FABULOUS FALAFEL

We love falafel. The crispy outside and the soft inside, both melting in your mouth... Simply delicious! The fact that you basically deep fry them, can be easily forgotten when thinking of how easy they are in the making. And since it's "Meat free Monday" we thought this would be the perfect recipe to share with you guys. 
Talking about being meat free, we think it is important to reflect on your eating habits. Especially those concerning ecological and ethical matters. Don't get us wrong, we do love meat! There are only a few things in life that can compete with a juicy steak or tender chicken breast, but we also believe that the actions of one person can change the world, even if it's just a very small part of it. 
It's a fact, that mankind is eating way too much meat at the moment and with that amount of consumption comes a variety of problems. From the depletion of the ozone layer, to the cruel and disgraceful ways animals are often treated with and the destruction of small local businesses by huge international meat distributors, these are only a few of the many problems. 

The appeal we're making to you is that you start thinking about how much meat you consume and if these amounts are really necessary. Once you realise you don't have to have one or more servings of meat every day, you'll see vegetables with different eyes. They're not only yummy, but also extremely versatile and super healthy of course! Your body will thank you. Since we're still human beings and one major characteristic of us is craving things, we want to point out that it certainly is OK to eat meat. Remember the juicy steak and tender chicken breast. But please make sure that when you buy meat, it is local and organic. The world and your body will thank you! 

Anyways, here is the recipe for our delicious falafel, you'll need: 

1 small can of cooked chickpeas 
2 hand full red lentils
1 garlic clove
1 egg
1 big onion 
some flour
and a lot of parsley 

Dice the onion and fry it until soft. Cook lentils until soft (takes about ten minutes). In the meantime you can blend the chickpeas and then add the lentils, onion, egg, garlic and parsley. Mash everything together and then using the flour, find the right texture. You'll want it to be sticky, but not runny! Shape the mash into little patties and coat them with flour so they won't stick together. Heat a lot of oil in a pan and fry the falafel for approximately eight minutes per side. Eat them while they're still hot and dip them in some yoghurt!

PUMPKIN CAKE

Maybe you did a lot of pumpkin carving these past days and now you're wondering what to do with all the pulp you saved. We can help you, let's just agree on the fact, that pumpkin soup most certainly is delicious, but it gets boring after a while, doesn't it? 

Here's the recipe for a mouth-watering pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting: 

175 g flour

175g brown sugar 

125g sun flower or other plant oil 

175g pumpkin pulp 

80g of ground walnuts 

3 eggs

1 tea spoon cinnamon

1 tea spoon baking powder

1 pack of vanilla sugar

the skin of one orange 

a pinch of salt 

for the frosting: 

200g cream cheese

80g powdered sugar

the juice of one orange 

Preheat the oven to 180°C, then mix sugar, oil and eggs until nice and creamy. Now comes the best part, you can add all the other ingredients for the cake, mix thoroughly and surprise surprise (!) you're done. Coat a baking dish with oil or butter, pour the mix in and let it bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Now sit down and have a cigarette. You deserved it! 

After the cake is done and you took it out of the oven to let it cool down, you can prepare the frosting, which basically means whipping the three ingredients together and then you just wait for your cake to have room temperature, to put the frosting on top and if you like in between. And that's it. Seriously. Who knew baking could be that easy?

GLASS NOODLE MAGIC

Once upon a time there was a very hungry girl. She was standing in her kitchen, tired after a long day and thought to herself "What the hell am I supposed to cook tonight?!" Ordering pizza was not an option, so she peeked inside the fridge, which was basically empty, took out the last bits and pieces of vegetables and fried them. "Carbs, I need carbs!" She opened the cupboard and they're they were! Glass noodles! Bought a long time ago in a food frenzy and totally forgotten, she put them in a pot, poured water over them and then it happened. It seemed like magic as the former dry noodles drank up the water and floated in the pot like an angel's hair. Still amazed by this wonderful process, the girl mixed the fried veggies and the noodles together, poured an unhealthy amount of soy sauce over it and couldn't believe her tongue when she tasted it. It was like the entire Asian continent in her mouth. She called for her roommate to let her try the dish and she too was immediately under the glass noodles spell. It was that moment, that the girls had explored their new favorite meal and from then on, they lived happily and fully ever after. 

Here's the recipe for two servings: 

1 zucchini

1 large carrot

1 onion 

Chinese cabbage as much as you want

mushrooms of any kind and as much as you want 

1 pack of glass noodles 

a shitload of coriander and peanuts

for the marinade: 

1 garlic clove

3-5 tablespoons of soy sauce (depends on how salty you like your food) 

2 tablespoons sesame oil 

Cut up the veggies in really small pieces (or as we do, grate them) and fry them all together in a big pan. Meanwhile let the noodles soak for about three minutes in hot water. Mix everything together and add the marinade. You're almost done, now chop the coriander and the peanuts et voilà, c'est ca! You are now really close to laying under a palm tree, on a beach in Thailand. Enjoy!