Sunday Eats

Last night I made it to 90 with home-made pita from Big Vegan and delicata squash from Appetite for Reduction.

I'll start with the squash; I only ate a few bites.  The Baker is out of town, and I have these squash from my CSA.  I don't really like squash (zucchini or summer squash in a soup or stew is all right as a minor player), and didn't have high hopes for the recipe because of that, but I had this squash to use up.  So, nothing lost here.  It had an interesting flavor profile, but the texture of squash and the slight sweetness always throws me off.  It was too mushy.  I will not fail it because I think a squash person would like it a lot, but for me, no.  D-

While the squash was cooking, I got the pita bread together.  The Baker and I went to a smashing Mediterranean restaurant called The Vine this week, and I discovered how much I like falafel.  It was a wonderful experience, too, as well as the rest of the food we tried.  The pita was also a standout.  It has been so long since I've been able to order something like this at a restaurant that was vegan; the falafel patty was tasty, and the texture was somewhere between a fish cake and a breaded chicken patty.  Wonder of wonders, the patty didn't fall apart in my mouth or hands like most of the veggie burgers I've tried out (or tried to make at home), and was also toothsome in an almost meaty way.  Now that I'm pretty much vegan, this is something I can't get very often unless I make it myself, and even so have not found a good, mostly whole-foods veggie burger recipe (TVP? no thanks) that works for me at home.

So I decided to recreate the experience at home.  Last night I made the pita bread, and ate one (I had to make sure it worked, right?).  The recipe was simple enough, though the dough was much wetter than I expected, and I had to add a bit more flour.  Additionally, the pitas I made were not as big as directions said they would be, and a couple I made didn't turn out so well because I flattened them so much they were too thin.  A couple were just right, and puffy in exactly the perfect pita way.  I say B+, but they may move to an A- after user error is corrected.

They were not as good at those in the restaurant, but better than store bought.  The taste was nice, but reminiscent of the quick french breads I make.  I put 7 of them in a bag for later.

For #91, I decided to make falafel to eat with my pita for lunch.  I found two recipes, but decided to make that of Appetite for Reduction which is a baked patty instead of fried.  It was simple to put together, and one could probably even make it by hand if the garlic and onion were chopped into tiny bits  I was not reading carefully enough, and made 4 patties instead of more, smaller, patties.  I also cooked them on the Baker's baking stone.  Man, they were good.  I'm going to see how well the other three patties I made keep in the fridge and eat one with another leftover pita for lunch.  I would like to have a little bit of tamarind barbecue sauce and a handful of greens to make a complete sandwich, but I wanted to try the patties naked today to see how the recipe worked on its own.

Even though they were larger than the recipe called for, the patties held together well, though they were a touch less toothsome than the restaurant (fried) ones.  That's okay.  I call this a resounding success.  #91 is an A+.

I decided to make use of some really cheap green beans and further this past week's Thai theme and make #92 Thai green beans from Appetite for Reduction.  I had to deglaze the pan a few times with broth, and I think that I would like the beans a touch less crisp... maybe deglaze one more time and cook two more minutes?  The Thai basil was a nice touch, and Isa was right, they were lent a licorice taste by the basil.  With 60 calories and one of my favorite veggies, it couldn't go too wrong.  However, due to those other, personal taste issues, I'd rate this a B.  It was a fine dish, but lacking a little something that my walnut sauce green beans and my stewed green beans with tomatoes have.  Since green beans are cheap, however, and plentiful (and such a favorite)  I can imagine this recipe sneaking into my repetoire every couple of months or so, especially once fresh tomatoes are in short supply and will make the stewed green bean with tomato recipe more problematic.

For #93 and #94, I made another hit from Big Vegan.  I had to make  pomegranate molasses to make the dressing for the Pomegranate Tabbouleh with Pistachios, but I had a lot of aging parsley to make use of, so I decided it would be a good fit.  I took a little liberty with the directions; I minced the ingredients of the dressing small instead of making a paste of them in the food processor, and I cut down on the oil, something I almost always do these days.  It's funny how well recipes still work with 1/3 to 1/2 less oil as long as you keep an eye out for burning and occasionally use stock to deglaze the pan.  Anyway, both the molasses and the tabbouleh were good and I will probably make them again at some point.  I might even make it in the food processor next time, though I really liked the chunkier texture the non-pasty dressing added.  A for the molasses (I can't wait to find new ways to use this!) and B for the tabbouleh.