Flatbreads and Falafels

Dear Sally,

The holidays are just about over but the cooking frenzy is just starting! I love the cookbook you gave me and I have been dying to try recipes from it ever since I first opened it. After flipping through I came to a recipe for falafels and thought I would take a stab. How hard can it be to mash chickpeas and a few other ingredients and fry them up? I had a few trials with the blender but thankfully everything worked out and they were delicious! Nothing like curry to warm your belly on a cold day.

I miss our dates but I guess this just means that I have to make my way to Peterborough more often :)

Love ya!
Jess



Navajo Flatbreads
From Jamie's America
Scant 5 cups white bread flour plus extra for dusting
1 tsp. salt
2 heaped tablespoons baking powder
optional: 1 teaspoon dried herbs or spices
1/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup warm water

Mix your flour, salt, baking powder, and herbs (if using) in a large bowl, using a fork. Make a well in the center, then pour in the olive oil and about 2/3 cup warm water. Use the forl to gradually bring in the flour from the edge of the bowl, and add another splash of water if you think it's to dry. Once it starts to combine, wet your hands and use them to really bring it all together until you have a nice ball of dough.

Dust your hands and clean a worktop with flour and knead the dough with your hands until it is smooth and elastic. This will take 5 to 10 minutes. Pop the dough back in the bowl, dust it with a bit more flour, then cover and leave to relax.

Divide your dough into 10 equal-sized balls, then slightly oil your hands and squeeze each ball between your palms to flatten it slightly. Dust with a little flour as you go, and pat and slap the dough from the palm of one hand to the top of the other. Turn and twist the dough about in a circular movement as you go and keep slapping from hand to hand - each flatbread should be about 1/2 inch thick.

Normally the flatbreads are cooked as you're making them. You can do this on a grill or in a nonstick frying pan on a medium heat. Cook them for a few minutes on each side and check the underside - you want them to puff up with a nice bit of golden color. Keep them warm in a basket covered with a dish towel until you're ready to serve them.

Falafels
From The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen
1 can chickpeas
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp parsley
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp baking powder
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour
vegetable oil for frying

In a food processor, coarsly chop the onion, garlic, chick peas, parsley lemon juice, salt and spices. Mix into a paste and pour into a bowl and add the flour.
Shape by heaping 1 tbsp each into 24 balls; flatten to 1/2 inch thickness. Arrange in single layer on waxed paper - lined tray; refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 12 hours.

Pour enough oil into a dutch oven to come up about 2 inches. Heat to 350 and in batches gently drop falafels into hot oil. Deep-fry, turning once, until golden and cooked through, 3 mintes. Drain on paper towel.

Tahini Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cucumber (seeds removed and shredded)
2 cloves garlic

Flatbreads, Green Chili and Lemon Loaf

Dear Jess,

What a week! Between packing, working, Christmas shopping and everything else that fills the hours of my days it's amazing I find time to breathe! But what a ride it is!


I picked these three recipes for a few reasons. All of them fall under the category of 'I have never tried this before' and 'The ingredients are not expensive.' It as been snowing (as you know) and both Jason and I wanted something warm and cozy. I made two loaves of Lemon Bread. One for me to go with my evening tea, and one for Amber for Christmas. (I have been making a lot of my Christmas presents this year!)


There were a few hiccups along the way, but it all turned out to be delicious none-the-less.

Navajo Flatbreads and Green Chili, Jamie's America, Pg 139, 165

Navajo Flatbreads
From Jamie's America
Scant 5 cups white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
2 heaped tbsp baking powder
optional: 1 tsp dried herbs or spices, such as thyme, parsley, sumac, or crushed fennel seeds (I used basil)
1/3 cup olive oil


Mix your flour, salt, baking powder, and herbs or spices (if using) in a large bowl, using a fork. Make a well in the center, then pour in the olive oil and about 2/3 cup of warm water. Use the fork to gradually bring in the flour from the edge of the bowl, and add another splash of water if you think it's too dry.* Once it starts to combine, wet your hands and use them to really bring it all together until you have a nice ball of dough.


Dust your hands and a clean worktop with flour and kneed the dough with your hands until it is smooth and elastic. This will take 5 to 10 minutes. Pop the dough back into the bowl, dust it with a bit more flour, then cover and leave to relax.


Divide your dough into 10 equal-sized balls, then lightly oil your hands and squeeze each ball between your palms to flatten it slightly. Dust with a little flour as you go, and pat and slap the dough from the palm of one hand to the top of the other. Turn and twist the dough about in a circular movement as you go and keep slapping from hand to hand - each flatbread should be about 1/2 inch thick.


Normally the flatbreads are cooked as you're making them. You can do this on a grill or in a nonstick frying pan on a medium heat. Cook them for a few minutes on each side and check the underside - you want them to puff up with a nice bit of golden colour. Keep them warm in a basket covered with a dish towel until you're ready to serve them.

*I found I needed a LOT more water... Don't be shy to add water, or else it will fail to stick together.

Green Chili
From Jamie's America
Olive oil
1 3/4 lbs ground pork
1 tsp dried sage
sea salt and black pepper
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 green bell peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
6 small green chiles, roughly chopped
4 large, ripe red tomatoes, chopped into small chunks
1 romaine lettuce, leaves washed and spun dry
a small bunch of fresh mint
4 scallions
optional: 1 lime, sour cream or natural yogurt, to serve


Put a large saucepan on a high heat and add a little olive oil. Add the ground pork, dried sage, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat up a bit and stir it about, then cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add your onions, garlic, bell peppers, and chiles, stir everything together, then fry for 15 minutes on a high heat until any liquid from the pork has evaporated and everything is starting to turn golden. When it looks good, stir in your chopped tomatoes and half a glass of water. Remember that it's supposed to be quite dry (in a really wholesome and nice way), not stewy and wet, so don't add too much water.*


Turn the heat down to medium and let it tick away for 10 minutes or so while you wash and roughly chop up the lettuce. Pick the leaves from the bunch of mint and roughly chop them. Trim and thinly slice your scallions.

Put a flatbread on your plate/in your bowl. Put down some romaine lettuce. Ladle your chili on the lettuce, and top with scallions, mint and sour cream (if you choose, I only topped with scallions)

*I put too much water in... well, I put half a glass of water in, but it was too much. Next time I might not bother with the water, as I found the tomatoes created a lot of moisture.

 

Lemon Yogurt Loaf
From Canadian Living Magazine, September, 2010, Page 141
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp baking pwder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 3/4 tsp finely grated lemon rind
2/3 cup plain yogurt
3 eggs
1/3 cup olive oil


Syrup:
3/4 cups icing sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice


In bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.


In a large bowl and using fingers, rub sugar with lemon rind. Whisk in yogurt and eggs; whisk in oil. Stir in flour mixture in 2 additions. Scrape into greased loaf pan (8 by 4-inch.)


Bake at 350 until tester inserted in centre comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan; place on small tray.


In a small bowl, whisk icing sugar with lemon juice until dissolved. Brush over top and sides of loaf, moving loafe around to absorb excess liquid. Let cool on rack.*


*I totally messed up the 'syrup'... I added WAY too much lemon juice, so I just kept adding icing sugar until it looked thick enough. Also, I didn't have a whisk or anything that would properly mix the sugar with the lemon juice, so I got chunks of icing sugar which sort of look gross, but the whole thing tastes amazing!



I hope your week is going well! I can't wait to see you tomorrow night for dinner. I will miss you so much when I move. Although I am very excited to be within a community again. I never thought I would miss it so much. I know you know that I love you. Have a very Merry Christmas, babe. 


I love you,
Sally

Sandwiches and Corn Chowder

Dearest Jess,

I came home this weekend not sure of my plan. All I knew was I was excited to see people that I miss during the week. Excited to visit with them, and possibly (if the opportunity presented itself) make food for them. Much to my delight, all such things were accomplished.

I was lucky enough to arrive on Friday night just in time for a game of Settlers of Catan with Jason, Jim and Alex. We tried a whiskey that I think you would like called Forty Creek. It is proof that LCBO samples really help their sales!

On Saturday we went and visited with my Mom and I rediscovered my love for sandwiches. It's not that I had lost my love for them, rather I had neglected it. I find the beauty is in the layers.

Whole Grain Toast, Spinach, Fresh Squash (from my uncle's garden), Chicken, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Pepper

And then there was Sunday. On Sunday, my Dad invited us to help pick out the family Christmas Tree. We got all bundled up and hiked through a Christmas Tree Farm that was 100 acres to find (as my mom famously says) 'a tree with character!' After hauling it home we all curled up to Corn Chowder that I had made the night before.

Smoky Roasted Chicken Corn Chowder 
From Eat Shrink and be Merry, 'Chowdy Doody, Page 59

4 slices bacon, chopped

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup each diced celery and diced red bell pepper

2 tsp minced garlic

1 1/2 tbsp minced fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried (I used Basil)

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 can (12oz/385 ml) fat-free evaporated milk

1 can (19oz/540ml) diced tomatoes, well drained

1 can (14oz/398ml) cream-style corn

2 cups chopped roasted chicken breast 

1 tbsp hickory-flavored barbecue sauce

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook chopped bacon in a large, non-stick soup pot over medium-high heat until lightly browned but not crisp. Stir in onions, celery, red pepper, and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

2. Add thyme (or basil) and flour. Mix well. Stir in broth and evaporated milk. Bring mixture to a gentle boil and stir continuously until soup thickens slightly.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve hot.

I hope your week goes well! Thanks again for inviting me on Wednesday. I can't wait for our next date!

I love you,

Sally