I usually make falafel from a mix because I have one brand I really like. But recently I’ve found it to be not as good, and not just because it made me gassy.

So I decided to make it from scratch. I used Mark Bittman’s recipe because it’s not too complicated, it uses soaked but uncooked beans, and it’s specifically for baked falafel, which is what I like to do, because I don’t like to use so much oil (and by that I mean I don’t like to use two inches of oil only to throw a lot of it out, not that I’m trying to keep strictly low fat) and I don’t like the house to smell fried.

I followed the recipe except when I misread how to use the olive oil and mixed it into falafel instead of just greasing the cookie sheet. So I think it turned out a little wetter than it should have been. But they were really good and maybe even better the next day, perhaps because they needed to go a little longer in the oven (because they were too wet?). Next time I won’t add oil to the mix and will make sure my parsley is more finely processed so there aren’t big pieces in the falafel, which turned a drab green with baking and didn’t look that great.

I also made hummus using my “recipe” of one cup of dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked, refrigerated in the cooking water overnight and then drained; juice of two lemons; four to six cloves garlic; tahini; olive oil; salt. I think that’s all; I always feel like I’m forgetting something.

I also made baba ganoush using Minimalist Baker’s technique (and recipe) of slicing and broiling the eggplant to get a smoky flavor. It was not super smokey but was really good and definitely something I will do again. I made the mistake of adding tahini to the baba ganoush which I knew I don’t like, but I was following the recipe…so I guess that just means I’ll have to make it again soon.

I also made a yogurt dip which I’ve been using lately as a veggie dip instead of ranch. It’s just whole milk yogurt, pressed garlic, lemon juice, salt, dill (fresh is best but dry also works).

I ALSO made a tahini sauce and crumbled some feta. Whew!