Falafels with Cucumber Salad and Rice

Perhaps I should have called this the green dinner, as everything ended up being green! I started off the falafels in the Cuisinart with garbanzo beans, parsley, onions, garlic, and some flour to bind everything together. Once the falafel mixture was ready, it went into the fridge to sit for awhile.

While the falafels were resting, I started the cucumber salad. First I peeled the cucumbers and chopped them up. I added just a tiny bit of chopped onion to add some heat, then lots of lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper.

I decided to bake the falafels rather than frying them, so I placed scoops of the falafel mixture on a baking sheet and sent them into the oven. While the falafels baked, I started the rice cooking in veggie broth and some lemon juice. When it finished cooking, I mixed in lots of lemon zest and parsley. By now the falafels were done baking, and though they weren’t quite as crispy as when they are fried, I felt much better about eating them!

Everything was delicious (and green tasting!), and a little bit of chili-garlic sauce on the top added a nice bit of spice.