FALAFEL and TZATZIKI

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FALAFEL

(Makes 15 C blocks plus whatever amount of fat you use to cook it in)

Ingredients:

2 cans chick peas, drained
1 medium onion chopped
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced fine
1 handful of fresh parsley
3 or 4 T. flour (scant 1/4 cup)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 T. ground cumin (or to taste)
2 tsp. ground coriander (or to taste)
A little bit of cayenne (to taste)

Oil for cooking. I use "light tasting" olive oil (that's refined olive oil, not extra virgin)


Directions:

Place all ingredients except for the oil into a food processor adn process to a coarse puree. Be careful not to over process it. Form into small patties no larger than about 2 inches across or 1/2 inch thick (I've found smaller and flatter cook better). Heat a small amount of oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Slightly brown the patties on each side and place on a serving plate. This recipe is large so it will need to be cooked in batches. If you have two nonstick pans, the cooking will go faster. Serve with tzatziki.


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TZATZIKI

(Entire recipe contains about 4P, and 5C; plus F if you use the optional cream cheese)

Ingredients:

1 English cucumber (grate using the larger grate, let sit 30 min and then squeeze out the excess water)
2 cups yogurt
1 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves finely minced garlic
2 tsp. fresh dill, chopped
2 tsp fresh mint, chopped
S & P to taste
Optional: 2T cream cheese

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

For the cream cheese option:
Blend the cream cheese with ½ cup of the yogurt using an immersion blender. Stir into the remaining yogurt. Mix in the rest of the ingredients.