These Falafel patties are a great flexible option. You can make them work with a variety of sides just by adjusting the side dishes.

Baked Falafel Patties
INGREDIENTS
– 1 16 oz jar chickpeas/garbanzo beans (same thing)*
– 1 medium onion
– 2 tbsp teff flour (or any flour of your choice)
– Oil appropriate for cooking (high heat) like grapeseed
– Spices**:
– 2 cloves garlic
– 1 tbsp cumin
– 1 tbsp cilantro
– 1 tsp tumeric
– 1 tsp fenugeek
OR whatever spices you prefer/have handy

*I find that it’s a big money saver to buy dried beans in bulk and reconstitute a whole bunch in the pressure cooker (or slow cooker) then can and/or freeze them. Also saves us from worrying about BPA lined cans, but canned chickpeas will work just as well.
** Since I knew I was making gravy, I went with more “American” spices, to a degree.  For a traditional mediteranean flavor use lots of cilantro and parsley, preferrably fresh, numeric, and coriander.

DIRECTIONS
1  Dice up the onions and mince the garlic. Let both sit for at least 5 minutes to maximize nutritional value.

2.  Preheat the oven to 450 (or save a little power and don’t preheat).

3.  Blend everything but the flour and oil in a food processor. It should be a rough paste.

4.  Stir in the flour.

5.  Coat the bottom of a baking dish with a thin layer of the oil.

6.  Form the paste into patties roughly the size of small hamburgers and place them in the dish.

7. Mist, sprinkle, or brush the tops of the patties with oil.

8.  Bake until the patties are just starting to brown on top. Flip them over (they should be browned on the bottom).  Bake 10 more minutes.

9.  Enjoy!

This recipe calls for boiling the potatoes because of the way things played out when I made it, but making it with roasted potatoes and a little rosemary takes it up to an unbelievable flavor – perfect for Thanksgiving.

Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes
INGREDIENTS
All amounts are flexible based on amount you want to make/have on hand
– small red potatoes (the smaller the better)
– garlic powder
– 1/4 c (or less) almond milk (unsweetened)
– 1/4 c (or more) Nutritional Yeast

DIRECTIONS
1 Wash your potatoes, but don’t peel them – there are tons of vitamins and minerals in the skin. Chop the potatoes into 11 inch chunks (or whatever, the smaller the chunks, the faster the boiling time).

2. Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender (no need to bring the water to a boil before adding the potatoes).

3. Drain the soft potatoes, sprinkle generously with garlic powder and nutritional yeast.

4. Mash with a potato masher (or your chosen mashing instrument), adding almond milk as needed to reach desired consistency.

5. Serve!

Sauteed Kale
INGREDIENTS
Amounts are flexible based on taste and how much you want to serve.
– 1 bunch fresh Kale (collards, mustard, turnip, or similar greens work, too), chopped to bites size.
– 1/2 a medium onion, diced and allowed to sit at room temp 5 minutes
– 2/3 cup roughly chopped mushrooms (I prefer shitake, but almost any mushrooms will do).
– garlic powder to taste
– 1 or 2 tbsp grapeseed or other high heat oil OR vegetable broth for sauteeing

DIRECTIONS
1 Sautee the onions and mushrooms in only as much oil* or vegetable broth* as is necessary to keep them from sticking until the onions begin to grow translucent.
2. When the onions start to become translucent, add the Kale to the pan.
3. Stir everything together in the pan, adding a few drops of oil* or broth* as necessary. I also like to add a splash of water to help wilt the kale.
4. Sprinkle garlic powder and pepper to taste.
5. As soon as all of the kale has wilted, the dish is ready to serve! Don’t overcook, this is a fast dish!

* For lower fat, sautee in vegetable broth instead!

The post Baked Falafel Patties, Kale, and Vegetable Gravy appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

I really like the change of pace this dish provides.  While we love a good curry dish and tend to select dishes from a variety of different cultures, I have never really used coconut milk based sauces before – which is very odd since whenever we go to my favorite Thai place, I always order dishes with coconut milk sauces.

Even with as much as I like variety, sometimes I feel like we get in a bit of a dinner rut.  This is the perfect change of pace to remedy that!

Beans and Greens with Coconut Sauce

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dried mung beans, prepared
1 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
2 chili peppers, minced (fresh prefered, I used dried because we have TONS of them)
2 tsp ground ginger (or 2 tbsps fresh, finely minced)
2 tbsps veggie broth or grapeseed oil for sautéing
4 oz (or one can) coconut milk
1 tbsp vegan soy sauce
3 cups greens, chopped (swiss chard, kale, collards, etc.)

Directions:
1  Prepare your dried beans.  There are many methods – soaking overnight, soaking then boiling, boiling then letting them sit.  I love my pressure cooker for this.  Our mung beans went from dried to ready to use in under 10 minutes, though I did make rather a mess.  I’m still getting used to the pressure cooker and “venting.”

2.  Chop your onions and mince your garlic first, allowing them to sit for at least 5 minutes before cooking.  This maximizes their nutritional benefit.

3.  Sautee the onion in oil or broth until it becomes translucent.

4.  Add the garlic, chilis, and ginger.  Continue to sautee for 3 – 5 more minutes.

5.  Add the coconut milk and simmer for 3 – 5 minutes.

6.  Stir in the beans and mix well, keeping the pot on the heat the entire time.

7.  Stir in your soy sauce and greens and cook until the greens begin to wilt.

Serve immediately.  This dish can be served over whole grain/brown basmati or jasmine rice, but it is hearty enough to stand up on its own, which is how we had it.

The picture really doesn’t do it justice, but that’s probably just my lack of photography skill.  I used kale this time around because we had a really lovely bunch from the Farmer’s Market, but I think I’ll try to use swiss chard next time.

This was a really excellent change of pace, and a great experience for my first time using coconut milk.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be making this dish, and others like it, a lot more in the future.

Let me know if you try it!  I’d love to know what you think.

The post Simple, Healthy, Different: Greens and Coconut Sauce appeared first on Urban Earthworm.