Madurodam | Bounce Around in the Kitchen

It feels as though I have been on a cooking vacation/hiatus. It literally feels like forever since I’ve been in a kitchen. Except I cannot live without being in the kitchen. But today was definitely the first meal in a week? I think it has been a week!

Last weekend an old friend came by. I have not seen her for ten years so this was like a reunion type of thing. We spent Friday night just catching up on the couch, just talking until sleep came over us. Then Saturday morning we hopped on a tram to Madurodam, which is like a miniaturized version of the Netherlands. Once we were done from there I took her to Scheveningen, this being the most popular beach in the country. Before we left from the beach we had a little bite to eat at a Japanese restaurant and then we popped back to my apartment to get our belongings and headed to my mom’s house. We had a quiet night eating dinner with my family and watching the Voice UK and then hit the sack. The following morning we headed to the city of Leiden and explored the downtown area.

But tonight now that I am back in the kitchen, I made falafels with homemade hummus and carrots. I’ve been craving chimichurri sauce and thought this would go great with my new obsession for falafels. It truly did. Perfectly delicious!

I made both a homemade hummus and chimichurri sauce while just fried store bought falafels and heated some pita bread.

Classic Hummus:

Ingredients:

½ Cup Chickpeas, drained
2 Tablespoons Tahini
2 cloves garlic
2 shallots, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and mix well. If hummus is not smooth enough for your liking add more lemon juice and/or olive oil.
Scoop hummus into small bowl and refrigerate.

Chimichurri Sauce (recipe found here):

Ingredients:

1 bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 teasooons lemon juice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and mix well. If sauce is not liquid enough, add more olive oil or lemon juice and mix until smooth.

Assembling Your Falafel:

Choose your vegetables and chop in the appropriate size
Heat pita breads in oven until warm
Fry falafels until brown and warm
Once pitas are warm, cut half of the pita along the rim and coat sides of pita with hummus
Cut the falafel balls in half and place in the pita. Top with greens of choice (I used arugula lettuce, slices of red pepper, and whole chickpeas)
Top with chimichurri sauce and additional hummus if you want
Now enjoy your meal!