Saturday, February 12, 2011

The Big Easy...and Big Fears


Friends, I'm heading down to New Orleans for a few days. My job has been gracious enough to send me to a sweet training that will be immensely useful in my work with my students.

While I'm super excited about this training, my joy has been eclipsed by a bigger issue: I'm flat-out terrified of flying. I'm panicky about even being in an airport, let alone taking off.

And as anxious as I am about flying, I'm perhaps equally as scared of the whole transferring-to-a-connecting-flight situation. What if the first plane is running late and I miss my connecting flight? What if I get pulled over by a security guard for a pat-down? WHAT IF MY TOOTHPASTE TUBE IS TOO BIG?!

If you haven't noticed, your happy-go-lucky, food-lovin' Hungry Spoon disappeared momentarily. She's been replaced with a beady-eyed ball of nerves.

And speaking of food, my co-workers told me it's probably not a good idea to pack a jar of almond butter in my carry-on.

Someone. Send. Help.

But enough about me and my irrational flight-fear ramblings. You came for food, and I'm here to deliver.

Remember that carrot dip I raved about earlier this week? Today I'd like to share its dinner partner: Falafel Patties. These guys pack a punch of powerful flavor--they're heavy on lemon and garlic, which made me a happy lady. We topped our Falafel patties with caramelized onions, carrot dip, and a little spinach. Adam went sandwich style with his, and I took the bun-less option.

So friends, I'll leave you with this Falafel Fun until I return from The Big Easy. I'll be back in town by Wednesday evening...assuming I don't collapse in the airport and catatonically rock back and forth in the fetal position until security has me committed.

This should be interesting :)

Baked Falafel Patties
(adapted from a recipe in Veggie Burgers Every Which Way)

The lemon and garlic really shine in this awesome baked take on Falafel. As noted above, we served ours with caramelized onions and curried carrot dip. Make it as a sandwich, or crumble on top of a lunch salad!

Ingredients:
  • 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Juice of 1/2 of a lemon
  • 1 TBSP ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees and coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2) Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until combined. If the mixture is too dry to form patties, you can add a little water until they come together (not too much though! They'll fall apart in the oven if they are too liquidy)

3) Shape into 6 patties and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Serve with curried carrot dip and caramelized onions (as a sandwich or in a salad).

18 comments:

  1. I travel a lot for work and I HATE to fly. Airports are such a pain in the butt and I've had some really bad winter weather traveling experiences recently. Ugh. Hope you make it out there safe and sound!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yum! Thank you for a flour-less falafel! It's one of my favorie things to make and eat, I usually top mine with hummus -- I can never get enough of the garbanzo bean!

    I hope your trip is fun, take some deep breaths on the plane. I haven't flown much, but flying TERRIFIES my husband. He said the next time he flies, he's going to get a perscription of some sort...which says a lot, because he can't stand conventional medicine.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those Baked Falafel Patties look amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I HATE flying too and I'll be on a plane all day tomorrow! Wishing both of us luck! =|

    ReplyDelete
  5. Definitely don't bring almond butter! I tried to bring peanut butter home once on a flight and they confiscated it. I was gutted :(

    ReplyDelete
  6. Aw, you'll be just fine :) Enjoy your time in New Orleans and have a safe trip!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello there.... I'm so sorry for missing so many of your posts.. my mother is sick, so I've been so pre occupied with that and school, work, .... also I started my own site, website.. wanted something a little bit more professional, and wanted to give you the new site address = )

    It may take me sometime to finish it completely, so bare with me while I'm posting and tweaking... = ) I thought, why not just brand myself...

    the new site is ellemarie.jp, hope you'll bookmark it and come visit me.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love falafel and I love the fact that these aren't fried. I will definitely try these! Good luck with the travel. I'm sure you'll do just fine. And enjoy your time in New Orleans. I have never been there, but it's one of the places I really want to visit. Enjoy yourself!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Have fun in NO--in my home state of LA! The weather here in PA cannot compare...sigh. I hope you get some great food while you're there!

    Definitely going to try this recipe. i love falafel & actually have never tried to make it from scratch.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lady, I'm just terrible about flying - to the point where I have anxiety pills to pop while I'm on the plane. You're SO not alone. I hope you have a safe and good trip!

    And obviously, Happy Valentine's Day!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm sending soothing and peaceful thoughts. I know how debilitating anxiety can be! I hope you have an amazing time on your trip...I know that you will! Thank you for sharing with me tonight. Hugs and well wishes from Austin! Happy Valentine's Day!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good luck flying! As the wife of a pilot, I can tell you that flying is never as scary as it sounds. Sending you relaxing thoughts still!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've been hooked on making "patties": salmon patties, quinoa burgers and these look so good (and I have all of those ingredients!) - thanks for sharing!

    And sorry to hear about your fears of flying. I just get anxious -- that I forgot something or I forgot to do something. Take deep breaths and order a drink on the plane! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Have fun in New Orleans! I have ALWAYS wanted to go. I can understand your fear of flying... I always try to go right to sleep as soon as I board.

    Those falafel patties look great! Falafel is one of those delicious foods I could eat almost every day.

    ReplyDelete
  15. You should probably be back by now, so I hope you enjoyed your trip despite the flying part! I've flown a ton, so it's something I never really think about. I do have my share of fears, though... These falafel patties sound like spiced hummus in burger form! Definitely a good thing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I realized what had been missing from my falafel recipe: CUMIN. Doh.

    Here's a blog post about it -- I shared a link to this post as my cumin-spiration!

    http://spicedplate.blogspot.com/2011/02/falafel-finally.html

    ReplyDelete
  17. falafel is my favorite I literally just did a post about falafel a couple days ago to! I just came across you blog and I really like it keep up the great work!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Veg is healthy... Veg without frying is healthier... I never ate this... I'm sure it must be delicious...

    ReplyDelete