Falafel bites

Alright... so I've been pretty awful this year with keeping up with this blog. I revamped it, wooed you with promises of something more consistent, and immediately let it sit just to collect dust. I'm guilty by self-proclamation and don't have much to say for it. However, I do have a gamut of recipes that are ready for public scrutiny, and all that's left is the flurry of my typing fingers that stand between the scribbles in my culinary notebook and your eyes. I'd like to say this is my latest and greatest attempt to rekindle my blogging flame, but who are we kidding... my track record isn't so great. I am optimistic, though. So, without a sweeping declaration that I will in fact keep this going (which I really do hope to be more consistent), here's a recipe I've been meaning to share with you all for ages:

The background:
In my efforts to live as close to a gluten-free lifestyle as possible, snacks have been one of my biggest hindrances. Items light, nutritious, and not packed with processed ingredients were the key factors in my motivation to come up with a few of the recipes I have in store for you. This one is great; slightly burdensome to make, but easy to carry around and filled with substantial amounts of protein and fiber. Enjoy!

Falafel Bites
Yields 60-70 bites

Preheat oven to 375* 
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Ingredients
- 2 cup sprouted chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), 
  drained
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3/4 cup parsley
- 1/2 medium-sized yellow or white onion
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 1/2 t salt
- 2 t lemon juice
- 2 T ground coriander
- 2 T ground cumin
- 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup water
- paprika to taste

Directions
1. If using raw chickpeas, soak for 24-48 hours prior until sprouted/soft. If using canned chickpeas, drain liquid and rinse thoroughly to get rid of most of the excess sodium - can use immediately.

2. In a food processor (or coffee grinder), grind almonds and sunflower seeds, and set aside in large bowl or stand mixer bowl. Tip: You may also buy almond meal to make this step easier. Raw almonds are sometimes difficult to grind.

3. Chop onions finely and add to bowl. 

3. In food processor grind rest of the ingredients, except water, together until it reaches a coarse texture. You do not want the mixture to be entirely smooth. Place the mixture into the bowl w/ the almond and sunflower. Note: You may need to grind in a couple batches, as not everything will fit into the food processor at once. It does not matter how you divvy up the ingredients between the batches as everything will mix together in the end.

4. If in a large bowl, add water and stir everything together until well combined. If using a stand mixer, add water, and mix with paddle beater on low setting until well combined. When adding water, start with 1/2 cup. You want the mixture to be just thin enough so it is easy to spoon out bite-sized portions onto the parchment paper. Add in more water as needed, but you should not need to add more than 3/4 cup total. 

5. Once stirred, you can taste the mixture to see if there is enough salt/spice. If using raw, sprouted chickpeas, just be aware that this can taste a little funky before baking if you're not accustomed. But don't worry, that raw taste will disappear soon enough.

6. Spoon out small spoonfuls of mixture onto your parchment-lined baking sheet. I like to use a 2-teaspoon measure that I have handy to create the size I like (pictured). Use any spoon that is convenient for you. If you use a 1-tablespoon measure, perhaps fill the tablespoon about 2/3 of the way to achieve the same size.

7. Baked at 375* for 10 minutes until the bottom is just browned, then broil on HIGH for 3-4 minutes until the top is just browned. It may take about 4 rounds to complete baking the entire mixture.

8. Remove to cooling rack. Then eat plain or with your favorite yogurt dip! Store in the fridge.

Pie Pops!!

I recently overcame one of my biggest fears. What was that fear, you ask? Being alone? Dying a slow, painful death? Sleeping with the closet doors open? Pie Crusts? Yes! That's right - pie crusts. Oddly enough I've harbored an intense, irrational fear of making pie crusts. 6 years ago I ventured into the art of baking and attempted a lattice crust apple pie for a 4th of July celebration. The pie ended up coming out decently enough. But the recipe I found online was so intricate and specific that I (temporarily) developed heart palpitations over being nervous about entirely screwing up that damn pie and (pseudo-permanently) developed a hatred toward making pie crusts. I vowed to never deal with them ever ever again! But of course, if you know me, you know that it would bother me so much that I failed at this seemingly simple venture that I would have to try again.... eventually....

And eventually came 6 years later in the form of "Cherish Teters to the rescue!" (and, yes, she does have a Super Woman cape, fyi). She's quite the pie expert, and I learned much from Obi-Wan-Teters on this star-crossed day where she helped me conquer my fear of pie crusts and make 60 pie pops (apple and pecan) for my sister's bridal shower and our personal consumption! These little treats are seriously bite-sized morsels of pure awesomeness. Just the perfect amount of pie to satisfy your palate.  :)

Now I finally get what they mean by "as easy as pie." 

Pie Crust Ingredients:
Yields 2 double-crusted pies (i.e. 4 crusts) = 40 pie pops (10 pie pops per crust)

4 cups flour

1 1/3 cup Crisco shortening*
2 t salt

3 or 4 T stick margarine

1/4 cup or less sugar**
12-13 T water

1. In bowl, add all ingredients except water

2. Use pantry blender to mix together

3. Pour in about 12-13 tbsp cold water, and mix quickly

- if the dough appears too wet, add in a little more flour and mix

4. Separate dough into 4 sections

5. Take one section and roll out on floured surface to 1/8" thickness  

*I tried with all my might but couldn't find a healthier substitute for Crisco without sacrificing that delicious flaky crust. Sometimes ya just gotta deal.

**I replaced granulated sugar (GS) with Turbinado. It's a healthier alternative - less processed so it retains more of its minerals. Turbinado is formed as larger crystals and has a more molasses-y taste than GS, but once baked you can't even tell the difference! Also, GS and non-raw brown sugar (which is merely GS w/ molasses added back in for color) may both be processed through bone char (cow bones) to whiten and decolorize it, making them questionably non-vegan. 

Filling Ingredients:

Note: When making the pie pops, I made WAY more filling than necessary. So this is my approximation of how much filling you should make for 20 pie pops for each type of filling. I apologize if the measurements are off. Further, I adopted the pecan filling recipe from a pecan tart (not pie) recipe, but feel free to look up your own pecan or apple filling recipe and incorporate. 

Apple Pie Filling: 

4 cups sliced, peeled baking apples (about 1.5lbs) (I used Granny Smith) 
1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup Turbinado (or 3/8 cup white sugar, 1/8 cup brown sugar) 
1/8 cup flour
1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together, set aside. 

Pecan Pie Filling: 

1 cup pecans
1/4 cup Turbinado (or white sugar)
1/4 cup light corn syrup**
2 eggs
1 t vanilla

Mix all ingredients together, set aside. 

**I substituted corn syrup with agave nectar. Agave offers more health benefits, and can be used as a substitute for other common sweeteners as well. To substitute for corn syrup, I used 1/2 the amount listed and added 1/3 amount of the other liquid - so 1/8 cup agave + 1/12 cup water.

Pie Pop Assembly Instructions: 

From Bakerella  

Preheat oven to 375*

1. Roll out dough on floured surface to 1/8" thickness
- The convenient part about pie pops is that you don't need to roll your pie crusts into perfect circles, since you'll be cutting out circles anyway!


2. Lightly dust with a little bit of flour on bot sides - it'll make the dough easier to work with and move around.
  
3. Use a cookie cutter and cut out your circles


4. Save the dough scraps, roll flat and re-use to cut out more circles

5. Place one layer of circles on a baking sheet

6. Place lollipop sticks on circles, about halfway up (or a little higher if you prefer), and press down to secure.  

7. Place filling in the center of each circle. If you put too much, the filling will seep out of the pies.


8. Place second set of circles on top, and press around edges to seal. Make sure to press around the lollipop stick to secure.

9. Use an extra lollipop stick to press around the border for that pretty dowel-edged look.
 
10. Brush egg whites onto top of crust before baking. ( Another option is to brush with a mixture of 1 egg yolk + 1T milk) 

11. Bake at 375* for 12-15 minutes or until the tops start to brown. 

Remove, cool and enjoy!!!

Optional Shortcuts:

1. Use pre-made pie crusts

2. Use canned pie filling

- I never really knew these existed until Cherish mentioned it! I guess I used canned pumpkin before for pumpkin pie, but didn't put together the fact they sell various canned pie fillings!

Optional Designs:


1. Other shapes can be used, like hearts, but circles give the most room in the center for filling.

2. You can also create these mini pies without the sticks - leaving you with personal-sized pies of any shape. That way you may be able to fit a little more filling in the center. You could arrange it on a pretty platter, present them in a basstack them in a vase for display!

 

Juicing (and an excuse)

More details to come on the wonders of juicing, but for now I thought I would leave you with a couple of pictures I find to be very beautiful.... plus its a way for me to get in the extra labels I couldn't fit into the last post!

Before

After