#falafel sandwich recipe

[wellnessbymarinayancey]

Perfect Falafel

Most likely originated in Egypt, this falafel recipe has the most perfect combination of flavors, and will be a great addition to your salad, sandwich, or pita. sharp knifefood processorcast iron 1 cup dried chickpeas (soaked overnight )1/2 medium onion2 garlic cloves 2/3 cups parsley 2/3 cups cilantro 1/2 jalapeño 1/2 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp baking soda2 tbsp cassava flour 1 tsp cumin1/2 tsp…

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#chickpeas #delicious #diet #easy recipes #falafel #food #health #legumes #nutrition #pita #plant-based #salad #sandwich #savory #vegan

[what-even-is-thiss]

As an omnivore who likes vegan and vegetarian cooking I think the mistake a lot of people make when trying to convince meat eaters to go plant based is trying to convince them that something you’ve got will replace meat for them.

I like vegan nuggets and real chicken nuggets for different reasons. They taste different. They only taste identical to you because you haven’t eaten meat for five years.

When cooking for myself I only eat meat maybe like three times a week because vegetarian cooking is often cheaper and it tastes good.

Like just give people the actual recipes you use that aren’t pasta. Every time you ask what to eat on a meatless day people are like. Pasta. I don’t want pasta every day.

Point out the foods people already eat that are vegetarian. Like sweet potato fries, veggie chow mein, grilled mushrooms, mashed potatoes, black bean enchiladas, peanut butter sandwiches. Tell people what you microwave when you’re drunk at 3am. Show people that vegetables are so good they’ll want them in their diet.

Also some people are just never gonna go vegan. They’re just not. I’m certainly not, and I love vegan food. But since I’ve fallen in love with vegetarian cooking I eat meat much less and I’m much more careful about picking the meat I do eat. Doesn’t that align with a lot of your goals?

Impossible burger doesn’t taste like meat. But you know what tastes really good? A mushroom fajita taco. Falafel. Potato pancakes with applesauce. Smoky vegan collared greens. Hot potato salad with herbs. Palak paneer with rice. Tofu Pad Thai with extra peanuts. Some of my favorite foods of all time, and I’m a dirty rotten meat eater. Use THAT to get your foot in the door. And be more accepting of some half-assed victories. I’m on your side for the most part, believe it or not. But stop trying to claim certain things are just like meat. You and I both know you don’t plan most of your weeknight dinners around meat substitutes.

[neuvowebtech]

The holidays are a time for festive gatherings with friends and family. And with delicious food, what's the best way to celebrate? Mediterranean cuisine, with its fresh, flavorful, and healthy ingredients, is the perfect choice for a holiday party.

#mediterranean food #mediterranean recipes #falafel sandwich #food

[gkonboard]

Delicious Homemade Falafel Recipe: A Middle Eastern Delight! சத்தான ரெசிபி செம ஈஸி

#falafel recipe in tamil #falafel recipe in home cooking tamil #falafel recipe arabic #falafel recipe malayalam #falafel recipe air fryer #falafel recipe in hindi #falafel recipe food fusion #falafel recipe lebanese #falafel recipe in urdu #falafel recipe irfana shamsheer #falafel recipe canned chickpeas #falafel recipe sandwich #falafel recipe momtastic by shamsheera #falafel recipe baked #falafel recipe ranveer brar #falafel recipe #falafel sandwich #falafel wrap recipe #falafel song #falafel sauce #falafel sandwich recipe #falafel wrap #falafel in air fryer #falafel shawarma #falafel salad #falafel roll recipe #falafel sandwich malayalam #falafel sandwich dubai #falafel sandwich sauce #falafel sandwich sauce recipe

[fooddiner]

Food article links for Israeli Independence Day, April 26, 2023

For Israeli Independence Day 75, we have, if anything, an article from Israel National News announcing El Al airlines is serving falafel ingredients on their flights.

From Yahoo/Newark Advocate, a fiber-friendly recipe for children, chia pudding.

Tablet presents an article about Tunisian fricasse tuna sandwiches.

And, also on Yahoo, via In The Know, is a grilled tahini cabbage recipe.

So, with that, let me wish everyone a happy 75th Israeli Independence Day.

#falafel #healthy recipes #pudding #vegetables #recipes #tuna #fish #sandwich

[najia-cooks]

[ID: First image shows large falafel balls, one pulled apart to show that it is bright green and red on the inside, on a plate alongside green chilis, parsley, and pickled turnips. Second image is an extreme close-up of the inside of a halved falafel ball drizzled with tahina sauce. End ID]

فلافل محشي فلسطيني / Falafel muhashshi falastini (Palestinian stuffed falafel)

Falafel (فَلَافِل) is of contested origin. Various hypotheses hold that it was invented in Egypt any time between the era of the Pharoahs and the late nineteenth century (when the first written references to it appear). In Egypt, it is known as طَعْمِيَّة (ṭa'miyya)—the diminutive of طَعَام "piece of food"—and is made with fava beans. It was probably in Palestine that the dish first came to be made entirely with chickpeas.

The etymology of the word "falafel" is also contested. It is perhaps from the plural of an earlier Arabic word *filfal, from Aramaic 𐡐𐡋𐡐𐡉𐡋 "pilpāl," "small round thing, peppercorn"; or from "مفلفل" "mfelfel," a word meaning "peppered," from "فلفل" "pepper" + participle prefix مُ "mu."

This recipe is for deep-fried chickpea falafel with an onion and sumac حَشْوَة (ḥashua), or filling; falafel are also sometimes stuffed with labna. The spice-, aromatic-, and herb-heavy batter includes additions common to Palestinian recipes—such as dill seeds and green onions—and produces falafel balls with moist, tender interiors and crisp exteriors. The sumac-onion filling is tart and smooth, and the nutty, rich, and bright tahina-based sauce lightens the dish and provides a play of textures.

Falafel with a filling is falafel مُحَشّي (muḥashshi or maḥshshi), from حَشَّى‎ (ḥashshā) "to stuff, to fill." While plain falafel may be eaten alongside sauces, vegetables, and pickles as a meal or a snack, or eaten in flatbread wraps or kmaj bread, stuffed falafel are usually made larger and eaten on their own, not in a wrap or sandwich.

Falafel has gone through varying processes of adoption, recognition, nationalization, claiming, and re-patriation in Zionist settlers' writing. A general arc may be traced from adoption during the Mandate years, to nationalization and claiming in the years following the Nakba until the end of the 20th century, and back to re-Arabization in the 21st. However, settlers disagree with each other about the value and qualities of the dish within any given period.

What is consistent is that falafel maintains a strategic ambiguity: particular qualities thought to belong to "Arabs" may be assigned, revoked, rearranged, and reassigned to it (and to other foodstuffs and cultural products) at will, in accordance with broader trends in politics, economics, and culture, or in service of the particular argument that a settler (or foreign Zionist) wishes to make.

Mandate Palestine, 1920s – early '30s: Secular and collective

While most scholars hold that claims of an ancient origin for falafel are unfounded, it was certainly being eaten in Palestine by the 1920s. Yael Raviv writes that Jewish settlers of the second and third "עליות"‎ ("aliyot," waves of immigration; singular "עליה" "aliya") tended to adopt falafel, and other Palestinian foodstuffs, largely uncritically. They viewed Palestinian Arabs as holding vessels that had preserved Biblical culture unchanged, and that could therefore serve as models for a "new," agriculturally rooted, physically active, masculine Jewry that would leave behind the supposed errors of "old" European Jewishness, including its culinary traditions—though of course the Arab diet would need to be "corrected" and "civilized" before it was wholly suitable for this purpose.

Falafel was further endeared to these "חֲלוּצִים‎" ("halutzim," "pioneers") by its status as a street food. The undesirable "old" European Jewishness was associated with the insularity of the nuclear family and the bourgeois laziness of indoor living. The קִבּוּצים‎ ("Kibbutzim," communal living centers), though they represented only a small minority of settlers, furnished a constrasting ideal of modern, earthy Jewishness: they left food production to non-resident professional cooks, eliding the role of the private, domestic kitchen. Falafel slotted in well with these ascetic ideals: like the archetypal Arabic bread and olive oil eaten by the Jewish farmer in his field, it was hardy, cheap, quick, portable, and unconnected to the indoor kitchen.

The author of a 1929 article in דאר היום ("Doar Hyom," "Today's Mail") shows unrestrained admiration for the "[]מזרחי" ("Oriental") food, writing of his purchase of falafel stuffed in a "פיתה" ("pita") that:

רק בני-ערב, ואחיהם — היהודים הספרדים — רק הם עלולים "להכנת מטעם מפולפל" שכזה, הנעים כל כך לחיך [...].

("Only the Arabs, and their brothers—the Sepherdi Jews—only they are likely to create a delicacy so 'peppered' [a play on the פ-ל-פ-ל (f-l-f-l) word root], one so pleasing to the palate".)

Falafel's strong association with "Arabs" (i.e., Palestinians), however, did blemish the foodstuff in the eyes of some as early as 1930. An article in the English-language Palestine Bulletin told the story of Kamel Ibn Hassan's trial for the murder of a British soldier, lingering on the "Arab" "hashish addicts," "women of the streets," and "concessionaires" who rounded out this lurid glimpse into the "underground life lived by a certain section of Arab Haifa"; it was in this context that Kamel's "'business' of falafel" (scare quotes original) was mentioned.

Mandate Palestine, late 1930s–40s: A popular Oriental dish

In 1933, only three licensed falafel vendors operated in Tel Aviv; but by December 1939, Lilian Cornfeld (columnist for the English-language Palestine Post) could lament that "filafel cakes" were "proclaiming their odoriferous presence from every street corner," no longer "restricted to the seashore and Oriental sections" of the city.

Settlers' attitudes to falafel at this time continued to range from appreciation to fascinated disgust to ambivalence, and references continued to focus on its cheapness and quickness. According to Cornfeld, though the "orgy of summertime eating" of which falafel was the "most popular" representative caused some dietary "damage" to children, and though the "rather messy and dubious looking" food was deep-fried, the chickpeas themselves were still of "great nutritional value": "However much we may object to frying, — if fry you must, this at least is the proper way of doing it."

Cornfeld's article, appearing 10 years after the 1929 reference to falafel in pita quoted above, further specifies how this dish was constructed:

There is first half a pita (Arab loaf), slit open and filled with five filafels, a few fried chips [i.e. French fries] and sometimes even a little salad. The whole is smeared over with Tehina, a local mayonnaise made with sesame oil (emphasis original).

The ethnicity of these early vendors is not explicitly mentioned in these accounts. The Zionist "תוצרת הארץ" "totzeret ha’aretz"; "produce of the land") campaign in the 1930s and 1940s recommended buying only Jewish produce and using only Jewish labor, but it did not achieve unilaterial success, so it is not assured that settlers would not be buying from Palestinian vendors. There were, however, also Mizrahi Jewish vendors in Tel Aviv at this time.

The WW2-era "צֶנַע" ("tzena"; "frugality") period of rationing meat, which was enforced by British mandatory authorities beginning in 1939 and persisting until 1959, may also have contributed to the popularity of falafel during this time—though urban settlers employed various strategies to maintain access to significant amounts of meat.

Israel and elsewhere, 1950s – early 60s: The dawn of de-Arabization

After the Nakba (the ethnic cleansing of broad swathes of Palestine in the creation of the modern state of "Israel"), the task of producing a national Israeli identity and culture tied to the land, and of asserting that Palestinians had no like sense of national identity, acquired new urgency. The claiming of falafel as "the national snack of Israel," the decoupling of the dish from any association with "Arabs" (in settlers' writing of any time period, this means "Palestinians"), and the insistence on associating it with "Israel" and with "Jews," mark this time period in Israeli and U.S.-ian newspaper articles, travelogues, and cookbooks.

During this period, falafel remained popular despite the "reintegrat[ion]" of the nuclear family into the "national project," and the attendant increase in cooking within the familial home. It was still admirably quick, efficient, hardy, and frequently eaten outside. When it was homemade, the dish could be used rhetorically to marry older ideas about embodying a "new" Jewishness and a return to the land through dietary habits, with the recent return to the home kitchen. In 1952, Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi, the wife of the second President of Israel, wrote to a South African Zionist women's society:

I prefer Oriental dishes and am inclined towards vegetarianism and naturalism, since we are returning to our homeland, going back to our origin, to our climate, our landscape and it is only natural that we liberate ourselves from many of the habits we acquired in the course of our wanderings in many countries, different from our own. [...] Meals at the President's table [...] consist mainly of various kinds of vegetable prepared in the Oriental manner which we like as well as [...] home-made Falafel, and, of course vegetables and fruits of the season.

Out of doors, associations of falafel with low prices, with profusion and excess, and with youth, travelling and vacation (especially to urban locales and the seaside) continue. Falafel as part and parcel of Israeli locales is given new emphasis: a reference to the pervasive smell of frying falafel rounds out the description of a chaotic, crowded, clamorous scene in the compact, winding streets of any old city. Falafel increasingly stands metonymically for Israel, especially in articles written to entice Jewish tourists and settlers: no one is held to have visited Israel unless they have tried real Israeli falafel. A 1958 song ("ולנו יש פלאפל", "And We Have Falafel") avers that:

הַיּוֹם הוּא רַק יוֹרֵד מִן הַמָּטוֹס [...] כְבָר קוֹנֶה פָלָאפֶל וְשׁוֹתֶה גָּזוֹז כִּי זֶה הַמַּאֲכָל הַלְּאֻמִּי שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל

("Today when [a Jew] gets off the plane [to Israel] he immediately has a falafel and drinks gazoz [...] because this is the national dish of Israel"). A 1962 story in Israel Today features a boy visiting Israel responding to the question "Have you learned Hebrew yet?" by asserting "I know what falafel is." Recipes for falafel appear alongside ads for smoked lox and gefilte fish in U.S.-ian Jewish magazines; falafel was served by Zionist student groups in U.S.-ian universities beginning in the 1950s and continuing to now.

These de-Arabization and nationalization processes were possible in part because it was often Mizrahim (West Asian and North African Jews) who introduced Israelis to Palestinian food—especially after 1950, when they began to immigrate to Israel in larger numbers. Even if unfamiliar with specific Palestinian dishes, Mizrahim were at least familiar with many of the ingredients, taste profiles, and cooking methods involved in preparing them. They were also more willing to maintain their familiar foodways as settlers than were Zionist Ashkenazim, who often wanted to distance themselves from European and diaspora Jewish culture.

Despite their longstanding segregation from Israeli Ashkenazim (and the desire of Ashkenazim to create a "new" European Judaism separate from the indolence and ignorance of "Oriental" Jews, including their wayward foodways), Mizrahim were still preferable to Palestinian Arabs as a point of origin for Israel's "national snack." When associated with Mizrahi vendors, falafel could be considered both Oriental and Jewish (note that Sephardim and Mizrahim are unilaterally not considered to be "Arabs" in this writing).

Thus food writing of the 1950s and 60s (and some food writing today) asserts, contrary to settlers' writing of the 1920s and 30s, that falafel had been introduced to Israel by Jewish immigrants from Syria, Yemen, or Morocco, who had been used to eating it in their native countries—this, despite the fact that Yemen and Morocco did not at this time have falafel dishes. Even texts critical of Zionism echoed this narrative. In fact, however, Yemeni vendors had learned to make falafel in Egypt on their way to Palestine and Israel, and probably found falafel already being sold and eaten there when they arrived.Meneley, Anne2007 Like an Extra Virgin. American Anthropologist 109(4):678–687

Meanwhile, "pita" (Palestinian Arabic: خبز الكماج; khubbiz al-kmaj) was undergoing in some quarters a similar process of Israelization; it remained "Arab" in others. In 1956, a Boston-born settler in Haifa wrote for The Jewish Post:

The baking of the pittah loaves is still an Arab monopoly [in Israel], and the food is not available at groceries or bakeries which serve Jewish clientele exclusively. For our Oriental meal to be a success we must have pittah, so the more advance shopping must be done.

This "Arab monopoly" in fact did not extent to an Arab monopoly in discourse: it was a mere four years later that the National Jewish Post and Opinion described "Peeta" as an "Israeli thin bread." Two years after that, the U.S.-published My Jewish Kitchen: The Momales Ta'am Cookbook (co-authored by Zionist writer Shushannah Spector) defined "pitta" as an "Israeli roll."

Despite all this scrubbing work, settlers' attitudes towards falafel in the late 1950s were not wholly positive, and references to the dish as having been "appropriated from the [Palestinian] Arabs" did not disappear. A 1958 article, written by a Boston-born man who had settled in Israel in 1948 and published in U.S.-ian Zionist magazine Midstream, repeats the usual associations of falafel with the "younger set" of visitors from kibbutzim to "urban" locales; it also denigrates it as a “formidably indigestible Arab delicacy concocted from highly spiced legumes rolled into little balls, fried in grease, and then inserted into an underbaked piece of dough, known as a pita.”

Thus settlers were ambivalent about khubbiz as well. If their food writing sometimes refers to pita as "doughy" or "underbaked," it is perhaps because they were purchasing it from stores rather than baking it at home—bakeries sometimes underbake their khubbiz so that it retains more water, since it is sold by weight.

Israel and elsewhere, late 1960s–2010s: Falafel with even fewer Arabs

The sanitization of falafel would be more complete in the 60s and 70s, as falafel was gradually moved out of separate "Oriental dishes" categories and into the main sections of Israeli cookbooks. A widespread return to כַּשְׁרוּת‎ (kashrut; dietary laws) meant that falafel, a פַּרְוֶה (parve) dish—one that contained no meat or dairy—was a convenient addition on occasions when food intersected with nationalist institutions, such as at state dinners and in the mess halls of Israeli military forces.

This, however, still did not prohibit Israelis from displaying ambivalence towards the food. Falafel was more likely to be glorified as a symbol of Jewish Israel in foreign magazines and tourist guides, including in the U.S.A. and Italy, than it was to be praised in Israeli Zionist publications.

Where falafel did maintain an association with Palestinians, it was to assert that their versions of it had been inferior. In 1969, Israeli writer Ruth Bondy opines:

Experience says that if we are to form an affection for a people we should find something admirable about its customs and folklore, its food or girls, its poetry and music. True, we have taken the first steps in this direction [with Palestinians]: we like kebab, hummous, tehina and falafel. The trouble is that these have already become Jewish dishes and are prepared more tastily by every Rumanian restaurateur than by the natives of Nablus.

Opinions about falafel in this case seem to serve as a mirror for political opinions about Palestinians: the same writer had asserted, on the previous page, that the "ideal situation, of course, would be to keep all the territories we are holding today—but without so many Arabs. A few Arabs would even be desirable, for reasons of local color, raising pigs for non-Moslems and serving bread on the Passover, but not in their masses" (trans. Israel L. Taslitt).

Later narratives tended to retrench the Israelization of falafel, often acknowledging that falafel had existed in Palestine prior to Zionist incursion, but holding that Jewish settlers had made significant changes to its preparation that were ultimately responsible for making it into a worldwide favorite. Joan Nathan's 2001 Foods of Israel Today, for example, claimed that, while fava and chickpea falafel had both preëxisted the British Mandate period, Mizrahi settlers caused chickpeas to be the only pulse used in falafel.

Gil Marks, who had echoed this narrative in his 2010 Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, later attributed the success of Palestinian foods to settlers' inventiveness: "Jews didn’t invent falafel. They didn’t invent hummus. They didn’t invent pita. But what they did invent was the sandwich. Putting it all together. And somehow that took off and now I have three hummus restaurants near my house on the Upper West Side.”

Israel and elsewhere, 2000s – 2020s: Re-Arabization; or, "Local color"

Ronald Ranta has identified a trend of "re-Arabizing" Palestinian food in Israeli discourse of the late 2000s and later: cooks, authors, and brands acknowledge a food's origin or identity as "Arab," or occasionally even "Palestinian," and consumers assert that Palestinian and Israeli-Palestinian (i.e., Israeli citizens of Palestinian ancestry) preparations of foods are superior to, or more "authentic" than, Jewish-Israeli ones. Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian brands and restaurants market various foods, including falafel, as "אסלי" ("asli"), from the Arabic "أَصْلِيّ" ("ʔaṣliyy"; "original"), or "בלדי" ("baladi"), from the Arabic "بَلَدِيّ" ("baladiyy"; "native" or "my land").

This dedication to multiculturalism may seem like progress, but Ranta cautions that it can also be analyzed as a new strategy in a consistent pattern of marginalization of the indigenous population: "the Arab-Palestinian other is r­e-colonized and re-imagined only as a resource for tasty food [...] which has been de-politicized[;] whatever is useful and tasty is consumed, adapted and appropriated, while the rest of its culture is marginalized and discarded." This is the "serving bread" and "local color" described by Bondy: "Arabs" are thought of in terms of their usefulness to settlers, and not as equal political participants in the nation. For Ranta, the "re-Arabizing" of Palestinian food thus marks a new era in Israel's "confiden[ce]" in its dominance over the indigenous population.

So this repatriation of Palestinian food is limited insofar as it does not extend to an acknowledgement of Palestinians' political aspirations, or a rejection of the Zionist state. Food, like other indicators and aspects of culture, is a "safe" avenue for engagement with colonized populations even when politics is not.

The acknowledgement of Palestinian identity as an attempt to neutralize political dissent, or perhaps to resolve the contradictions inherent in liberal Zionist identity, can also be seen in scholarship about Israeli food culture. This scholarship tends to focus on narratives about food in the cultural domain, ignoring the material impacts of the settler-colonialist state's control over the production and distribution of food (something that Ranta does as well). Food is said to "cross[] borders" and "transcend[] cultural barriers" without examination of who put the borders there (or where, or why, or how, or when). Disinterest in material realities is cultivated so that anodyne narratives about food as “a bridge” between divides can be pursued.

Raviv, for example, acknowledges that falafel's de-Palestinianization was inspired by anti-Arab sentiment, and that claiming falafel in support of "Jewish nationalism" was a result of "a connection between the people and a common land and history [needing] to be created artificially"; however, after referring euphemistically to the "accelerated" circumstances of Israel's creation, she supports a shared identity for falafel in which it can also be recognized as "Israeli." She concludes that this should not pose a problem for Palestinians, since "falafel was never produced through the labor of a colonized population, nor was Palestinian land appropriated for the purpose of growing chickpeas for its preparation. Thus, falafel is not a tool of oppression."

Palestine and Israel, 1960s – 2020s: Material realities

Yet chickpeas have been grown in Israel for decades, all of them necessarily on appropriated Palestinian land. Experimentation with planting in the arid conditions of the south continues, with the result that today, chickpea is the major pulse crop in the country. An estimated 17,670,000 kilograms of chickpeas were produced in Israel in 2021; at that time, this figure had increased by an average of 3.5% each year since 1966. 73,110 kilograms of that 2021 crop was exported (this even after several years of consecutive decline in chickpea exports following a peak in 2018), representing $945,000 in exports of dried chickpeas alone.

The majority of these chickpeas ($872,000) were exported to the West Bank and Gaza; Palestinians' inability to control their own imports (all of which must pass through Israeli customs, and which are heavily taxed or else completely denied entry), and Israeli settler violence and government expropriation of land, water, and electricity resources (which make agriculture difficult), mean that Palestine functions as a captive market for Israeli exports. Israeli goods are the only ones that enter Palestinian markets freely.

By contrast, Palestinian exports, as well as imports, are subject to taxation by Israel, and only a small minority of imports to Israel come from Palestine ($1.13 million out of $22.4 million of dried chickpeas in 2021).

The 1967 occupation of the West Bank has besides had a demonstrable impact on Palestinians' ability to grow chickpeas for domestic consumption or export in the first place, as data on the changing uses of agricultural land in the area from 1966–2001 allow us to see. Chickpeas, along with wheat, barley, fenugreek, and dura, made up a major part of farmers' crops from 1840 to 1914; but by 2001, the combined area devoted to these field crops was only a third of its 1966 value. The total area given over to chickpeas, lentils and vetch, in particular, shrank from 14,380 hectares in 1966 to 3,950 hectares in 1983.

Part of this decrease in production was due to a shortage of agricultural labor, as Palestinians, newly deprived of land or of the necessary water, capital, and resources to work it—and in defiance of Raviv's assertion that "falafel was never produced through the labor of a colonized population"—sought jobs as day laborers on Israeli fields.

The dearth of water was perhaps especially limiting. Palestinians may not build anything without a permit, which the Israeli military may deny for any, or for no, reason: no Palestinian's request for a permit to dig a well has been approved in the West Bank since 1967. Israel drains aquifiers for its own use and forbids Palestinians to gather rainwater, which the Israeli military claims to own. This lack of water led to land which had previously been used to grow other crops being transitioned into olive tree fields, which do not require as much water or labor to tend.

In Gaza as well, occupation systematically denies Palestinians of food itself, not just narratives about food. The majority of the population in Gaza is food-insecure, as Israel allows only precisely determined (and scant) amounts of food to cross its borders. Gazans rely largely on canned goods, such as chickpeas (often purchased at subsidized rates through food aid programs run by international NGOs), because they do not require scarce water or fuel to prepare—but canned chickpeas cannot be used to prepare a typical deep-fried falafel recipe (the discs would fall apart while frying). There is, besides, a continual shortage of oil (of which only a pre-determined amount of calories are allowed to enter the Strip). Any narrative about Israeli food culture that does not take these and other realities of settler-colonialism into account is less than half complete.

Of course, falafel is far from the only food impacted by this long campaign of starvation, and the strategy is only intensifying: as of December 2023, children are reported to have died by starvation in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Support Palestinian resistance by calling Elbit System’s (Israel’s primary weapons manufacturer) landlord; donating to Palestine Action’s bail fund; buying an e-sim for distribution in Gaza; or donating to help a family leave Gaza.

Equipment:

A meat grinder, or a food processor, or a high-speed or immersion blender, or a mortar and pestle and an enormous store of patience

A pot, for frying

A kitchen thermometer (optional)

Ingredients:

Makes 12 large falafel balls; serves 4 (if eaten on their own).

For the فلافل (falafel):

500g dried chickpeas (1010g once soaked)

1 large onion

4 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp cumin seeds

1 Tbsp coriander seeds

2 tsp dill seeds (عين جرادة; optional)

1 medium green chili pepper (such as a jalapeño), or 1/2 large one (such as a ram's horn / فلفل قرن الغزال)

2 stalks green onion (3 if the stalks are thin) (optional)

Large bunch (50g) parsley, stems on; or half parsley and half cilantro

2 Tbsp sea salt

2 tsp baking soda (optional)

For the حَشوة (filling):

2 large yellow onions, diced

1/4 cup coarsely ground sumac

4 tsp shatta (شطة: red chili paste), optional

Salt, to taste

3 Tbsp olive oil

For the طراطور (tarator):

3 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp table salt

1/4 cup white tahina

Juice of half a lemon (2 Tbsp)

2 Tbsp vegan yoghurt (لبن رائب; optional)

About 1/4 cup water

To make cultured vegan yoghurt, follow my labna recipe with 1 cup, instead of 3/4 cup, of water; skip the straining step.

To fry:

Several cups neutral oil

Untoasted hulled sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions:

1. If using whole spices, lightly toast in a dry skillet over medium heat, then grind with a mortar and pestle or spice mill.

2. Grind chickpeas, onion, garlic, chili, and herbs. Modern Palestinian recipes tend to use powered meat grinders; you could also use a food processor, speed blender, or immersion blender. Some recipes set aside some of the chickpeas, aromatics, and herbs and mince them finely, passing the knife over them several times, then mixing them in with the ground mixture to give the final product some texture. Consult your own preferences.

To mimic the stone-ground texture of traditional falafel, I used a mortar and pestle. I found this to produce a tender, creamy, moist texture on the inside, with the expected crunchy exterior. It took me about two hours to grind a half-batch of this recipe this way, so I don't per se recommend it, but know that it is possible if you don't have any powered tools.

3. Mix in salt, spices, and baking soda and stir thoroughly to combine. Allow to chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling and sauce.

If you do not plan to fry all of the batter right away, only add baking soda to the portion that you will fry immediately. Refrigerate the rest of the batter for up to 2 days, or freeze it for up to 2 months. Add and incorporate baking soda immediately before frying. Frozen batter will need to be thawed before shaping and frying.

For the filling:

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry onion and a pinch of salt for several minutes, until translucent. Remove from heat.

2. Add sumac and stir to combine. Add shatta, if desired, and stir.

For the tarator:

1. Grind garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle (if you don't have one, finely mince and then crush the garlic with the flat of your knife).

2. Add garlic to a bowl along with tahina and whisk. You will notice the mixture growing smoother and thicker as the garlic works as an emulsifier.

3. Gradually add lemon juice and continue whisking until smooth. Add yoghurt, if desired, and whisk again.

4. Add water slowly while whisking until desired consistency is achieved. Taste and adjust salt.

To fry:

1. Heat several inches of oil in a small or medium pot to about 350 °F (175 °C). A piece of batter dropped in the oil should float and immediately form bubbles, but should not sizzle violently. (With a small pot on my gas stove, my heat was at medium-low).

2. Use your hands or a large falafel mold to shape the falafel.

To use a falafel mold: Dip your mold into water. If you choose to cover both sides of the falafel with sesame seeds, first sprinkle sesame seeds into the mold; then apply a flat layer of batter. Add a spoonful of filling into the center, and then cover it with a heaping mound of batter. Using a spoon, scrape from the center to the edge of the mold repeatedly, while rotating the mold, to shape the falafel into a disc with a slightly rounded top. Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds.

To use your hands: wet your hands slightly and take up a small handful of batter. Shape it into a slightly flattened sphere in your palm and form an indentation in the center; fill the indentation with filling. Cover it with more batter, then gently squeeze between both hands to shape. Sprinkle with sesame seeds as desired.

3. Use a slotted spoon or kitchen spider to lower falafel balls into the oil as they are formed. Fry, flipping as necessary, until discs are a uniform brown (keep in mind that they will darken another shade once removed from the oil). Remove onto a wire rack or paper towel.

If the pot you are using is inclined to stick, be sure to scrape the bottom and agitate each falafel disc a couple seconds after dropping it in.

4. Repeat until you run out of batter. Occasionally use a slotted spoon or small sieve to remove any excess sesame seeds from the oil so they do not burn and become acrid.

Serve immediately with sauce, sliced vegetables, and pickles, as desired.

#Palestine #Israel #vegetarian recipes #Palestinian #falafel #chickpeas #sumac #onions #garlic #parsley #cilantro #dill seeds #sesame seeds #tahina #yoghurt #long post /

[nova-dracomon]

Vegan Kin Food Ideas

S'up! So, we've been seeing a lot of kin food posts, but the focus is always on meat. Then when vegan or vegetarian options are listed it's like salad + fruit and that's it. We've been vegan for some years now so here's a list of things we eat that we think others might enjoy too!

A piece of advice we found helpful is to think about the food item you miss and break it down into what exactly you miss. If you miss eating gems, is it the appearance? The crunch? Gritty texture or dry taste? In that spirit of that, our list will be largely broken up by texture/experience.

Crunch Crunch Snacks

This includes snacks/sides that get your jaws working or have a satisfying "snap" to them.

Roasted chickpeas

Kale chips

Ants on a log (celery, peanut butter and raisins)

Hummus + baby bell peppers/sugar snap peas/carrots

Granola / cereals (a lot of types are vegan, read the ingredients before purchasing)

Banana chips

Nuts + seeds

Popcorn (avoid "buttery" packages, buy plain or kettle corn)

Peanut butter pretzels (crunchy outside, delicious soft inside)

Smartie candies

Keep your cookies/chocolate bars in the fridge or freezer

Also, load cookies up with extra nuts/seeds/choco chips

Soft, but with some crunch

This section is for dishes/sides that are overall easier on the teeth, but with elements that still crunch or snap. If you're looking for recipes that combine different texture elements check these out.

Lentil nachos + nacho cheese sauce

"Crunchwrap" (quesadilla made with refried beans and homemade cheese sauce that we open and place tortilla chips and lettuce inside after grilling)

Tempeh bacon (we like this on a BLT or grilled cheese sandwich)

Crispy tofu sandwiches

Grilled asparagus

Apple slices with nut butter

Pickles

Apple turnovers

Vegan sushi (there's a ton of recipes, check out these two collections to get started X, X)

Falafel (can be used a hundred different ways, sandwiches, wraps, on it's own, etc.)

Roasted chickpeas again, but with a caveat**: You can roast them at 350 F for 30 mins and they'll be cooked enough to pop between your teeth, but soft in the center. We like to either eat them as-is or top our salads with them. (We season with salt/pepper before going into the oven, nothing else) **Must be eaten after baking, they will not keep

For the foragers in the crowd

These dishes focus more on having either multiple different foods in a visible way or a tactile element to how you eat them.

Chia pudding

Smoothie bowls

Overnight oatmeal

Trail mix

Pumpkin bars (We replace the egg with a flax egg and use vegan butter)

Chocolate chip banana monkey bread

Corn on the cob

Grilled veggie kebabs

Cranberry cilantro quinoa salad

Chili

Bush's beans and rice

Salads topped with sliced fruit, nuts, grains and/or beans

Edamame (a favorite, we love pulling out the insides with our teeth, you can get ones without the pods if they bother you)

Plant-based burgers, the kinds with the chunks of veggies (our favorite is dr. praeger's black bean quinoa burgers)

Chewy Foods

This section is for foods that work your jaw, but more in a "needing to chew" way.

Potato gnocchi

Dried fruit (comes in all different flavors, not just raisins)

Swedish fish, red vines, skittles or sour patch kids

Granola bars (a lot of types are vegan, read the ingredients before purchasing)

Thick bread-y pizza (our favorite dough recipe)

Pancakes

Chewy chocolate chip cookies

Peanut butter cookies

Baked oatmeal

Potato skins

Meat Substitutes

The most obvious way to make a dish vegan is to sub in the appropriate mock meat. We've eaten quite a few and we won't sugar-coat it: a lot of them are either going to match the taste, texture, OR look. It's hard for mock meats to copy meat 1:1, some get way closer than others, but if you go into this expecting no difference you will be disappointed.

Our two favorite brands are Impossible and Gardein. We've tried a lot of their products and have yet to eat one we don't like.

These aren't your only options though!

Beans

Falafel (deep-fried balls of ground chickpea)

Tofu

Tempeh (fermented soybeans)

Seitan (made from wheat gluten)

Jack fruit

You might have guessed based on the recipes shared, but we usually opt for beans. We haven't eaten much seitan or jack fruit, but they are options. At our local grocery stores they're sold in the "free from" section and can be brought pre-seasoned and ready to cook with. Jack fruit in particular is a popular replacement for shredded pork.

The trick with a lot of these is to marinate them. Tofu in particular so you can infuse it with flavor. Here's a few recipes we love:

Lentil and sweet potato loaf ("Neat"loaf)

Marinated tofu

Crispy tofu sandwiches

Tempeh bacon

Chili (our mom's recipe that we modified)

Soft / Squish

For things that are soft or squishy and you can slurp up.

Seaweed salad

miso soup

Pico de Gallo Black Bean Soup

"Nice" cream

Chocolate mousse

Oatmeal

Popsicles

Applesauce

Brownie batter hummus

Chia seed jam

Lavender syrup (to flavor other drinks, we use it in coffee)

Lavender lemonade (final product will be a light brown color)

Mashed potatoes + Gravy

Slow cooker apple cider

Tofu scramble

JUST egg

Non-dairy mac and cheese (our favorite brand is the upton's)

Smoothies (if you're looking for a protein powder to include, we recommend Vega)

**Just a reminder to supplement for B12 if you're consuming a vegan diet. There are some foods that are fortified with it; however, a supplement is cheap, easy to find and all-around a more reliable way to ensure you are getting enough.

#nova squawks #otherkin #otherkind #nonhuman #therian #kin food #otherkin recipes

[7-pines]

artisan item checklist

The amount of each artisan item you need to make. Artisan items are recursive (if you need to make juice and wine, it'll tell you to make 2 juices), but nothing else is (if someone loves a meal that involves an artisan item, it's not keeping track of that.) Loved items are included as "+1" for each person who loves it.

This is also made to be specific so when a recipe/crafting/offering calls for "Any ___" or "A or B", I picked the cheapest version of it to make. How things get replaced is under the Read More at the end.

3x Tulip honey [Bee house]: Apple pie, Assorted grilled platter, Jamu (Cooking)

1x Titan arum black honey [Bee house]: Rare Artisan (Offering)

8x Cheese [Cheese press]: Burrito, Eggplant lasagna, Gnocchi, Hawaiian pizza, Oven-baked risotto, Pizza, Summer burger, Sweet potato poutine (Cooking)

2x Syrup [Cheese press]: Es cendol, Es doger (Cooking)

1x Seaweed chips [Dehydrator]: Basic Artisan (Offering)

1x Large gesha coffee [Keg]: Loved by Aaliyah

2x Gesha coffee [Keg]: Loved by Aaliyah, Raj

3x Sake [Keg]: Fish soup (Cooking) Loved by Connor, Walter

7x Coffee [Keg]: Loved by Antonio, Emma, Giu, Groo, Joko, Raj, Randy

9x Green tea [Keg]: Kombucha (Artisan) Help Paul (Quest) Loved by Anne, Ben, Betty, Eleanor, Emma, Kenny, Raj

1x Cane nectar [Keg]: Loved by Erika

2x Cranberry juice [Keg]: Basic Artisan (Offering) Cranberry wine (Artisan)

1x Wool cloth [Loom]: Monster scarecrow (Crafting)

5x Cotton cloth [Loom]: Poci ghost scarecrow (Crafting) Kunti ghost scarecrow (Crafting) Ondel-ondel handsome scarecrow (Crafting) Ondel-ondel pretty scarecrow (Crafting) Loved by Emma

9x Butter [Mason jar]: Basic Artisan (Offering) Apple pie, Butter croissant, Cookies, Corn on the cob, Gnocchi, Minced jackfruit pie, Oven-baked risotto, Peanut butter (Cooking)

1x Kiracha sauce [Mason jar]: Vegan taco (Cooking)

2x Pickled corn [Mason jar]: Basic Artisan (Offering) Corn kimchi (Artisan)

3x Tempeh [Mason jar]: Fried tempeh, Herbed tempeh, Lodeh (Cooking)

4x Mayonnaise [Mayonnaise machine]: Basic Artisan (Offering) Fish taco, Rainbow sandwich (Cooking) Loved by Scott

4x Rice flour [Mill]: Es cendol, Klepon, Popiah, Serabi (Cooking)

10x Wheat flour [Mill]: Apple pie, Basil pesto pasta, Fruit tart, Pad thai, Peyek, Seafood ramen, Veggie ramen (Cooking) Gingerbread scarecrow (Crafting)

20x Amaranth flour [Mill]: Banana fritter, Bread, Butter croissant, Cauliflower casserole, Chocolate chip muffins, Cookies, Gnocchi, Hash browns, Hawaiian pizza, Kue kancing, Minced jackfruit pie, Mooncake, Pancakes, Pepper and mushroom flatbread, Pineapple upside-down cake, Pizza, Pumpkin pie, Red velvet cake, Spider tempura, Tortilla (Cooking)

11x Sugar [Mill]: Cenil, Donut, Egg custard, Fruit tart, Klepon, Kue kancing, Kue lapis, Pineapple upside-down cake, Pumpkin pie, Serabi (Cooking) Gingerbread scarecrow (Crafting)

4x Gourmet salt [Mill]: Herbed tempeh, Ketchup, Serabi, Spider tempura (Cooking)

3x White truffle oil [Oil press]: Rare Artisan (Offering) Loved by Alice, Connor

1x Black truffle oil [Oil press]: Loved by Alice

2x Almond oil [Oil press]: Loved by Alice, Emily

4x Olive oil [Oil press]: Hummus, Roasted mushroom (Cooking) Loved by Alice, Emily

11x Canola oil [Oil press]: Banana fritter, Beet chips, Donut, Falafel, Fried tempeh, Kale chips, Potato chips, Sauteed chard, Spider tempura, Sweet potato chips, Sweet potato poutine (Cooking)

1x Fermented goat cheese wheel [Aging barrel]: Rare Artisan (Offering)

1x Kombucha [Aging barrel]: Loved by Kenny

1x Artichoke kimchi [Aging barrel]: Loved by Anne

1x Corn kimchi [Aging barrel]: Rare Artisan (Offering)

1x Cranberry wine [Aging barrel]: Rare Artisan (Offering)

Replacements

These replacements only involve Cooking & Crafting, not Loved Items. So if someone loves Fruit Juice, that's not kept track of here.

Any flour -> Amaranth flour

Any oil -> Canola oil

Any cheese -> Cheese

Any butter -> Butter

Butter or Large butter -> Butter

Any honey -> Tulip honey

Any mayonnaise -> Mayonnaise

Any fruit juice -> Cranberry juice

Any wine -> Cranberry wine

Any pickle -> Pickled corn

Any kimchi -> Corn kimchi

Any dried scavengeables -> Seaweed chips

#coral island #coral island numbers #coral island spoilers

[robinksimblr]

FALAFEL & HUMMUS SANDWICHES A CUSTOM HOMESTYLE RECIPE

A simple but tasty sandwich for your veggie sims to take out on a picnic or even just to work or school as a packed lunch. Either way it's a simple food to make if they're hungry and in a hurry.

It has 3 sizes (8 servings, 4 servings, and single serving)

Vegetarian-Safe, Lactose Free.

Optional SCCO any breads well as EA any herb, Icemunmun chickpea, hummus, and BrazenLotus cayenne pepper ingredients (can be cooked without)

This food item REQURES the latest version of my food enabler object.

DOWNOAD (PATREON EARLY ACCESS) PUBLIC RELEASE (03.08.2023)

#mods #my stuff mods #my stuff food #food #homestyle food #Homestyle #vegerarian #vegetarian food #vegan #lactose free #sandwich #hummus #chickpea #sims4mods #sims4food

[ameliatarianrecipes]

I made a "closely inspired" version of this recipe, doubled and simplified to make it a lot easier (no chopping): 1 lb dry chickpeas No herbs Half a 10oz bag frozen onions (defrosted and drained) ~2 tbsp garlic powder 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp msg 50 grinds pepper ~1 tsp cumin 2 tbsp olive oil

Divide in 2 to process.

I followed the original directions to process and bake, and they came out great.

#recipe review #ameliatarian #vegetarian #vegan #main dish

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

Fireflies Over The Wall - Chapter 7

Relationship: The Bell Keeper & Meiri (Original character)

Summary: "The troll brought with herself, every night without a fault, a baby.

Every night, she placed it upon the grass, and pointed upwards, showing her baby the stars and constellations. Showing her baby the fireflies.

Holding it tight. Cuddling with it. Making sure it saw the beauty the world had to offer. He had never considered himself a sentimental man. Yet this image, for some reason, never failed to make him return home feeling something gaping and void inside of himself.

Every one of his former coworkers must have returned to their families.

Who would Edmund return to when he could work no more?

What would give him a reason to get out of bed when the fireflies were no longer enough?"

An OC's origin story as well as a Bell Keeper character study, because this character is much more fascinating than I'd been giving him credit for.

Notes: Title from 'Enchanted', by Taylor Swift

Man I love claiming this song for my lil found family especially since they were essentially annoyed by each other on sight. Dudes were *not* enchanted to meet each other, let's be real

Chapter title: Lingering question kept me up

Read it on ao3

It was scary. Terrifying, really. Edmund now spent every available moment asking himself if he had meant it, if he could make it work. Not long ago, he’d told Kaisa he’d never submit a child to what living with him would be like. And now, he thought about it during all of his available time. Which, considering his job was just looking over a wall and watching the hours pass by, was a lot of time.

He still worked long and weird hours. He still lived in a cabin far away from the city centre. He was still a disaster human being. Nothing that months ago had led him to assure he was far from being cut out to be a father had changed. But his feelings had.

His feelings had changed because he’d met someone who was far too independent for her age and actually valued her time alone. Because his cabin was the first place she’d run to when she felt uncomfortable, and the place where she seemed to willingly spend the most time at, save for the woods. Because someone looked up to him and wanted him near despite a lost man being all he saw in the mirror. They’d changed because, after a lifetime of not knowing what he wanted, he now did. He now knew how to make his life useful, and if he got the chance he’d enjoy it so much.

And the very idea, the possibility, was scary. Change always was. This was such a fragile thing, there were more ways in which he could screw up than there were bell towers along the wall, and he for one knew them to be in an unreasonable number.

But it was worth it. It was a leap he’d have to take, it was a great deal of effort he’d have to make, but the alternative of doing nothing, of following once again the path of least resistance like he always did, and letting this chance slip through his fingers was too painful to contemplate. 

Knowing that didn’t make it any easier, though.

He went by it carefully, knowing that moving too fast could scare not only her, but also himself. He had to act, but it didn’t mean they were in a hurry. Some days after the lightbulb incident, when they were cooking in his cabin, he decided to get as close as he dared to breaching the topic.

“What’s it like to live there, kid?” He asked as he began chopping onions. “At Saint Anne’s. Is it… nice?”

Meiri lifted her eyes from the recipe sheet she was holding. Their argument about what was and was not a proper lunch had continued throughout the months, and at this point Edmund mostly defended sandwiches just to piss her off, knowing he wasn’t going to be able to convince her. At one point, she’d revealed that she did accept one sandwich-adjacent thing as being a meal, that being a falafel one made on flatbread with pickles, purple onions and lettuce. Apparently, it was something she had begun asking Teresa for on special dates after taking an interest in her heritage. So, of course, Edmund had said that he’d have to try it if it was so good as to make her eat something different than what she was used to, for once. Meiri had borrowed the recipe from Teresa and brought it to him on a day he’d known he’d be off duty, and after a trip to the market they’d returned to the cabin to try it out.

“It’s alright.” She answered after a few seconds, not having expected the question. He rarely asked anything of the sort, preferring to let her reveal whatever she wanted in her own time, so she was caught off guard by the directness. Her first instinct was to pull back, say something evasive and avoid opening up. But after the whole situation she’d put him through, which in hindsight she felt very embarrassed about, she probably owed him. “I know there are some scary stories about orphanages out there. Saint Anne’s is nice, though. They treat me like a person, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Edmund hummed. He was now rinsing the chickpeas, which he should really have let to soak overnight, but they didn’t have the time so he’d cooked them in the pressure cooker and hoped for the best.

“Do you like the people there?”

This question seemed to be trickier for her; Edmund made sure to keep his eyes on the ingredients, aware that being watched usually made things harder for the girl.

“The kids aren’t mean.” Like some at school, she didn’t say. “They’re not really my friends.” Because I’m too weird for them. “But no one treats me badly. And if anyone ever does, Terry or another one of the caretakers calls them out and makes them apologise.” I usually have to apologise too. It’s always my fault.

For all she wasn’t saying, she was already talking more than she would have liked to. She should just shut up; she never knew when to do that. But Edmund just made it harder for her, because he actually acted as if he wanted to hear what she had to say, which couldn’t possibly be true.

“Hm. Out of your caretakers, Terry is the one who you talk to the most, isn’t he? Cover yer ears, I’ll turn the blender on.”

She did as she was told, keeping her hands to her ears for as long as she could see the mixture being twirled inside the glass body of his vastly underused blender.

“He is.” Meiri confirmed once the noise stopped. He is the most patient one.

As expressive as ever, Edmund hummed again. He detached the body from the bottom of the blender and transferred the mixture into a bowl. Meiri stepped closer to open the fridge so he could place it inside.

“Thanks, kid. What’s next?”

“Seasoning the pickles while that chills for a bit. I’ve set aside the spices.”

“Alright. Is it those ones in the little red bowl?”

She nodded, and he got to work cutting very thin slices of pickles. Meiri had asked if she could help with that part, since she could do it on the table even if she didn’t reach the counter, but there was no way in hell he was letting her anywhere near a knife. Edmund let the subject rest for a while, and soon they took out the blended mixture and the girl shaped them into balls. The falafel went into the miniature oven which he kept on the same counter as his equally small electric stove, right underneath the copy of the wall’s blueprint that every bell keeper was supposed to have.

They cut their flatbreads open and stuffed them with the lettuce, pickles and red onion. When the falafels were ready, in they went as well, and the sandwiches were topped off with sesame seeds.

His opinion on it were basically the same as when he’d tasted Teresa’s cooking. It was flavourful, and he could easily see why someone would enjoy it. But by the gods, he was not cut for it. Just enough so that he had to munch on a separate, pure flatbread to keep his taste buds balanced. 

He’d be a dead man if Kaisa ever heard of this. She’d never let him live it down.

“So-” He attempted to go back to their conversation as they ate. Surprisingly, Meiri wasn’t giving him a hard time for his obvious struggle with the unfamiliar flavours. “You’re interested in your heritage, then, huh?

From across the table, Meiri stared at him as she finished chewing on a bite.

“You’ve been asking a lot of questions today.” Was what she said instead of a proper answer, damn nearly making the bell keeper choke. His recovery was quick, but not as quick as he would have liked. 

“I just noticed that I see you all the time but I don’t really know much about ya.” He shrugged with fake nonchalance. “Does it bother you?”

“Not really.” Meiri studied her sandwich with even faker nonchalance. She took a bite just as he opened his mouth again.

“Well, then, mind if I ask another one?”

No verbal answer, but she looked at him blankly so he took it as as much of an agreement as he could expect.

“Do you…” Edmund took a deep breath. Knowing this could be a step too far. Knowing she didn’t owe him to take it well. Hoping she would, anyways. “Do you wanna be adopted, some day? I mean, do you hope for it?”

Only a twitch of her eyebrows betrayed her surprise, but her undecipherable stare remained. She seemed to chew slower on purpose.

“I don’t think anyone would like that.” She answered eventually, cryptically. It was the last question she acknowledged that day.

…......

Birds weren’t as cool as fireflies. It was an unfair competition, considering the former had that weird creepy cold light thing going on, but it was still one he was forced to do since they were essentially all he had to keep himself entertained during his daylight shifts. Considering her love for insects and comparative disinterest in vertebrate animals, Meiri probably thought so too, but she didn’t complain when he suggested they try to spend a morning seeing which birds they could find.

So far, the answer had been ‘a fuckton of sparrows’.

After a while of seeing nothing but the small brownish creatures, they’d moved on to identifying which species of sparrows were the most common in that area. Which was proving to be tricky, since their book only gave them differences that had to be spotted from a short distance and the ones they were seeing were, understandably, flying by quickly overheads.

After having resorted to borrowing Edmund’s binoculars, Meiri had narrowed it down to them being either Shelley’s Sparrows or House Sparrows. And now her current complaint was that their book didn’t have their scientific names.

“Hey, don’t get mad at me! It was Kaisa who recommended this guide, blame her!”

Meiri hummed in a discontent manner. “Kaisa is cool.”

He had long since given up on his fantasies of getting Meiri to mess with the librarian, but having his dreams trampled on still stung. They could have had it all.

She wasn’t able to stay for long, though. After a few hours, she began putting her pencils and notebook away in her backpack, knowing she needed to get going  in order to be at school in time. Edmund took the chance.

“I really enjoy your company.” He said as he looked up. Two birds were fighting over the same twig. Or maybe it was a worm. Things could get messy.

Meiri didn’t really answer, but he could see out of the corner of his eyes that she had a pleased smirk on her face. “It’d be… nice. To have you around more.”

“Well, I have school.” She stated matter of factly. “I already come when I can.”

“But would you like to spend more time over here? If you could, that is?”

She blinked, now hugging her backpack in front of herself. When he risked looking more directly at her, it was easy to notice her uneasiness. Her eyes always became restless when she was agitated.

“Maybe.” She said, but it was strained. Edmund nodded, knowing he wouldn’t push any further, not with how anxious she seemed to have become. He turned his attention back to the sky, hoping it would soothe her. When he didn’t offer her any other questions or comments, Meiri turned on her heels and walked away to the staircase.

Dread coiled in her stomach. She was way too familiar with the feeling. It always preceded the moment when she inevitably ruined something she loved.

…......

He’d all but given up. Not because he wanted to, but because he felt like he was the only one taking any steps forward, and they were never going to meet in the middle like that. If Meiri wanted anything else to do with him, he’d need her to at least give him a hint of it, because the last thing he wanted was to keep pressing if it was unwanted.

Edmund knew part of his reluctance also stemmed from this being the easy way out; if Meiri didn’t show herself open to the possibility, then, well, there was a perfect excuse to not try something that could go downhill so easily. An excuse to keep on doing what he’d been doing all along and just go about his life without having to worry about anything - or anyone - else. 

He was still the same coward who’d kept an easy job even after finding out how rotten it really was, after all.

But that pesky wanting was still within him, lodged so comfortably somewhere in his ribcage that he couldn’t get rid of it. He managed to convince himself that it didn’t bother him, most times. Meiri visited often enough that it was easy to pretend she’d always be around. It was only during those rare moments in which one of them mentioned the future that he was forced to face that he wouldn’t be in hers, nor she in his. He was just a moderately amusing way for her to pass her time. And he wasn’t complaining; the chance to give a kid some good childhood memories was a precious one, and he was getting a lot of fun out of it himself. It was only that, at the end of the day, the realisation that none of that would really stick with him as the years passed was a depressing one. 

Yet Meiri seemed happy. And that was what mattered.

He sighed as he finally, after a lot of struggling with knots that looked impossible even to the most experienced of sailors, freed a woffling from his laundry line. Every goddamned year.

“See why I think vertebrates are confusing?” He startled as the voice of the very person he’d been thinking about came from behind him. Edmund turned with a jump, hand to his chest.

“Trying to give me a bloody heart attack again?”

She smirked, still in her school uniform with a book on her arms. “It’s not my main goal, but it would be funny.”

“Joke’s on you, the only thing I’m leaving you in my will is sandwich bread.”

“You would not!” She stomped her foot, not angry that he wasn’t leaving anything else but definitely pissed that what he chose to grant her was that.

“I would.” He nodded somberly. “That and cucumbers. Raw ones.”

“I’m leaving spiders on your bed.”

Even though she must be joking (despite her deadpan face), he was not going to try his luck. She might not be the kind of person to do that without a warning, but she did just give a warning. Edmund snorted.

“Just kidding! You also get the rug you like.” 

Meiri pursed her lips, pretending to think it through. 

“I’ll take it.”

She then opened the tiniest, shy smile and walked closer to him.

“What are you going to do right now?”

With a sigh, Edmund gestured to the ground near them. His previously clean clothes were scattered all around the grass, rumpled and dirtied.

“The laundry. Again.” Raising his arms to the heavens, he wished there was a woff deity he could pray to. “But you can come in if ya want to, of course. Won’t take me long to fix these up.”

“If it won’t take you long, why are you complaining so much?”

“Because complaining is one of life’s greatest joys. Now come on, it’s going to start getting chilly soon. Help me take these inside.”

They each took an armful of clothes from the ground and entered the house. Edmund had to go again to grab soap powder and fabric softener from a cabinet, but after doing so he turned to the table, in which both of them had put the clothes they’d collected, and saw that the book Meiri had brought was upon it as well. His eyes roamed over the title, and he squinted as he second guessed what he had read.

“Taking an interest in woffs now, kid?”

“Huh?” Meiri had been eyeing the buttons on his washing machine not exactly with curiosity, but with some sort of effort to try to understand it. “Well, sort of, I suppose. I just remember you told me a while back that you tried to understand woff migration because of… that-”

She waved a hand to the clothes on the table as Edmund opened the machine’s lid to put the correct amount of soap and softener in the slots inside. 

“So I figured that since their migration period started, I should read up on them so I could help you with it.”

Edmund paused with a flannel shirt on his hand on its way to being shoved into the washing machine.

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah.” Without her hoodie, Meiri didn’t have proper pockets to put her hands into, so she was forced to stop them from fiddling so that he wouldn’t see it. Unable to stay completely still, she dragged the sole of her left foot back and forth. 

Forcing himself to keep loading the machine instead of staring at her, Edmund frowned. Not in an angry way. But in the pensive and worried way of when a plan began to fall apart in front of your own eyes.

“Why?”

“You’re cool.” Meiri looked everywhere but at him. He thought it had to be the nicest thing she’d said about him; not bearable or even alright, but cool. Meiri knew it was the nicest thing she’d ever told anyone to their face. “I wanted to help. You already help me a lot.”

Edmund didn’t really think he did anything any other decent adult wouldn’t, but it felt like a balm to hear her say so anyway. To know he was making a difference. To know she felt comfortable enough to admit it even though she really didn’t need to.

“Hm. You know ya don’t need to pay me back, right? You’re no bother, no need to go out of yer way for me.”

“But I want to.” His breath hitched, but he managed to avoid turning to look at her abruptly as he heard her say that while he picked up more clothes from the table. “It’s not… it’s not paying back. I just like spending time with you.”

Years of keeping his most stoic facade had trained him for this. Even though she was making no similar effort, clearly gauging his reaction, he kept on very slowly picking apart his clothing pieces and putting them one by one in the washing machine, trying to draw out this activity for as long as he could. Talking was a lot easier when it wasn’t your main focus. He hummed, noticing the way she was now openly picking at her own nails.

“That’s really nice of you.”

She shrugged, he could see it in his peripheral vision. It was now or never. Preferably now since he really didn’t need to draw out that torture any longer; who knew if he had any underlying heart problems, he certainly didn’t want to find out now.

“Tell me - and there’s no right answer, believe me-” He began, feeling the room get suddenly cold. It might not have been the best way to go about it, because he was reasonably sure he saw Meiri tense up beside him. “Would you ever consider letting me adopt you?”

Edmund had thought he’d done a good job of sounding natural - meaning not like he’d been kept awake over this matter almost every night for the past weeks - and not coming across as pressing her, but apparently he’d done something wrong, because he heard her breath catch and not in a good way. Forcing himself to look as calm as possible, he turned to the child who was now gripping the straps of her backpack with a force that turned her knuckles white. Her whole demeanour made her look like she was ready to bolt, and when he met her eyes all he could think of was a deer in headlights.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He lifted his hands up assuringly, the last thing he wanted being making her feel like she had nowhere to run to. “Sorry, kid, I didn’t wanna-”

But apparently she hadn’t felt like she had nowhere to run to, because as soon as her freeze response faded with a trembling exhale, Meiri ignited flight mode and ran out of the cabin, leaving the door ajar behind her and allowing the cold wind of dusk to sweep in mercilessly.

#meiridom #fic: fotw #my fic #hilda oc #the bell keeper hilda #meiri #meiri (oc) #the bell keeper fanfic #hilda the series fanfic

[robbybirdy]

54. Baking therapy on a budget Ft. Genshin Characters: Collei

Hello, Every birdy. Today we are going to be making one of my sister's favorite foods. The food that she wanted for her birthday. Falafel.

Collei is a trainee forest ranger in the Forest of Sumeru. She has met characters from Mondsandt and is a victim of the Fatui (bad guys) as they experimented on her. Besides Lisa Collei is the first Sumerian character that people met, who read the manga. And her favorite food is Pita Pocket. Honestly, that was the reason my sister wanted Falfela for her birthday dinner. 

So for this recipe there really isn’t going to be much of a recipe per say. Because we are just going to be making it based off a box mix. 

But I do want to explain to everyone what Falafel is. Falafel’s are chickpea or fava bean, deep fried balls. They also have fresh herbs and spices in them. They are normally a Middle Eastern Street food. It can be served in many different ways. From the most notable one of being inside pita pockets with tahini sauce and veggies. But they could aslo be in salads or as side dishes. 

We did not have tahini sauce, but we did have sour cream and almonds. So we made a almond sauce. We made a almond paste and then put it in the sour cream. When I say we, I mean me and my mom. We tag teamed on this dinner and it came out really good. 

So we are going to make it according to the directions on the box.

In a bowl, you are going to add your mix and about 1 ½ cups of cold water. 

Late that stand for 15 minutes. 

Take a tablespoon of the mixture, and form them into small patties or balls. We decided it would be balls. 

Just note if the mixture does not allow to form balls, spoon the mixture into the hot oil, about a tablespoon size. 

Each tablespoon of mixture makes about one ball. 

You are going to heat your oil. Enough to cover the balls or patties. 

Now you are going to deep fry the falafel balls or patties for about 2- 3 minutes in the hot oil. Making sure that you turn them occasionally until the crisp is golden brown. 

Place the balls or patties on an absorbent paper towel to drain and serve hot. 

Slice and open up your pita bread, place your almond or tahini sauce inside, add in the falafel and then add in some cucumbers. And enjoy. 

My sister loved her birthday dinner, and she was happy that we ended up making it. And that makes it so worth it. 

I hope that you liked this recipe. Feel free to check it out for yourself. See you in the next post. Thank you.

Pinterest: Here

Recipe:

Vegetarian. Low sodium. 7 g protein per serving. 0 g cholesterol. Falafel is one of the most natural and well known traditional Mediterranean dishes. It is wholesome and delicious. Exceptionally nutritious and easy to prepare, hearty and full of flavor. Falafel is a tasty ideal accompaniment to salads or can simply be enjoyed as a main meal. Serve hot with hummus, tahini and pita bread for a delightful taste if the East, or prepare as patties and serve Mediterranean style as a hot or cold sandwich. Try our tasteful and healthy Mediterranean specialties and enjoy their truly different and delicious taste. Couscous. Tabouli Mix. Hummus with Tahini. Bulgur No. 3. Packed on weight not volume. No MSG. No artificial preservative. No coloring. www.sadaf.com.

cooking Instructions for 6 Portions: About 18 patties. 1. In a bowl combine and mix well the entire contents of Sadaf mix with 1-1/2 cup cold water. Allow standing for 15 minutes. 2. Take a tablespoon of the mixture, and form it into small patties or balls. If the mixture does not allow to form balls, fill the content of a tablespoon and fry in hot oil. Each tablespoon makes one ball. 3. In a skillet, heat (350 degrees F) corn oil or Sadaf grapeseed oil (enough to cover the patties). Deep fry the Falafel balls or patties for 2-3 minutes in the hot oil, turning occasionally until crisp golden brown. Place an absorbent paper towel to drain and serve hot. Store in a cool dry place.

#ts3 #simblr #ts3 simblr #baking #baking therapy #recipe #food #Genshin Impact #genshin impact #Collei #collei genshin #Collei gi

[roseverie]

do you like cooking? what are some recipes you Iike? ♡

I do! here’s some more simple things I tend to have through out the week ->

- pumpkin pizza: *choose any sort of bread base you like*, then add fruit chutney for the sauce base, spinach, pre-cook some pumpkin, red onion, mushrooms, cheese. Cook in oven for about 20-25 mins.

- falafel: blend peas and dried chickpeas, then move that into a large bowl and add; parsley, lemon juice, onion, garlic and flour (I don’t like spicy food, but feel free to add spices). Mix it all up and mould into balls or more flat like shapes. Since the consistency tends to be somewhat sticky-ish (?) I always like to roll them in panko crumbs for some crunch. Then place them in the oven until golden or fry them in a pan. I love these cause their so versatile, if you make them more flat in shape you can place it in a sandwich, or you can even crumble them over a salad! (note: if you want them to be more fluffier add baking powder).

- speaking of salad: lettuce and spinach, avocado, cucumber, mango, uncooked mushrooms. Then either a avocado and garlic dressing or honey dijon mustard dressing.

- eggplant lasagna: to make the tomato sauce; red onion, garlic, celery, carrot, spinach, parsley, store bought tomato paste/sauce (stuff that has chunks of tomato in it etc), a tea spoon of sugar to balance out the acidity a bit, lastly anymore herbs or spices of your choice (I tend to always put turmeric.) Then fry some eggplant in a pan with some olive oil. The construction would just follow a regular pattern of a pasta sheet, sauce, eggplant slices, cheese etc. Then cook in oven until pasta is obviously cooked/soft.

#replied

[wellnessbymarinayancey]

Perfect Falafel Sandwich

We love this falafel sandwich – it is packed with quality plant protein, veggies, and savory goodness. sharp knife 4 slices of fresh sourdough bread 4 cooked falafels (see my "Perfect Falafel Recipe")1/2 Heirloom tomato 1/2 avocado 1/2 red oniongreen oliveshummus Thoroughly wash the veggies and cut them into slices. Build your falafel sandwich and enjoy! Perfect Falafel Main Courseany,…

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#diet #easy recipes #food #health #nutrition #plant-based #vegan

[recipeclips]

Recipes using Hummus

tabbouleh, ground beef, pine nuts, parsley, mint

parsley

dried chickpeas, chickpea flour, flat-leaf parsley, mint

[nycfoodieblog]