Falafel!

Falafels in Toronto are sort of a holy grail for me. Nearly every one I've had has been a disappointment. Either the falafels are too dry, mushy or just not very good (which isn't exactly a surprise when almost all of them seem to start off as frozen patties). And then there's the filling - most have too much lettuce and not nearly enough vegetables, hummus or tzatziki which can result in an extremely dry sandwich. I know there must be good falafel places in the city but most of the better ones are further away than I'm generally willing to venture, especially if there's a chance it will disappoint.

My problem runs a little deeper here in that I have a "perfect" falafel in my memory...and it isn't from Toronto, or even Canada. Two summers ago I had the most mind-blowingly delicious falafel at L'As Du Falafel in Paris. Their falafels, freshly deep fried from due to the high volume of customers, were crispy but still amazingly moist and tender on the inside. The liberal amounts of tahini and tzatziki and the thinly sliced cucumber matchsticks kept the sandwich from being dry (in fact it was dripping). The saddest part of all this was the fact that I didn't even get my own falafel on this occasion. We had gone late at night after the bar and I wasn't very hungry so shared one with Rue. Big mistake. This falafel literally haunts my dreams.

Anyway, all this means that I'm going to be pretty hard-pressed to find a truly satisfactory falafel even with lowered expectations. I had been avoiding falafel recipes for months for this reason exactly, but recently I realized that I was more often disappointed in the filling options and hummus/tzatziki-to-pita ratio than the patties themselves. Which is actually quite easily remedied by an at-home falafel!

This recipe is a bit different from most homemade falafel recipes in that it a) uses canned vs. dried chickpeas and b) the falafels are baked. I'm planning to try using dried chickpeas next time but I actually thought that the texture from the canned version was more than satisfactory considering it doesn't require 24 hours of soaking. I also pan fried these for our meal but ended up baking the leftovers as I noticed that they weren't quite as crispy as I had hoped. I'm not sure if this means I wasn't pan frying at a high enough heat (I haven't figured out the science of pan-frying temperatures yet) or that the patties themselves had too much moisture but I thought that baking might help. The baked version were definitely more crispy but also drier on the inside. I think that ultimately I preferred the pan fried version but I might just need to experiment with the heat/oil levels next time. I can totally see why deep frying is the "preferred" method for falafel making - seems to be the only way to truly get the crispy, crunchy exterior with a moist and soft interior. Both the other methods were still delicious and an improvement over the lacklustre falafels I've had lately. They also freeze extremely well, though it wasn't necessary in my case - I ate them as leftovers for two days of lunches and for dinner again later in the week. These are going to be a regular addition to my dinner options for sure!

Homemade Falafel
Adapted from theKitchn and Chow Vegan
Makes about 22 balls

1 15 oz can garbanzo beans
About half a white onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely grated
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
Dash of chilli powder
1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans. Put in a medium sized bowl and smash with a fork or potato masher. I actually slightly "pulsed" using my immersion blender as I wanted a bit of a finer mixture but don't have a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients (but only 1/4 cup of the panko crumbs) and mix well.

2. Form into small balls, about 1 1/2″ in diameter and slightly flatten. Lightly bread patties in remaining panko crumbs, if desired. Press slightly into the crumbs so that they stick to the falafels.

To pan-fry:

3. Heat a large cast-iron skillet (or regular frying pan) on medium heat. Fry patties in canola or olive oil (I used a combination of the two) for about 5 minutes per side, until they are nicely browned. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.

To bake:

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit, 185 degrees Celsius. Place patties onto an oiled baking pan and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes flip patties, add some more oil to the baking pan and give the pan a shake to re-coat. This will help the falafels brown nicely on the other side as well.

4. Eat in a pita pocket with hummus, tzatziki, tomatoes and cucumber. You can freeze your leftovers to have on another day if you're so fortunate as to have that many left over.

Completing Him Challenge - How we met

How David and I met is a complete mystery, not only to us, but also to our families! We are guessing we were around 12 or 13 at the time, maybe even 10? Who knows, but needless to say our families have known each other for a very long time through church. David and his sisters went to a church school that was at the sister church of the church I attended. So their school would come and do special programs for our church. I initially became friends with his sister, Malissa and she and I wrote each other periodically as pen-pals.

At about high-school graduation age (I was 17 at the time) David and I started talking to each other more at various church things and also through Pathfinders, since it was my job to drop my brother off from time to time.We had corresponded a couple times over e-mail while I was trying to decide where to go for college. We both found out we would be attending the same community college that fall and so we planned on talking more at school.

That summer I was colportuering in St. Louis and David worked at summer camp ('02). About 2 weeks into camp, David was involved in a very serious rock climbing fall and was hospitalized for 3 months. He was not able to start school in the fall due to his recovery so I started and then started talking to him over instant messaging while he was at home getting better.

Our chatting started happening more frequently, to practically every night for hours at a time. In the spring of 03, David planned on attending the pathfinder fair and asked if I wanted to come up as well. So my dad took my brother and I up for the day.

 This isn't the best picture, but my dad took this picture of us while we were at the fair. 

After that weekend we started talking more and more online and then David asked me to go hiking with him one day at a local state park. After that hike, we both knew that this was leading to something more than just friends, so we decided to start dating after then. 

  This picture was taken about 2 weeks after we started dating at the Ohio camp-meeting in '03.

Pretty quickly we both knew we wanted to get married, but since David was behind a year in school we knew it would be a little while. On August 27, 2005 David asked me to marry him! And we planned on getting married the following year after I graduated from college. 

 My mom took this picture the day we were engaged, however I didn't know yet that he was going to ask me that day! I was totally shocked and surprised when he did later that night on the swing in the my parents back yard! I should have guessed because he was so serious the whole time, but it didn't hit me until he got down on one knee and gave me the ring!! 

And so we were married, exactly one year to the day that he proposed (that was a total accident) on August 27, 2006. And this year will be 4 years married, 7 years together!

~ Heather

All the weekend between cuteness...

This weekend has been full of cuteness and beautiful people... you don't believe me? Mmm! So, you must follow me down the rabbit hole! Come on!!

(down the rabbit hole)

Yesterday, Madame Chocolat opened their doors at 5 pm, and of course, we were there for the event!

Madame Chocolat is the lovely project of two girls who dreamed one day with it, and yesterday, that dream become true. With a lovely decoration and gorgeous products inside it, it's the perfect place if you need a cute detail, some lolita clothes or accesories. But, moreover, they don't want to stay only into the Lolita style. They're expecting to add some psychobilly, punk and visual stuff into their catalog!

About more than 150 people were yesterday around the shop for the inauguration, and I catched some of them for you, of course.

My beloved Blut and Marcos, so amazing as always. 

Xavi, so cute and shy!

Vane, gorgeous!

Beautiful girls!

Laia, Carol and I, the three os uf in polka dots!!

So much gorgeous people! Laia, Carol, Vane, Cris, Rocío, Alba, Marcos and I!

After this, Laia and I went to the city center and later, we met again Alba and Cris for a lovely coffee. 

Blouse - Forever 21

Skirt - Miss T Sugar

Socks - Emily Temple Cute

Shoes - Bimba & Lola

Ribbon - Handmade by me

But no, this wasn't the only event of the weekend, because this morning, we made a flea market... Lovely Flea Market!!

But if you want to see gorgeous pictures of the event, please, visit Laia's blog and Vane's blog... and JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP for being informed of the next one!!

And if you want to know what I was exactly selling... keep an eye here on my blog! Soon, as this week it's the third birthday of my blog; there would be surprises!! ;)

The Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 - Germany

Today sees the Unofficial World Cup of Food 2010 assume what will be its more usual format, featuring one country and one food writer per day. Tonight, Germany open their World Cup campaign in South Africa when they take on Australia and it is my great pleasure today to introduce you to Chef Keem, a native German now resident in the United States.

Germany of course received a huge blow in advance of the World Cup when their inspirational skipper, Michael Ballack, sustained an injury playing in the English FA Cup Final, which ruled him out of the tournament. How that will affect Germany's chances in South Africa, only time will tell but I am happy to confirm that no such issues have affected Chef Keem in the kitchen.

Cooking for Germany: Chef Keem




Consider this German Beef Rouladen recipe a consolation prize for all the poor teams that have lost against Germany in the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Since I'm writing this on May 18, I might end up falling on my face with this mouthful of braggadocio, eh? Well, in case things don't work out as I hope (and Germany doesn't win the title), at least I have something really good to fill my mouth with on July 11.

How To Make German Beef Rouladen Worthy of A Culinary World Cup

1. Tenderize an 8 to 10-ounces slice of beef (inside round or top round), but don't overdo it so the meat rips apart. Season well with salt and pepper.

2. Now spread the following ingredients over the meat: 1 Tblsp thinly-sliced smoked bacon, 1 Tblsp chopped onions, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 Tblsp mustard (any kind), and 1 pickle spear. (In the video, the first 4 ingredients are already mixed together.)

3. Make a tight roll and secure the end with 2 tooth picks.

4. Brown the rouladen from all sides in hot oil; remove from pot into a bowl.

5. Cook a handful of chopped onion and one or two teaspoons of minced garlic until translucent and lightly browned; add one bay leaf.

6. Pour 1-2 cups of red wine into the pot and loosen the brown bottom bits with a spatula while boiling the liquid for 3-4 minutes.

7. Put the rouladen back into the pot and barely cover them with good beef stock (broth).

8. Bring everything to a gentle simmer, cover the pot, and cook for about an hour.

9. Remove the beef rolls to a covered dish and keep warm.

10. Whisk a 1/2 cup of sour cream and some cold thickener (roux) into the liquid to add body and flavor to the sauce; cook on high until lightly thickened.

11. Don’t forget to remove the tooth picks before serving the rouladen covered with sauce.

12. Great side dishes include mashers, pasta, rice, potato dumplings, bread dumplings, carrots, green beans, red cabbage or sauerkraut.

This video shows all the steps of this recipe except for a plated serving. It's totally up to you how you want to eat this fabulous dish. Almost any side dish you like will work fine with beef rouladen.



OK, I'll try to be impartial and generous: May the best team win the 2010 Soccer World Cup! (Which is what's going to happen, anyway.)

Chef Keem on Squidoo

Although Chef Keem is of course aware that I will be linking to his creations around the Web in the content of this post, he does not know that I am about to showcase some of his other talents, aside from writing and cooking. The following video explains why Chef Keem writes so prolifically for the Web hosting platform, Squidoo...



Update!! - Sunday Evening (UK time)

I promised Chef Keem earlier this week that I would enjoy a Weissbier or two as I watched the game tonight. I did not forget, Chef! I poured this Erdinger beer only minutes ago and am savouring it as I watch the match, where Germany currently lead Australia 2-0 at half-time.

For those who are unfamiliar with Weissbier, it translates in to English as, "Wheat beer." The word weiss in German can mean either, "White," or, "Wheat." I drank quite a few of these while in Germany for the FIFA World Cup 2006! To be enjoyed at its best, Weissbier really has to be poured in to a proper Weissbier glass as this one is and which I was given as a gift in Munich a number of years ago.

Hainanese food, but not really

June 13

Paco, good Muslim that he is, bowed out of dinner last night, which was destined to be laden with pork, and instead we were treated to the company of Helen Ong (pictured with restaurateur Ong Shin Hong), a charming Peranakan woman who just finished writing her second edition of the book Great Dining in Penang.

 Peranakan is a Malay word indicating a mixed-race heritage, but it refers specifically to Straits Chinese, the Chinese people who started settling here on the Malay Peninsula (mostly), starting in the 16th Century. Initially they were men, who naturally married Malay women, and a new culture was born. Their cuisine is often called Nyonya, or Baba-Nyonya, the titles of the woman, or man and woman, of the house.

The bulk of Peranakans originally came from Fujian province. Fujian’s actually the Mandarin name for the province. In Fujian dialect it's called Hokkien.

The Hokkien worked hard and prospered, and as Malaya came under British rule, they began to adopt the characteristics of their new overlords, wearing top hats and suits and walking with canes.

“Even furs,” Helen told us, with an expression of disbelief and disdain very much in the style of a posh English person.

Remember, Malaysia’s a tropical country. Fur coats would be uncomfortable.

Helen explained the Peranakans to us as she ordered dinner at Shing Kheang Aun, a restaurant that opened its doors in 1941, serving Hainanese food.

But not really.

You see, Helen explained, in the late 1800s, the Malay Peninsula experienced a huge migration of Chinese laborers from Hainan, a large island to the southwest of China’s Guangdong province (whence come the Cantonese, and, incidentally, the Teo Chiew, but they are not part of this story).

For the sake of accuracy, I’ll point out that Hainan itself has for much of its history been part of Guangdong.

The Hainanese came to be known for their culinary skills and were hired by the British as cooks. The Peranakans, mimicking the British as they were wont to do, hired the Hainanese, too.

So the Hainanese learned to cook both British and Peranakan food, but also retained their own culinary culture.

That, Helen said, is the “Hainan” cuisine of modern-day Malaysia.

At any rate, Joanna, Bob and I thought the food was fantastic. Helen, local restaurant critic and anglicized socialite that she is, was more critical. She disagreed with the sambal belacan, which according to Peranakan custom should be made from shrimp paste, fresh chile, salt and sugar, and that’s it.

“That’s the Peranakan way,” she said.

Shing Kheang Aun had added vinegar to theirs — a common practice to extend the condiment’s life, and a bastardization of the original

Thais add garlic and fish sauce, she said, which is equally delicious, but not Peranakan (she pointed out, by the way, that Peranakans are not just in Singapore, Malacca and Penang, the cities for which they are known, but also on the Thai island of Phuket, and Medan, a large city in northern Sumatra, just across the Strait of Malacca, and there are some on Malaysia’s east coast, too).

She also said her assam tumis was better than Shing Kheang Aun’s.

I have no reason to doubt here, but I thought the restaurant’s assam tumis was terrific.

Assam is the Malay word for “sour,” and tumis means “fry.” It refers to the sour paste that’s fried to make the sauce for this fish curry, which tasted very much like southern Thai gaeng som, which means “sour curry,” and is made with garlic, chile and fresh turmeric fried together to make a curry base. Assam tumis also has tamarind in it, and I have no doubt that some versions of gaeng som do, too.

It was my favorite dish, but Joanna and Bob really loved the shrimp, which was marinated in tamarind, salt and sugar and then fried (it’s pictured on the right, unlike the assam tumis, which is not as photogenic).

We also had beef liver and pork fried with soy sauce, stir-fried been sprouts flavored with salted fish (which reminded me once again how ridiculous it is to eat bean sprouts raw — a state in which they’re disgusting), salted vegetables flavored with pig trotters, and Hainan-style noodles (apparently it is not the Hainanese custom to add black soy sauce to their noodles).

As dinner wound down Helen explained the origins of the name Fatty Crab, a chain restaurant in Kuala Lumpur after which Zak Pelaccio’s New York restaurant is named.

In Cantonese, "fatty crab" is pronounced "fei hai." But you have to use the right tones, especially for “hai.”

“Fei” means “fatty” and “hai,” pronounced correctly, means “crab.” Pronounced otherwise, it’s a vulgar word for “vagina.”

Transliterated into Roman letters as Fei Hai, it could mean either one.

If you’re Cantonese and see a sign written that way, it’s funny.

It’s kind of like the California-based chain Pink Taco.

Easy Waffles Recipe

Ingredients:

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
3 eggs
1¾ cups whole milk
½ cup vegtable oil
½ tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)

How to prepare :

Pre-heat your waffle iron to its hottest setting. Placing a cookie-sheet under it can help catch any batter drippage during cooking.

Pre-heat oven to 200°F.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

Beat eggs thoroughly. Whisk in sugar, milk and oil.

Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix gently until combined. Don't overmix!

Spray both surfaces of your waffle iron with cooking spray.

Ladle 4 to 6 oz (½ to ¾ cup) batter on the iron and close it. It's not unusual for a bit of batter to seep out of the edges of the iron. If there's excessive leakage, use less batter for the next waffle.
Cook until the waffle iron's indicator light shows that cooking is complete, or until no more steam comes out. The finished waffle should be golden brown and crispy.

Lift the waffle out of the iron with a pair of tongs and either serve right away or transfer it to the oven to keep warm.

Easy Waffles Recipe

Ingredients:

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
3 eggs
1¾ cups whole milk
½ cup vegtable oil
½ tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)

How to prepare :

Pre-heat your waffle iron to its hottest setting. Placing a cookie-sheet under it can help catch any batter drippage during cooking.

Pre-heat oven to 200°F.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

Beat eggs thoroughly. Whisk in sugar, milk and oil.

Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix gently until combined. Don't overmix!

Spray both surfaces of your waffle iron with cooking spray.

Ladle 4 to 6 oz (½ to ¾ cup) batter on the iron and close it. It's not unusual for a bit of batter to seep out of the edges of the iron. If there's excessive leakage, use less batter for the next waffle.
Cook until the waffle iron's indicator light shows that cooking is complete, or until no more steam comes out. The finished waffle should be golden brown and crispy.

Lift the waffle out of the iron with a pair of tongs and either serve right away or transfer it to the oven to keep warm.