Falafel Burgers

• 2 (15.5-oz.) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 c. panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 red onion, minced
• 1/2 c. chopped parsley
• Juice of 2 lemons, divided
• 1 tsp. cumin
• kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c. finely chopped cucumber
• 2 tbsp. Chopped fresh dill
• 12 small pitas (or 6 pitas, split into halves)
• Lettuce, for serving
• Tomato slices, for serving

Add chickpeas, red onion, panko, garlic, parsley, juice of 1 lemon, and cumin to a food processor. Season with salt and pepper. Pulse a few times to evenly distribute ingredients, then process until smooth. Form into 6 equally-sized, flat patties.

In a large skillet, add vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the falafel patties and cook until 

golden brown and the mixture is heated through, about 3 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, make yogurt-dill sauce. Stir together yogurt, cucumber, dill, and juice of 1 lemon in a small bowl..

Divide patties between 6 small pitas. Top with yogurt sauce, lettuce, and tomato slices. Top each serving with a second small pita.

Serves: 6

VERDICT:  Super easy, and good. From delish.com.  Keep.

Potato and Chorizo Tacos

• 1 pound red-skinned or Yukon Gold potatoes
• Kosher salt
• 3/4 pound Mexican chorizo, casings removed, if necessary
• 1 cup finely chopped white onions
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh serrano or jalapeño chile (including seeds)
• About 2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil, if necessary

Put the potatoes in a small pot and add enough cold water to cover them. Salt the water generously, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and cook at a vigorous simmer until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes. Drain the potatoes, and when they're cool enough to handle, remove the peel with your fingers as best you can and cut the potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes.

Put the chorizo in a cold, large, heavy pan or cast-iron skillet and set it over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring and breaking up the chorizo slightly, until it's completely cooked and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add the onions and chile, along with a teaspoon or two of oil if your chorizo hasn't rendered much fat, and cook, stirring and scraping, until the onions are translucent and soft, about 8 minutes.

Add the potatoes and 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and cook until the potatoes are hot all the way through and have absorbed some chorizo flavor, about 10 minutes. As you cook, mash some of the potatoes. Season with salt to taste.

Serve alongside 12 warm corn tortillas and top with crema, chopped cilantro, and salsa.

VERDICT: We used soy chorizo from the vegan butcher, cooked in some olive oil, and served with sour cream, avocados, cilantro, salsa verde, and radishes.  Keep!  From The Splendid Table.

Fig & Ginger Oatmeal Scones

• 1 cup oatmeal
• 3/4 cup unbleached flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour 
• 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 chopped dried figs
• 1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
• Milk for brushing the top

Raise an oven rack to its highest position. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. (If available, stack two baking sheets together.)

In a large bowl combine the oats, unbleached flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Cut the butter into small pieces and pop them into the dry mixture. Mix to coat the droplets of butter. Then, using your fingers, rub the butter into the mixture until coarse crumbs form.

Beat the egg in a small bowl. Beat in the buttermilk. Pour this into the flour mixture. Stir until evenly moist.  Fold in the figs and ginger.

Lightly flour your work surface. Place the dough onto it and knead it (about 4 times should do the trick).

Gather the dough into a ball. Pat it into a disk 3/4 inch thick. Transfer it onto the baking sheet.

Cut the disk into 8 wedges. Lightly brush the wedges with milk and then sprinkle on some oats to “finish” the scones.

Bake 20 minutes, or until golden brown. (I checked my scones at 20 minutes but found them ideal at 25 minutes.)

VERDICT:  I used this recipe to try to recreate the delicious fig-ginger scones at The Dancing Goat Coffeehouse.  The original recipe called for yogurt thinned with milk to replace buttermilk--I just used buttermilk.  I used dried figs, and chopped enough to make 1/3 cup.  The dough was incredibly wet--I had to use a ton of extra flour to get it in kneadable shape.  On the whole, though, they turned out pretty well.  Keep.  From Melissa Rapoport.

Whole Wheat Rhubarb Streusel Muffins

Streusel

• 1/4 cup (31 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (28 grams) white whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon (13 grams) granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons (38 grams) light or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Muffin

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) light or dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons (38 grams) granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons (71 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
• 3/4 cup (177 ml) sour cream
• 1 cup (approx. 120 grams) white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour (see Note)
• 1/2 cup (63 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup diced rhubarb, in 1/2-inch pieces (from about 6 to 8 ounces of stalks)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 12 muffin cups.

Make streusel: In a small dish, stir together flours, sugars, spices and salt. Stir in butter until crumbly. Set aside.

Make muffins: Whisk egg in the bottom of a large bowl with both sugars. Whisk in butter, then sour cream. In a separate bowl, mix together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir them into the sour cream mixture, mixing until just combined and still a bit lumpy. Fold in rhubarb and 1/3 (feel free to eyeball this) of the streusel mixture.

Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with remaining streusel, then use a spoon to gently press the crumbs into the batter so that they adhere. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean. Rest muffins in pan on cooling rack for two minutes, then remove muffins from tin to cool them completely.

VERDICT:  These were very good the day they were made, slightly less good thereafter.  I would also add more rhubarb.  Still, a nice first-rhubarb-of-the-season recipe, with a whiff of healthiness from the whole wheat flour.  Keep.

Almond Coconut Granola

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
• 1/3 cup hulled green pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup mixed dried fruits such as raisins, cherries, and apricots

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. In a large bowl stir together oats, almonds, coconut, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, and salt. In a small saucepan melt butter with honey over low heat, stirring. Pour butter mixture over oat mixture and stir until combined well.
3. In a large jelly-roll pan spread granola evenly and bake in middle of oven, stirring halfway through baking, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool granola in pan on a rack and stir in dried fruits. Granola may be kept in an airtight container at cool room temperature 2 weeks.
2. VERDICT: Not too sweet--good with yogurt and fruit.  I used green pumpkin seeds, left out the dried fruit and put extra oats in.  Keep.  From Gourmet, 1999.

Celery Tonic

• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 2 ounces gin
• Lemon twist (for serving)

Muddle celery with sugar and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker, 1 minute. Add gin, fill shaker with ice, and shake until outside of shaker is frosty, about 30 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice and garnish with a lemon twist.

Serves 1.

VERDICT:  This is refreshing and a good way to use up leftover celery.  Keep.

"Aloo Gobi"

• 2 tablespoons Ginger-Garlic Paste, recipe follows, or 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 cup water, divided
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 large serrano pepper, split down the middle leaving halves attached
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 1 russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (similar size to cauliflower)
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons freshly minced cilantro leaves, to garnish

Mix the Ginger-Garlic Paste, coriander, turmeric, and 1/2 cup water in a small bowl. This is a simple wet masala (spice mix). Set aside.

In a large pot, warm the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the serrano pepper, wait 30 seconds, and then add the cumin seeds and wait until they're done spluttering.

Add the wet masala (careful, it will also splutter). Cook until the paste thickens, deepens in color slightly, and oil oozes out of the perimeter of the masala, about 2 minutes.

Add the cauliflower and potatoes, stirring to coat the vegetables with the masala. Season with salt and add 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook over medium heat 10 to 15 minutes. Then, remove the lid, stir, and cook until the cauliflower and potatoes are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Ginger-Garlic Paste:

• 1/2 cup cloves garlic, whole
• 1/2 cup fresh ginger, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Throw the garlic, ginger, and canola oil in a mini-food processor and let it go until it forms a semi-smooth paste. There will still be tiny little pieces in there, but overall, it should resemble a paste.
Save what you don't use in a small glass jar. It should last in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks.

Serves 4.

VERDICT:  I didn't make the Ginger-Garlic Paste, since I don't have a mini-food processor.  I substituted a tablespoon of grated ginger and about a tablespoon of grated garlic.  Maybe that made a difference?  This wasn't as flavorful as I expected, but it wasn't bad.  I would add more potatoes, I think.  And also not touch my eye after slicing the serrano.  Keep.