Something GOOD... and something Fu**-awful

Something GOOD...

OMG! You should see the beautiful, beautiful gift I received yesterday, from Muddy Boots Dreams!

I won a set of five gorgeous cards, featuring her photography... and I was simply blown away with how absolutely gorgeous they are !

They're breathtaking ... and there's no way I would ever use them as "mere" cards!
These babies will be professionally framed and hung on the wall, just so I can see them everyday ....and smile!

Now there's no way that my photos could even begin to do justice to Muddy Boot Dreams photos, but just look here at what she sent me!
I almost feel embarassed to show them like this, because there's no way I could begin to do them justice... but you just have to see what I recieved!!!

LOOKEE!!!

Aren't they simply stunning?

Thank you so much, Muddy Boot Dreams...

You're a sweetheart!

I absolutely LOVE these cards !!!

~~~~~~~~~

And now, to something fu**awful....

Last nights falafels were good - really good... and they reheated wonderfully !

It's just a pity that I was too tired to enjoy the meal like I wanted to.

After the day that I had had, even chewing was almost like too much of an effort... and I fell alseep in the chair at about 7pm and woke up with a crook neck.

Which is neither here nor there, I'm just tellin' ya.

Now, the first night I served these falafels, I served them with store-bought Tzatziki, (cucumber sauce) which I think tasted just fine... but last night, I was lazy, so I just drizzled them with lime juice ( from my very own lime tree...YAY!) and I think I preferred them this way.

The Old Guy preferred the Tzatziki, which he kept pronouncing as "Tahiti sauce".

So I guess the Old dear ate Fuc-awfuls with Tahiti

(why do I keep hearing a chicken clucking when I say it that way?

Fuc Fuc Fuc-awful...)

And now, ladies and gentlemen, for your chewing pleasure, I present to you....

"Fuc-awful Balls!"

Or better known as the

"Recipe for Falafel".

Ingredients

• 
  1 1/4 cup chick peas, Soaked overnight (or you can just use a can of garbanzo beans like I did - but I used 2 and doubled the other ingredients)
• 4 green onions / spring onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons water
• 4 large parsley sprigs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cummin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• Salt and pepper
• Oil for deep frying ( I shallow fried)

1. Drain the chick peas and mash thoroughly or place in a blender/food processor with the green onions, garlic, water and parsley. Blend to a puree.

(I semi-mashed them with a potato masher first, then used my stick-blender thingie... and it worked just fine)

Mixture should be cookie-dough-ish in consistancy, but if yours is too wet, simply add some flour

2. Stir in the remaining ingredients, with salt and pepper to taste, then turn into a bowl and leave for 1-2 hours (To dry out slightly)

3. Form the mixture into walnut sized balls (I did mine larger - more golf ball sized) and flatten slightly

4. Heat the oil in the pan/deep dryer, add falafel and fry for about 4 minutes (Or until golden)

(I just shallow fried them, and carefully turned them when they were brown)

5. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

They were a bit of an effort the first time, because I had never done them before, but I think that now that I know what I'm doing, they'll be easier to make and I might even experiment a little.

But NOT with the diced celery that the Old Guy suggested!

See, he's got a "thing" about celery ... and he thinks that any recipe can be improved with it.

Lord help me...

I would definitely do these again and again - and they do freeze wonderfully!

Falafels are pretty darned versatile, and they can also be used as a filling in pita bread, with salad-y stuff and condiments of your choice.

I'm not a big pita-bread person, but I know the Old Guy would like them this way!

Especially with Tahiti sauce....