Last day of school pool party proves something exciting when the group is the infamous high school show choir. It’s fair to say I’m pretty impressed with the acoustics of the deep end with the sing outs happening right now. These guys are on point!
On the other end of the pool, I’ve happily handed over the tongs when hubs appear and offer to grill. Uh yeah! Unfortunately, he’s here to lend a hand before heading back to work. Ugh, it’s officially his busy season. So, I figure I’m gonna take this hot minute to weed in the garden. Amazing what a little rain does, my mint is primed for mojitos if you know what I mean!
Ten minutes later and it’s hot dog hand off, and he’s out the door. Today’s pool fare is not precisely my hunger game right now and leaves me wondering what I can dig up for little old me. Strangely the mint spoke to me and the stars aligned, falafel nachos for one.
I used mint as a garnish on my quinoa kale tabbouleh and it added another dimension to the dish. I thought why not garnish some Mediterranean nachos; I have a mini market in my fridge. The beautiful part of this was how fast it came together from a snip of some fresh mint to a hey, don’t do anything stupid in the pool guys to hiding away on my front porch to shoot and eat.
All this was derived from what I had on hand. Parts of meals that are on the menu for the week. Ripened tomatoes for pico, red onion for fajitas (with the pico). Hummus, cucumbers and pita sandwiches I like for lunch that’s fast, and I can eat while working thru my lunch hour. Note, that self-employed folk like me don’t take a lunch unless we have client lunch meetings. Sorry, back to food. You know what? I always have pine nuts, olives and a freezer of falafels. Always. It’s like my milk, eggs, and bread. Like my kids want popsicles I want falafels. I can’t explain it.
Here is today’s confession I would typically go the extra mile here and say let’s make our falafel and hummus homestyle BUT today I’m going to say it’s OK to take it easy. Besides I just hustled up grub for a 20 something crew of kids, I don’t have much energy for anything else today.
Falafel Nachos
Yield 1-2 servings
So here is the line up:
- Hummus, premade
- Taziki cucumber dill sauce, premade
- Falafels and pitas freezer ready from trips to the city farmers market
- Kalamata olives
- Sesame seeds
- Olive oil
- Paprika
- Feta
- Pine nuts
- Tomato
- Red onion
- Cucumber
But feel free to add what makes you happy. For me, it’s falafels in case you were wondering.
Preheat oven 375 degrees F. Cut pitas in wedges. Brush olive oil on pitas, I used two. Sprinkle coarse salt and sesame seeds. I throw on the pan a few (5) but who’s counting falafels. Bake for 10 minutes.
While in the oven I chop up a few grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion. I put hummus in a ziplock baggie and do the same for the cucumber dill sauce. We are fancy here so we can snip and drizzle. We are worth the extra attention who wants globs right? Spread the love into every bite I say!
Remove pitas and falafels out of the oven. Slice falafels and arrange on top of pita chips. Generously sprinkle your tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions.
Drizzle both hummus and cucumber dill sauce, throw in your design abilities and get squiggly. Nestle in some olives then toss in pine nuts and feta. Did I forget anything? Yes, I sprinkled some paprika for good measure.
Hold the bus! I think this would be a fantastic FAST throw together for friends. Just think the day before you’ve chopped, prepped the bags of hummus and sauce. You’ve cut the pita ready to bake. Day of you whip out this masterpiece in 15 minutes. Well, on a larger scale of course.
Today, however, I give you falafel nachos for one. It’s probably the highlight of my day, next to the Serenade in the pool. I’m pretty sure photographing these on my front porch is going to make for some exciting neighborhood gossip. It’s all good in the hood, cause IDC. Falafel out.
Courses Lunch/Dinner/Appetizer
Cuisine Mediterranean
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