Falafel

Recently, I was in the mood for falafel. Yes, I could go to one of the zillion places that make incredible falafel (I think there are 6 within a half block of my apartment), but it'd be fried. In an effort to actually consume a healthy meal, I typically just make it myself- baked. For baked falafel, I find it easier to use a mix (usually Casbah or Near East). It yields a dryer falafel [dough? batter?], whereas homemade can be too wet and will steam rather than bake up nice and crispy. I flatten the balls into little patties, give the pan a mist of olive oil before placing them on the baking sheet, and bake at 375 for 15-20 min. before giving the tops another mist of oil and flipping over to bake another 15-20 min.

I also made homemade hummus (nice and garlicky) and served with whole wheat pita, chopped tomato, sliced cucumber, fat free feta cheese (the only fat free cheese I've found so far that actually tastes good) and a side of couscous (infused with veggie broth). Yum!