This Food Face gave the model an ear-full of leftover falafel. We started with half a toasted pita and a drizzled line of homemade tzatziki. Nora is a condiment girl and would prefer to just lick off the dressing or ketchup, depending on the meal. So she doesn't get much condiment to start with. The ears are halved falafel. The eyes and mouth are fruit that had been sent home with us from the party where I brought the falafel. Fruit is popular in our house and was gone by the end of dinner.
We were freshly landed in New York, and it didn't take long for us to be getting really hungry. Paul's dad took us to a fabulous restaurant he had just discovered a few days before. Bread & Olive. I don't know how both of my in-laws have this sense in quality restaurants, but this one was completely fabulous.
OK, first off, I don't have a grill. But you can get near it by cooking the veggies in a skillet over medium-hot flame. Secondly, I repeated this recipe a few days later as marinated vegetables. We didn't like it as well. Thirdly, I encourage you to really review my cost analysis. I knew it was a good week at the stores, but $3.00 to feed 5 people dinner is incredible! It proves you don't have to break the bank to eat healthy. It also highlights how much you can save by bringing your own lunch to work.
Recipe for Mediterranean Vegetable Pitas
5 Pita pockets, cut in half
3/4 cup Eggplant, diced
1/4 cup Onion, sliced thinly
5 Sweet peppers, sliced thinly
2 small Zuchini, sliced
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
1 teaspoon dried Herb of choice (sage, rosemary, or Italian blend, for example)
1 Small tomato, cut into wedges
5 (heaping) Tablespoons Hummus
Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions, stirring until slightly softened. Add eggplant, zucchini, and peppers. When vegetables are starting to brown, season with herbs. Toast pita pockets if desired. Spread with hummus. Fill with vegetables. Garnish with tomatoes. (Although there's nothing that says you can't cook the tomatoes, too. As they cook down, they'll make a yummy sauce for the veggies.) Another idea, my father asked for his sandwich to be served with balsamic vinegar.
If you're planning on going out and taking advantage of the BOGO for Toufayan Pita Bread Pockets at Publix this week, keep this in mind. The Oat Bran kind of pocket has 1 gram more fiber and at least 5 calories less per serving than the Multigrain or Whole Wheat kinds. Stunned? I was. Just one more way reading the label (occasionally) pays off!
"Wasting" time before a concert that we were accidentally an hour early for thanks to the time change (and our not being diligent about changing all the clocks in our house) we took a side-trip to Whole Foods. We rarely shop at Whole Foods because a) of its reputation as "Whole Paycheck" and b) it really isn't near anywhere we go regularly. Strolling down one aisle just for kicks, we came across a few varieties of Joe's Oat's organic soy- and gluten-free burger mix. It was expensive. Over $1 a burger!
Obviously, the dirty dishes pictured aren't from this past week. We dirtied very few additional dishes in our effort to empty out the fridge, which was lovely for my aching feet and tough work schedule this week.
While out with my mom one Friday, we stopped at a bookstore and ran into our pastor's wife. She asked us if we wanted to join her for lunch and recommended a health-food store like Whole Foods called Chamberlin's. I'd never been there before, but I once heard a patient rave about their yogurt. I was excited to give it a shot, but was saddened to learn that they no longer offered frozen yogurt.
This is a little something of my own. The idea came from Bosphorous, a restaurant in Winter Park, Florida. I liked the concept of the dip at the restaurant and could not find a recipe on line; so, I made one up. It must have been good because it went for a potluck and none of it came home!
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