Monday, April 28, 2008

Falafel and disappointed vegetarians.



Falafel, Tahini Sauce, Pita, Mesclun, Couscous Tabbouleh


Did you ever go to a party and meet other vegans/vegetarians and be a little disappointed in them? These people were very nice. They came to a BBQ with a cooler of food to cook for everyone, which made me so happy. They mention that they bought seitan, I was THRILLED, I ask did you make it yourself? I got looked at like I was purple and had 5 heads and no hair. "No" they said "we did make falafel once."

Sigh.

Who would have though that I would finally meet other non meat eaters who bring a cooler of food to a bbq and they don't cook. I'm not saying you have to cook but it would be nice to meet some that do like to cook once in awhile.

I invited friends over the other night and since I had "we did make falafel once" on my mind I decided to make myself some falafel for the 20th time or so. This was a cross between 3 recipes I usually switch using. The sauce was simply tahini, lemon, salt and water just mixed with a fork until it became a happy saucy consistency.



Couscous Tabbouleh

This is one dish that came to mind the day I went shopping for ingredients for the dinner party and i'm glad it did. Couscous, tomato, cucumber, parsley, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper. It is the perfect picnic salad in my book and gets better the longer it sits in the fridge.



Falafel Pita w. Tahini Sauce


yuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.



Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake


Having guests over for dinner? You MUST serve dessert. Even if that dessert is blended up goodness.

18 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

haha well considering it's RARE that I meet any other vegetarians/vegans, I probably wouldn't be too disappointed (since I'd be occupied by the mere thought of meeting other veg-heads, haha).

falafel?? tabbouleh?? shakes?? when are you serving diner?? ;0)

Theresa said...

Yum, falafels! I understand your disappointment. When you meet other veg*ns you want desperately to have something in common with them. Then, when they give you funny looks about making your own seitan, you just realise they are just like anyone else, and could possibly suck. *Sigh*

Anyways, at least you've got other friends to share falafels, couscous tabbouleh, and milkshakes with!

Unknown said...

Falafel!! Couscous Tabbouleh!! Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake!! Yumm.

Everything looks great!!

Erin said...

Okay I thought I was drooling a lot just looking at the falafel and then I saw the pb choco banana shake and lost it. I would snarf that whole meal down right now. And it's hard to remember sometimes that not all veg*ns are as intense about food as some of us are :) I rarely meet other veggies though. The few I do know are pretty low key.

aTxVegn said...

I know what you mean! I too get disappointed when I go to a meetup and see Whole Foods containers and such.

Your homemade food looks fantastic, esp. that shake!

bazu said...

It would be far from disappointing to meet you and get invited to one of your dinner parties! *hint hint*

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I'm only going to tune in to ANTM at the very end, for the elimination - I like to watch them cry ;0)

JENNA said...

veggiegirl....you crack me up. i kinda like the tears also.

bazu..next time you are in NYC (or if you find yourself in NJ for some reason) we will meet up!

Wheeler's Frozen Dessert said...

Ooh I love falafel ... I must admit I don't get a chance to cook it very often, but when I do, it's delicious! That peanut butter banana shake looks quite tasty as well ... Yum!

Amey said...

ha ha!
This post cracked me up! Yes, I *totally* know what you mean. I went to a vegan meetup potluck, and the food was so gross. Someone had made some seriously substandard and unattractive cupcakes- and all these poor souls were oohing and aaahing over the cupcakes. Have some standards, people! Plus, I must say, the company really wasn't that good. I was hoping for some cool people, but instead it ended up seeming more like people who had nothing better to do on a saturday afternoon. Sigh.

And yes, I agree about dessert. It is an absolute must.

:)

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

I find a lot of vegetarians don't cook as well! BBQs of boca burgers & tofurkey sausages; no thanks!

JENNA said...

this is why i love all of your blogs. it's the only chance i get to "meet" other vegan/vegetarians who like to cook and cook good! u guys are the best.

Sam said...

I don't know how you could be vegan and NOT cook. Convenience food does not a healthy vegan make... I made falafel yesterday too, although mine is incredibly less pretty...

SaraJane said...

I think people are afraid of seitan. I'm always surprised at how many people have no idea what that even is. I have some vegetarian friends that are always asking me what things are (like tempeh, seitan, nutritional yeast) and what I do with it. I have to try and not be surprised. I don't get it either.

Heather said...

When, oh, when will a vegetarian version of something like *Bon Appetit* magazine appear. I'm always slightly disappointed in the recipes in *Vegetarian Times.* Many of them call for packaged foods and I just don't cook that way.

I'm really enjoy following your experiences even by just enjoying the photographs and the headlines. I really feel like I'm following a day in your life. Thanks for that :-)

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

That IS disappointing. Admittedly I've never made falafal, but that's not for lack of kitchen-interest, I just haven't gotten around to it yet... And jokes on them, I guess, because hearing of people *buying* seitan makes me look at *them* like they're from mars. also, I'm now craving (of all things) tahini and couscous! that pita looks amazing.:o

Unknown said...

I'm attempting to make falafel today...I've never tried it before, so we'll see how it goes!

JENNA said...

good luck kiesha!