New Year's Eve Fail

Not from an exclusive club's NYE bash

Yesterday, Mister and I were trying to figure out what to do for New Year's Eve. There was a hipster art thing in the Lower East Side that was big on the agenda, but we spent the afternoon hoofing all over lower Manhattan because the weather was perfect (a little bit of a snow, just a little bit of sun, no wind, and low 40s) and Mr. had a desire to buy construction, DIY equipment. When we finally got home at 6, we didn't have the energy to go back out in an hour to get to the venue at 8. So I decided that a low key, vegetarian meal for two would be perfect, and we could listen to the neighborhood revelry from our windows at midnight. I was even going to blog about baked falafel, homemade pita, spinach pie, and other deliciousness.
But instead, about 2/3 of the way through blending up the parsley, spices, onion/garlic, and fresh chickpeas, my hand blender got stuck. I turned it around, and stuck my finger in it, like a genius, and accidentally pressed on. Ow.
So, after a short negotiation and a few pit stops, we ended up in an upper east side emergency room. In and out. Three stitches.


Back in Brooklyn by 10:30. Blokey made me eat a gross egg sandwich just outside the hospital and it tasted like shite, so we finished the meal best we could and ate a much better NYE dinner, modified. Included relatively successful homemade pita.

Baked Falafel: not perfect. Needed tahini and more olive oil (and salt)

Spread

the one on the lower left failed to puff

Recipe:
mostly Whole Wheat pita (adapted from the Kitchn)
1 c of lukewarm water (use your wrist, not your fingers, to test)
2 c. of King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
1 c. of white flour
2 teas of dry active yeast
1 1/2 teas of salt
2 teas of olive oil
1 glug of honey

1. In a small bowl, mix the warm water, honey, and yeast. Let set about 10 minutes until frothy and beer smelling. Then add the olive oil.
2. Mix with all but 1/4 c. of the flour. Start to knead by hand (the fold in half and the knead with the heel of the hand method) for about 10-12 minutes. Add the extra 1/4 c. as needed. Cover with warm tea towel and let rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled. Punch down. Refriderate until just before read to bake.
3. Preheat oven to 500. Stick in a baking stone or cast iron skillet if available (I just used cheap aluminum foil lasagna covers for the shiny surface). Divided dough into 8-10 balls. Roll out with a rolling pin until about 1/4" thick. Bake about 7 minutes, or a few minutes past puffy. They should pocket up.

Cucumber yogurt sauce:
Make your boyfriend grate a picking cucumber and mince 1-2 cloves of garlic. Press out some of the water. Add plain yogurt to incorporate the ingredients. Add salt, parsley, lemon juice, and tahini to taste.

Serve with fancy feta cheese (I got Bulgarian because it's cheap), olives, cherry tomatoes, and spinach (Spinach pie has to wait for a non-gimpy evening).