Falafel is King.

Last Thursday I decided to do what I had never done before: conquer the falafel. And it turned out to a) take much longer than I thought it would, and b) be really, really fun; I just felt super cool. 

I forgot to take a picture of the dough until it was almost gone...

Falafel patties pre-fry

a sizzilin'

Post-fry

The Nine, minus a couple, plus a couple

I used, with a little alteration, some kid named Shane's recipe from allrecipes.com.

1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 egg
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1 dash pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup dry bread crumbs (Patricia's note: I had to add a LOT more crumbs, plus some flour to get it thick enough)
oil for frying

1 (6 ounce) container plain yogurt
1/2 cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon mayonnaise (Patricia's note: I usually use sour cream, but alas! mine was bad.)
Directions

In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don't use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.

In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder.

Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties.
Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties in hot oil until brown on both sides.

In a small bowl combine yogurt, cucumber, dill, salt, pepper and mayonnaise. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Hummus

For my hummus, the recipe varies each time I make it. Combine in a blender, a can (15 oz) of chickpeas, 2 tbls of olive oil, 2 tbls of tahini (you can buy a big thing of it at Whole Food's), a lot of lemon juice (like 1/2 a cup), and then whatever flavors you want. I usually add some onions, roasted red peppers, and basil if I have them. Sometimes some cayenne peppers if I'm feeling risky.