Greek Food, I Love You

I love food (you know that). And I pretty much love every kind of food, without exception (Mexican, Italian, American, thai, Indian, etc. etc. etc.) But at the top of my list, hands down, is Greek food. Love it. LOvE iT. LOVE IT.

So I just had to share some recipes from a little greek medley I made last week. I was inspired to bust out some new recipes because:

a) making falafels has been on my "to try" list forever (give or take a few days)

b) we had tomatoes and cucumber out our ears from gardens of friends/family

c) and greek food always sounds good

Also, I've been trying to be intentional about adding some vegetarian dishes in this house. Like the black bean pizza, this meal left me totally satisfied. Meat? Schmeet. Health is wealth. Okay, I'm being ridiculous. You get the idea ;).

The menu: baked falafels with tzatziki on wheat pita (I didn't make my own pita - that was Huckleberry's job), tabbouleh and hummus (from Costco) and cucumbers for dipping.

The baked falafel recipe was found here (along with the cucumber sauce). See the "most helpful" review for the note about baking, not frying.

The tabbouleh recipe came from my lovely mother. The dicing/chopping takes a while, but is certainly worth the effort...

Combine:

1/4 c. bulgar wheat (cover with boiling water and let stand for 30 min, drain)

1 c. minced fresh parsley

1/2 c. minced mint leaves (or 2 T. dried)

2 stalks celery, minced

8 green onions, diced

1 cucumber, seeded and diced

3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/2 c. sunflower seeds

Dressing:

3 T. canola oil

2 T. lemon juice

1 t. cumin

1 t. corriander

1 1/2 t. salt

ground pepper

*Combine all ingredients, pour dressing and serve (if you make a ahead of time, add the sunflower seeds just before serving).

And yes, I'm sure our version of Greek food in America is but a small sliver of the goodness of the real thing. Which is why visiting Greece someday is at the very tip top of the list. Not sure it will ever happen, but here's to hoping!