Falafel Zucchini Pancakes

Chickpea flour is one of my new favorite ingredients to use in the kitchen.  It's great for starting roux in stews and pot pies, in homemade seitan, and of course in lots of different Mediterranean dishes.  I love falafel and Maoz is the only "fast food" that I'll eat these days.  It's still a special treat at that though because traditional falafel balls are deep fried, of course.  

I found this recipe for Falafel Patties on the package of Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo Bean Flour and decided to give them a half recipe test run with a few tweaks and they were a hit!  The biggest difference between these falafel patties was definitely the texture.  Since they are made from a flour they had more of a pancake type consistency but the flavor was dead on.  I just wanted to add a little more texture to them and zucchini was a super easy and nutritious way to do so.  The results were delicious, easy, and a fun new addition to our recipe box.  These would be great as a breakfast side or go full Mediterranean and serve them at dinner with a vegan tzatziki. 

Ingredients

Makes 6 Pancakes

• 1 cup Chickpea (Garbanzo Bean) Flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 2 T olive oil, for frying
• 1 medium zucchini

1. Wash the zucchini and trim to the top and bottom off.  Grate the zucchini on a medium-large size on your grater.  
2. Use your hands to compress the zucchini into a ball shape and place in the center of a paper towel.  Twist the towel so it is tight around the zucchini and gently squeeze to expel some of the water from the zucchini.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.
4. Add in the water and lemon juice and stir until all ingredients are completely mixed through.  Set aside and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat.  Add the zucchini and cook until tender.  About 5-7 minutes.  Add the zucchini to the batter and mix thoroughly again.
6. Heat the olive oil in the nonstick skillet over medium high heat until hot.  Spoon the batter into the hot oil (about 1 1/2 T to 2 T per pancake).  The batter will be thick so use a spatula to help spread the batter out to make each pancake thin and about 3-4 in in diameter.  
7. Cook on each side for about 4 minutes or until golden brown.  (If you have a smaller skillet do two batches of three pancakes using 1 T of oil per batch.)

Sweet and Spicy Steamed Carrots

A super quick, easy, and spicy side dish made with a few simple ingredients.  

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 1/2 lb of carrots (about 6-8 medium carrots)
• 1 Tbs Pure Maple Syrup
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Wash, trim, peel, and chop the carrots.
2. Steam carrots in the microwave or on the stove top until they are tender.  About 5 minutes.
3. Mix in a bowl with the maple syrup and cayenne pepper making sure carrots are evenly coated and seasoned. 

Easy Vegan Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1/4 c raw cashews, soaked for 2+ hours and drained
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp onion powder, heaping
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder, heaping
• 2 Tbs nutritional yeast
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 cups water + 3 Tbs water
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 5 medium potatoes, washed and peeled
• smoked paprika

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a high speed blender, blend cashews, 3 Tbs water, 1 garlic clove, onion powder, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, pepper, and olive oil until smooth.
3. Add in 1 cup of water and 1 cup of vegetable stock to the mixture and blend til evenly smooth again.
4. Using a mandoline or by hand, slice the potatoes thinly and evenly.
5. Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray.
6. Place the potatoes in the baking dish and pour the liquid mixture over them.  Give it a stir to evenly distribute the liquid.
7. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
8. Uncover the dish, raise the oven temp to 400 degrees and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the tops and edges start to brown.
9. Sprinkle with smoke paprika and serve.