrs at room temp.  They will be roughly 2cups when done soaking. Drain and set aside.
2. Pulverize the chickpeas in the food processor until the beans just form a paste that sticks together when you squeeze it in your hand.  Over processing the chickpeas will likely end up making bad burgers.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, save for the oil.  Combine by pulsing the food processor ~12 times.
4. Refrigerate batter ~1 hr, until firm.
5. Preheat oven to 350F (if your oven is more awesome than mine)
6. Remove batter from fridge and shape into patties, using scant 1/3 cup measure.  Handle batter as little as possible.
7. Place on a plate/baking tray and cover. A cutting board covered with parchment paper also works. Return to the fridge and chill for another 10~15 minutes.
8. Heat the oil in shallow skillet, and place the patties in the hot oil in small batches. Fry until golden brown (~3 minutes).
9. Flip the patties and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
10. Place on baking tray and place them in the oven to finish cooking.

Serve in pita, hamburger bun, or atop romaine lettuce, decorated with things like lettuce, tomato, and other burger fixings.  This will make somewhere between 6-8 patties.



Also included in the book is a recipe for Tahini sauce.  Tahini is made from ground sesame seeds, and can be difficult to find, and can be pretty expensive once you do. This sauce is fairly tasty, but the recipe makes a lot, and it supposedly only lasts a few days.  The recipe is as follows:

Tahini sauce:
1 cp tahini, stirred well
1/4~1/2 cp lemon juice
1~2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

Blend all ingredients until smooth.  The sauce should be pourable, so add extra water if needed.  It should keep in the fridge for a few days.

Possible Alterations:
There are some other recipes included in The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook that has the same basic batter, but changes the spices.  If you're very curious about it, you should get a copy (buying is good, but don't forget about your local library!)

While I like the tahini sauce, I would probably not want to make that much of it ever again.  It's expensive, and ketchup, mustard, and mayo-sriracha sauce all do a fantastic job on the burger anyway. Also, I ended up adding way more garlic than recommended, as well as probably went a over the recommended amount of salt.  Tahini has a bitter aftertaste, so salt helps counter-act that.  I know this because I initially forgot to add the salt, and realized my error when I tasted the sauce.

All told, I will definitely give this recipe another go, especially to see how it handles the freezing/re-heating process.

Good eats, and happy gaming!

The Amazing CLT

To round out our month of trying to be healthier players, lets talk about a wondrous sandwich which I call the CLT.  The CLT is made with three primary ingredients: cheese, lettuce, and tomato.  Unlike the BLT, where primary flavour comes from the bacon, the tomato actually brings the most to the party in the CLT.  These sandwiches are best with fresh, large tomatoes.

Equipment:
1 chef's knife
a cutting board

Ingredients:
slices of Mozzarella/Provolone cheese, 1~2 per sandwich
1~2 tomatoes, thickly sliced
Lettuce (Romain is nice), washed and ripped
Mayonnaise
Salt (Sea Salt is best)
Sliced bread, toasted

Directions:
1. Apply mayo to bread slices
2. Place 1~2 slices of tomato on the sandwich
3. sprinkle/grind salt over tomato
4. add cheese and lettuce to sandwich
5. close the sandwich

Serve!  1 medium sized tomato should yield enough for 3 or 4 sandwiches, at least.

Possible Alterations:
Sandwiches are very flexible, but aside from different sauces, there isn't much in the way of additions or subtractions one can make without making something that isn't a CLT.  That doesn't mean that they'd be bad, by any stretch though! 
Now it is also important to note that these sandwiches, while tasty, aren't necessarily the most filling things on the face of the planet.  They'd be best served with a side of some sort of hefty side dish.  One might consider rice and beans, or some kind of bean salad. 

Happy gaming!

The Classic BLT

Bacon. Lettuce. Tomato.
Classic.
Assuming you like bacon, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more tasty vehicle for its consumption than the BLT.  Makin' Bacon can be time consuming, but making the sandwiches isn't.  Bacon is also remarkably affordable, as is lettuce, tomato, and bread.

Ingredients:
Bacon (I like thick cut bacon for sandwiches)
Lettuce
Tomato
Mayonnaise
bread

Equipment:
Knife
cookie sheet
Aluminum foil

Directions:
1. Cook the Bacon.  Baking is my preferred method, because a lot can be made at once.  It is recommended to do this beforehand. 
2. Toast the bread.
3. While the bread is toasting, slice the tomato and wash the lettuce.
4. Now that the lettuce has been washed, rip it into pieces.
5. When the bread is toasted, spread mayonnaise onto each slice.
6. Put the bacon, lettuce, and tomato onto a slice of bread, closing it up with another piece of bread.

Voilà!  One of the most delicious sandwiches in existence, and it's on your plate!

Possible Alterations:
I honestly can't think of anything that could possibly make this sandwich any better.