Legumes (Falafel Belly)

When I went to lock up my bike outside of school at 7:30am, I found that I had left my keys in my shorts at home. From front of building to home to actually in uniform in class was exactly 30 minutes (it usually takes me 25 one way). I was motivated because I had a quiz this morning, and didn't want to have to talk to administration about taking it later because I forgot my keys, durrr durrr durrrrr.

After the quiz, a short lecture was given about legumes and beans. Quinoa is a 'mother grain' that contains all 9 essential amino acids, which is kinda freaky, but good for people like the Hungry Vegan Society. Chef C freely admits he was a D student, and his lecture is straight out of the book when questioned about some of the details. Chef C is a really sweet guy, but he doesn't have Chef M's razor sharpness.

Today I was officially team leader, but I broke it down quick. Speedy got the baked beans and the lentils, 2nd Language Girl got the lima beans, Round Head got the cuban black beans, go. Me, I took the falafel and didn't pay one iota of attention to the other dishes, as they were all relatively similar soaking, simmering, seasoning, etc.

Now falafel I can vibe on. My mom called it Jewish soul food, and she even made it a few times herself from a really crappy mix -- making it from scratch would of been beyond the pale! "Why work so hard and spend so much time if it only takes 2 seconds to eat?," would of been her mindset. Hell, it's been my mindset until I woke up this past year or so.

First step, pulse onion and garlic to an even mince and remove from robo coup. Blend chickpeas into a rough paste. Add freshly ground cumin, salt, cayenne, minced cilantro, and minced parsley; blend it in to just mix; add back onion and garlic; mix; refrigerate one hour.

The recipe for sauce called for 16 oz of plain yogurt and 2 oz of tahini and 1 oz of lemon juice, but I quadrupled the tahini. The salad was optional and without recipe, so I made something momma would of loved: an Israeli salad with cubed cucumbers, tomatoes, green pepper, and a little white onion and seasoned with a dash of olive oil, a squirt of white wine vinegar, and a dash of salt. I cut some romaine into thin strips as a bed.

As the mix was coming together in the fridge, I tested one in some hot canola and shared it with Chef C. Color was a little dark, undersalted, but good consistency. So I salted the mix and popped it back in the fridge.

Got a hot plate out of the oven, set up the plate with wedges of bagged pita, a bed of lettuce in the middle with salad mounded on top, and spooned sauce around the sides. Then I place four falafel balls around the salad. Chef C dug it. I went around and tasted everyone's falafel and was surprised/pleased to find despite the fact we were all using the same recipe, the other groups' falafel were undercooked in the middle, burnt on the outside, under seasoned, etc etc. My experience with falafel over the years guided my hand.

Falafel was a food my mom could rally around, representing an international Jewish culture and memories of the time she spent in Israel in her 20s. My mother was the director of a Jewish community center deep in Brooklyn. Once a year, they would have a street fair in front of their building, with the block closed off to traffic. This street fair would happen on a Sunday, so mom would take me and my brother out there -- a rare occasion to see her in action. She'd introduce us to her coworkers, they'd all cluck, then I'd be given a few bucks and told to entertain myself until it was over. The city would provide a large truck that folded out into a stage, and some good and not-so-good local musicians and oldies would do their things.

Various crafts tables and food stands raised money for the Y and fostered community spirit. Most of it had a patina of shlockiness, except for the the falafel stand. I'd spend my money on the falafel. Deep-fried on the spot, with fresh spices, fresh pita, delicious tahina sauce, and cubed vegetables on top to make it look healthy. The best thing of all was that at the end of the day, all the left over falafel balls would go home with my mom and end up in our freezer. Crazy delicious, just eating the balls as snacks. Funny, during those early years, I didn't quite get that my mom was the big boss of a rather large organization, with lots of fiscal, managerial, and executive pressures on her every day. I did get that she got some amazing falafel in quantity to take home once a year, though.

I guess she made her rare attempt at cooking falafel because she knew I loved it, and bringing it home gave her some sort of satisfaction she wanted to repeat. But how she prepared it -- with a crappy mix that required her to add water and eggs -- it was a no-win situation. Still, for her to put on her ill-fitting chef's hat to cater to my bratty pre-teen tastes, that's a pretty cool mom right there. I guess that's why I told her that her falafel was great even though it tasted a bit like cardboard.

ADDENDA:

After class, went to God's Love to help pack desserts for 2 and half hours. Met the wife of the owner of Sullivan Street Bakery, really nice, she had chicken thighs to make her 1 year old this evening so I told her how to make a basic braise like we learned in class. She sounded like she was going to do it, too.

BREAKFAST: 6:45am, yogurt smoothie, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

Threw a banana, 1 serving of good yogurt, a handful of grapes, a squirt of honey and enough good milk to cover the blender blades. Surprisingly good, though thicker than necessary and the friction of the blades made it cool, not cold -- ice will be the move next time, with more imaginative fruit....

AM TASTING: 11am, around 15-20 falafel balls, yogurt tahini sauce, Israeli salad, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 2:30pm, piece of sheet cake, .33 bowl, hunger 3/5
At God's Love break room.

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, handful of dark chocolate pistoles, .25 bowl, hunger 3/5
Needed a kick of sugar to wake me up.

DINNER: 6:30pm, grilled shrimp with rice, guac and chips, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 3/5
At an overpriced Mexican joint with B and Cousin Iddo.