Pearl Pirie
I finally made the connection: eat refined sugar and get sore throat or laryngitis. That’s unfortunate, since sugar is a go-to in stress. But gradually I’m training the recalcitrant body to appreciate water, less fat, less sugar and get powerful cravings for greens. This time, two new ways to get nutrients into the body.
Side Dish: Falafels
- 1 cup garbanzo and fava flour
- 4 Tbsp buckwheat (or wholewheat) flour
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp salt (or less to taste)
Stir together and add 1/2 cup of water to make a paste. Add a little more water and let sit to absorb. Meanwhile heat a cast iron pan to medium heat and add a touch of oil.
Form the dough into balls and cook until browned, turning once. Eat as a snack, a side dish, or a sandwich. It’s hard to see where they all go; they get eaten fast.
Side Dish: Breaded Squash
It is a basic thing to bread food. You need food, and a wet (egg white, soaked flax seeds, mayonnaise, or water), and a dry (store-bought Panko, flour, crushed corn flakes, dry sliced bread, or pitas put in a blender then baked dry, some almonds, broken crackers in a pinch), and heat.
Wet a thing, dredge it in the dry, and bake, fry or deep fry.
In this case I used,
- 1/2 kabocha squash, baked
- 1/2 block of firm tofu
By scoring the tofu and breaking it apart, it gives a more irregular surface for the crumb to stick to vegan mayonnaise.
For the crumb, mix:
- 2 pitas, dried and food processed or blended into crumbs
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup wheat bran
Dip the squash and tofu pieces into mayonnaise and then into the crumb mixture. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 F (200 C), flipping over after 20 minutes. Serve with plum sauce, hot sauce, BBQ sauce, chutney, or zucchini relish.
Pearl Pirie’s fourth poetry collection, footlights, is out! Buy now: https://www.radiantpress.ca/shop/footlights Author site: www.pearlpirie.com. Keep washing your hands and wearing your masks. This could take many months more.