More Greek Food!

After I made the yummy Baba Ghanoush and Pita Bread, I started getting a hankering for Falafel.  Falafel is a work of art in my opinion.  In fact, I recently had it at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant here in Colorado Springs and was left disappointed and wanting.  Isn't the food at restaurants supposed to be better than what you could make at home?  Apparently not, because this recipe completely TRUMPED my experience at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant.

Sean's Falafel 
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
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

• Directions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties in hot oil until brown on both sides.
4. In a small bowl combine yogurt, cucumber, dill, salt, pepper and mayonnaise. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

If you're expecting a blog with AMAZING photo's with perfect lighting, you've come to the wrong place.  Sometimes I will actually have sweet photo's from taken with my Canon Rebel XTI, but most recently a LOT of my photos are  being taken with my iPhone.  Sometimes a girl has to focus on hanging with her girly rather than spending time getting the best photo shot for a blog. :)

I'm BAAAAACK!!!!

Is it really possible that I haven't posted since JANUARY?!!!  What a SLACKER!!!!!  What have I been doing with my time you ask?  The usual, cooking and forgetting to take pictures of the yummy food I have made, playing on pinterest, raising my daughter, riding 100 miles on my bike for cancer research, getting ready to move cross country.  I've been busy. :)

I decided to get my blog back going because I am tired of making SWEET recipes and then forgetting where I got the recipe or what things I did to mess it up and make it better.  So BrokenYolks is back in business!!! If you read my blog, AWESOME, if you don't...then I have a GREAT means of tracking my cooking exploits.

Have you ever eaten at Garbanzo's?  That place is the Mediterranean/Greek equivalent to Cafe Rio, healthy, fresh ingredients.  Unfortunately, the closest Garbanzo to me is on the other side of town and I have a hard time justifying the expense of gas to get yummy Greek food...ESPECIALLY when I can make it myself at home!!!  I found a KILLER recipe for Baba Ghanoush and Pita Bread from KING ARTHUR FLOUR!!!  Can you believe it?  A flour company has a great recipe for Baba Ghanoush?!

Pita Bread:
3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons King Arthur Easy-Roll Dough Improver (I totally didn't use this)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• Directions:
• 1) Combine all of the ingredients, mixing to form a shaggy dough.
• 2) Knead the dough, by hand (10 minutes) or by mixer (5 minutes) or by bread machine (set on the dough cycle) till it's smooth.
• 3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and allow it to rest for 1 hour; it'll become quite puffy, though it may not double in bulk. If you've used a bread machine, simply let the machine complete its cycle.
• 4) Turn the dough onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide it into 8 pieces.
• 5) Roll two to four of the pieces into 6" circles (the number of pieces depends on how many rolled-out pieces at a time can fit on your baking sheet).
• 6) Place the circles on a lightly greased baking sheet and allow them to rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 500°F. (Keep the unrolled pieces of dough covered. Roll out the next batch while the first batch bakes.)
• 7) Place the baking sheet on the lowest rack in your oven, and bake the pitas for 5 minutes; they should puff up. (If they haven't puffed up, wait a minute or so longer. If they still haven't puffed, your oven isn't hot enough; raise the heat for the next batch.)
• 8) Transfer the baking sheet to your oven's middle-to-top rack and bake for an additional 2 minutes, or until the pitas have browned.
• 9) Remove the pitas from the oven, wrap them in a clean dishtowel (this keeps them soft), and repeat with the remaining dough.
• 10) Store cooled pitas in an airtight container or plastic bag.

Baba Ghanoush:

1 large eggplant (about 1 pound)

3 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup tahini paste1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt

chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash the eggplant and char the outside. You can do this on a grill, or directly over the flame on a gas stove. Turn the eggplant so each section of its skin gets blackened and crusty.

• 2. After the skin is charred, transfer the eggplant to a pie plate and bake it for 20 minutes, until it's quite soft. Remove from the oven and cool.
• 3. Place the unpeeled garlic cloves in a small baking dish with the olive oil. Roast the cloves for 10 minutes in the oven with the eggplant until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool; peel the cloves and save the olive oil.
• 4. Peel the eggplant and put the flesh in the bowl of a food processor. Add the tahini, lemon juice, salt, roasted garlic, and the oil in which the garlic roasted.
• 5. Puree the mixture until smooth; taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more lemon juice or tahini as desired. Serve at room tmperature with chopped parsley and a drizzle of olive oil on top.