daily bliss: kitchen therapy

a cold, crisp, February night

Last week I succumbed to the darkness of February...the gloom and chill, the relentless winter, the never-ending routine, the bad student papers...it was all too much.

I knew I was in a particularly bad place when I couldn't think of anything I wanted to eat outside of refined white carbs! masses of sugar! piles of chocolate! junk food! Anyone who's been reading bliss knows that with the exception of the next-to-last item on the list, that just isn't me.

Another roasted root veggie or bean dish would do me in.

And so I decided to turn to an old favorite--veggie quiche--for a start. I found a disk of pastry in my freezer and fashioned a crust. I combined frozen organic spinach, roasted peppers, and caramelized onions with eggs, milk, basil, and some local raw milk cheese. With a side of balsamic carrot curls and citrus and dried fruit salad, I felt rejuvenated.


quiche

And yesterday, I decided to make a tapas style dinner--a little bubbly to drink, a spinach dip inspired by Cathy's recent spinach artichoke dip post, and a chipotle white bean hummus made for a delightful v-day feast.

But tonight, oh tonight, I am beaming. I made homemade falafel patties (with chickpeas I cooked myself) with tzatziki, and, the crowning achievement, homemade PITA BREAD. I used a Cooking Light recipe for falafel patties as a guide, and Mark Bittman's pita recipe. I made a chopped greek salad on the side: romaine hearts, red pepper, cucumber, feta, and kalamata olives in a lemon balsamic dressing. Now, my falafel are nowhere as tasty as those at Sultans in East Lansing, but I made them myself. The pita, well, it's scrumptious. Poofy, flavorful, and so very simple to make.


overhead lighting=weird colors, but I just had to include a photo