Falafel

Tonight I had a craving for Middle Eastern or Greek food. I know, some people probably get upset when I lump the two together, but Falafel is a food that many cultures eat. It's ground chickpeas made into a wet meal that is then formed into balls and fried in oil. The balls are then arranged in a warm pita with some romaine or other leafy green lettuce, and a yogurt sauce, perhaps with a little tomato or feta.

I used Fantastic World Foods falafel mix. I always do. I haven't ever made my own falafel from scratch, but I should. I think I'll look up a recipe and see that it's easy, and then wonder why I use a boxed mix. But the boxed mix is perfectly seasoned and holds together with just the right texture. You mix 1 c. of chickpea meal together with 1/2 c. water and let it stand for ten minutes to absorb. Then you form balls and fry them in 350 to 375 degree heated oil. I used canola.

I made tzatziki sauce from scratch, though. I bought strained Greek yogurt in a single serving size container and scooped that into a bowl. I peeled and seeded half a cucumber, and grated it finely, then added it to the yogurt. To that, I added about 4 cloves of crushed garlic, some garlic seasoning, salt, pepper, dill, juice of half a lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. It is to die for, but your breath will be to die from! Gargle after, fo sho!

I diced the other half of the seeded and peeled cucumber and added the juice from the other half of the lemon, a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and a dash of dill.

My ensemble came together nicely with some feta and an Italian lettuce blend. Kalamata olives would have been devine, but I ate them all and didn't buy more tonight. I also would have loved a little pan sauteed tomato in my pita, but I was out of tomato as well.

The falafel was perfectly done and the tzatziki was delicious on top. I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, while I watch 13 inches of snow fall and try to work from home. Opa!

Cafe LuLu - Milwaukee

I had lunch with two other attorneys today in Bayside, a trendy, up and coming area in Milwaukee, or so it goes. We went to Cafe LuLu. It's a little dive that has a very quaint lunch counter and a few tables, and excellent food and service.

I ordered the Casablanca Burger, which was a mixture of beef and lamb served with tomato, lettuce and a yogurt sauce to top it off. It also came with a side of their homemade chips and a bleu cheese dressing dip. The burger was tasty and reminded me of a Lula Kabob sandwich I used to order at a fantastic place called Lebanon's Cafe in New Orleans. I'm sold on it and will go back.

My lunch mates had beef stroganoff soup, which appeared tasty and must have been because it was gone, and a Calypso Tuna Salad which looked really good, however, my friend said that the tuna should be served rare, because it was a little overdone and not so good. The waiter initially said it is sushi grade tuna, so I assume they can simply serve it slightly seared, and they should.

The waiter was very friendly, in a "we're busy, hon, what do you want" kind of way. He may have had an ownership interest, by the way he dealt with the patrons. Warm and familiar.

I'd go back for seconds.