Gluten-free Gourmand

Falafel: the ultimate gluten-free, vegan, healthy, delicious food.  Practically a complete food unto itself with protein, carbs, and healthy fats, and vegetables all in a small delicious package.  But sadly, in the USA, they are often not made gluten-free when they so easily could be. I was traveling in Granada, Spain a few years ago when my then-fiancé and I were looking for a good, inexpensive meal that was a change from Spanish food.  We found a Lebanese restaurant and really lucked out - their falafel was gluten-free!  It turns out that falafel is usually gluten-free outside of the US.  But more than that, it was the most delicious falafel I've ever tasted.  It was kind of smooth and creamy on the inside, and very, very green as well.  The outside was the ultimate crispy crust. Recently I decided to re-create that falafel experience.  I was partly motivated because I recently got a Delonghi Deep Fryer.   Deep frying the falafel is w...

Have you ever ordered hummus at a "healthy" or "natural" restaurant and it came to the table as chunky, dry, mashed-up garbanzo beans?  What a disappointment!  This recipe will give you home-made hummus that's closer to what you would find in a Lebanese restaurant - creamy and smooth. Thanks to theKitchn.com for the recipe that inspired this post ! With the aid of a food processor, this recipe is really easy.  The trick is to add back plenty of the delicious liquid from the garbanzo beans. First, open and drain, reserving the liquid: a 15-oz can of garbanzo beans, aka chick peas Put the garbanzo beans in the food processor along with: About 1/4 of the reserved liquid, plus more as needed 3 Tablespoons tahini 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 clove garlic juice from 1/2 lemon (only use fresh lemon) 1 tsp salt Black pepper to taste Blend the ingredients together for about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.  ...