Falafel Recipe

For all of my friends who are asking for the recipe... here goes:

FALAFEL RECIPE:

Falafel:

1 pound dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) – they come in a bag

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cumin (I generally add a full tablespoon- yum!)

¼ teaspoon red chili flakes, optional (I never add this- too hot for me!)

Salt & Pepper, as needed (a few shakes of each)

½ cup vegetable oil

Make the Falafel: Soak the chickpeas in cold water in the frig overnight. Do NOT use beans from a can – it’s gross… I’ve tried it before!

Drain the chickpeas and place them with the onion in the bowl of a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the oil. Mix well (I usually leave the mixture a little chunky – it just fries up better!). Form the mixture into walnut-sized balls and deep fry or pan fry (that’s what I do) in hot oil.

I take the falafel and turn them until they are slightly golden. Do not burn, cuz it tastes icky!

We like to get pitas, cucumber, tahini sauce, hummus, feta cheese, plain yogurt, tomatoes, and make a sandwich with the pita halves!

SOCCER!

I have to say that in all my years, I've never once played in an organized soccer game. I've played basketball, baseball, softball, T-Ball, hockey, roller hockey, broom hockey, volleyball, walleyball, raquetball, handball, kickball, tennis, frisbee golf, ultimate frisbee, badminton, flag football... but never soccer! Not sure why, but I just haven't. Shayna (#10) had her first game a week and a half ago and loved it! She is on the Pink Pixies team... there's a whole lotta pink going on... Camille, her life-long friend, is also on the team. They both go to different elementary schools, so it's nice to hang out with the Lindsays 3 times a week!

September 11th - Ten Years Later

September 11, 2011

Honor the victims by remembering their lives,

Todays post is something a little bit different. Today we remember... We remember the victims of 9/11 . Today I am honoring Patricia Kuras. She was killed ten years ago while at work as a Facilities Manager at One World Trade Center. She and 294 of her colleagues at Marsh and McLennan, a professional services firm, were murdered by terrorists. Patricia was only 42 years old and from New York, New York. I read about Patricia online and found her to be a kind, gentle person. Someone you could easily be friends with. I read her eulogy, which was delivered by her brother, Thomas Kuras on October 12, 2001, with a heavy heart. How could this happen to such a beautiful person? We'll never know... but the one thing I'm sure of is that I will never forget what happened that morning of September 11, 2001

***WE MUST ALL NEVER FORGET!***

Ahhhh... kickball, 2011... A week ago last Thursday, as I was pitching for our beloved Rancho Rockers, the kicker kicked a mile-high pop-fly right above me. I carefully positioned my 40 year old body under this great big giant red rubber ball and proceeded to catch it. WOOO HOOO! One out! As I tried to grip the ball for the next kicker, the ball seemed a bit deformed! In actuality, it was my pinky finger that was deformed. Whoops. As I spread my fingers wide, all of them straightened out nicely, except for one. The end of my pinky finger drooped. No matter how hard I tried to extend that finger, it refused to 'obey' me. I finished pitching the inning pain free, got into the dugout and sat until it was time to take the field again... yes, I finished the game...

A quick inspection via google and I solved the mystery. I had a distal interphalangeal joint (DIP) extensor tendon avulsion -- more commonly known as Mallet Finger.

Mallet finger, also called 'baseball finger' or 'drop finger', occurs when the tendon that straightens the finger gets pulled loose from its attachment. Usually you're forcibly trying to straighten the finger, when a sudden impact bends it. The force of the impact is too much for the tendon, which snaps at its weakest point -- right at the base of your fingernail. Voila -- that joint is no longer under your control, and without a tendon to straighten it, the fingertip droops.

It does look a little freaky, having that one fingertip dangling like that, but it's often painless. ONE VERY IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER: If possible (and painless, which it is not at the present moment), immediately straighten the bent fingertip & keep it straight ALL THE TIME for the next 4-6 weeks. This means wearing a splint to keep the snapped tendon from being retracted up into the finger. Oh, how lovely... it's so attractive - and of course it's on my right hand!

80% of these injuries heal reasonably with conservative care (splinting), but you'll probably have at least some permanent loss of extension at that joint. For most people, this injury never causes a noticeable loss of function, but the aesthetic deformity may be bothersome.

It's also important to have a doctor check out your finger. Avulsion fractures are very common with this injury, as are dislocations, and both can be caught on an x-ray. Luckily for me, after further review of an x-ray at the orthopedic surgeon's office, there wasn't any bone breakage nor fracture. hooray! Now, I get to wear this fashionable splint for 6 to 8 weeks! We won the game - we beat the first place team!

Kickball!

Mark and I joined a local kickball league about 2 months ago. We are on a team called the Rancho Rockers. It's us and about 10 other fellow Rancho owners. It's a blast! If it weren't for our aging bodies it would be AWESOME! We are playing against teams with 20 and 30 year olds... We are 2-5 (both wins were against the #1 teams in the league).
Needless to say, we will be bummed when this comes to an end next month - what will we do on Thursday nights???

4th of July Fun!

Life right now is pretty fun. I feel like we are in a good groove. William is down to one loooooong nap right after lunch and Shayna can keep herself occupied without having to turn on the TV! YAY!
Today we celebrated the 4th by taking part in Justin Rudd's 8th Annual Long Beach Bike Parade. It's our 2nd year in a row and it didn't disappoint! Shayna and I got up early this morning to decorate her bike for the event. We had a great time with the balloons, streamers, ribbons, and bows!

William wanted to wish everyone a happy 4th, too!

It's Been a LONG Time!

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. January.... 2 whole seasons ago! After I posted about my Uncle Mark, I couldn't come back to this site without crying, so I just didn't come at all. Today is my cousin, Brian's, 15th birthday. I can't believe that it has been 15 years since you came into this world. I remember the day very well, as I was on my way back from a weekend at Catalina Island. As soon as we docked, I jumped into the car and raced up to Cedars to welcome you! I'm so sorry that your dad is not here to celebrate with you... I love you very much! I especially love this photo that your dad took of your 2nd career homerun!! Happy Birthday, Bri!