Falafel
When I think about the history of Falafel, I'm taken back to the memories of being a child. As far back as I can remember, I had a TV in my room growing up, and as a kid I found myself turning on Nick at Night at 3am because I couldn't sleep. For anyone that wasn't awake then in the early 90's, Nick at Night proudly re-ran the Newhart show and I got really familiar with it. So, how does this relate to Falafel? Remember the famous, "Hi, I'm Larry.. this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl" line? Well, falafel history is sort of like that. Three different people lay claim to the falafel: the Christian Copts of Egypt, The Muslims of Palestine, and the Jews. I'm not here to judge or pick favorites, I'm just here to eat. Who cares where they came from or their origin? They're delicious! And as you are in a heated round-table with your friends about whether the Copts came up with Falafel as a way to replace meat during lent, or if the perfect Falafel is made with fava beans or chickpeas, I'm going to sit quietly in the corner eating all of the delicious falafel before they get cold and thinking to myself that the idea probably first originated in the sub-continent of India with the frying of ground and mashed legumes and as Alexandria, Egypt was a bustling port city in Ancient Egypt, the idea probably came by boat as an adaption of a larger traveling food ideology. But I digress. As of right now there are 2 days, 16 hours, and 34 minutes until Christmas, and I need to go out and find a Christmas tree. So, enjoy this weeks recipes - have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I'll see you all again in 2019!!!