Fresh Falafel

Homemade falafel is awesome! I've always wanted to try it, but I never got around to soaking chickpeas overnight. (Canned chickpeas don't work - too soft.) As long as you have the forsite to start this a day in advance, and prep at least an hour before you want to eat them, it's not very difficult. They are crispy on the outside and fluffy and flavorful on the inside and they're great in a pita or on top of a salad. They also freeze really well, so next time I'm doubling the recipe and freezing half. I used Ottolenghi's recipe as a starting point.

Feel free to boost the onion, garlic, herbs and spices if you want a stronger flavor.

Collard Wraps

Has anyone tried collard wraps? Seems to be the new thing! I had my first one from Bare Burger when I was deep into gestational diabetes and had a moratorium on carbs. It's kind of genius. You can use a big, sturdy collard leaf to wrap up anything that you would normally use a tortilla to wrap. You can do burritos, wraps, sandwiches, etc. I tried it for a desk lunch and it was quick and delicious, and of course, healthier than a couple big slices of bread or a big tortilla. Will definitely be doing this more! I stuffed the wrap with some sriracha chicken salad.

You just wash and dry a big collard leaf, put it vein-side-up and shave the vein down to be the same level with the leaf (to make it more pliable), then use the leaf as you would use a tortilla or wrap. 

Vegetable Garden Week 28 - September 17

Even though I've been MIA on the garden, it has done well! We have gotten SO many peppers! I think it's because it was such a hot summer. We had habaneros (the orange peppers), Scotch Bonnets (the red), Thai Birds Eye (the little red and green), and jalapenos (the green). The habaneros and Scotch Bonnets are super hot so I've been making hot sauce. This Jean-Georges Scotch Bonnet hot sauce is amazing! It's no spicier than tobasco so don't be scared. I highly recommend it - it's a beautiful orange color and the flavor is addicting. 

The garden is dwindling, but we're still getting peppers and tomatoes so that's great. I'm definitely getting the end of summer blues, but hoping this lovely warm, September weather continues! 

Tomatoes

It's peak tomato season! Go out to the farmers market or farm stand and buy them and eat them before tomato season ends! With a little mozzarella, basil, balsamic, and olive oil you can have the most amazing salad. I <3 p="" tomatoes="">

And these are from our garden, which did really well this year! We had tomoatoes, snap peas, cucumbers, zucchini, green beans, strawberries, eggplant, and more hot peppers than ever. Keep an eye out for a Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce - coming to the blog soon and it's incredible. 

Thai Style Grilled Corn

First off, I apologize for my very long absence! I had an amazing summer home with baby, and while I was still cooking, I was not good about taking pictures and documenting. Promise to get better! We have the world's most adorable and sweet baby and now that she is a wonderful little sleeper, I have plenty of time to make dinner once she's down. 

Jamie got me a the amazing cook book of one of my favorite restaurants, Pokpok, and I've loved everything I've made so far. Some of the recipes involve a whole slew of impossible to find ingredients (although anything can be found on the internet!), but some are very simple, like this corn recipe. We love, love, love summer corn and usually just eat it on the cob with butter because it's so good that way. If you're looking for a change of pace with your later-summer corn consumption, this is the way to go. The coconut milk with sugar and salt is so simple but amazingly tasty (I want to put it on everything) and the squeeze of lime give it a little zip. We had it one night with spicy Thai cucumber salad and Thai-style skirt steak, and another night with grilled veggies. Yum!