falafel waffle!

I have been meaning to try falafel waffles ever since I saw this bit of genius on Don't Lose Your Lunch back in October. Well, today I finally did it and guess what? Falafel waffles are rad.

I never make falafel at home because it always seems like too much work to make the mix, form balls or patties, fry them (or broil them), and then eat them. In general, frying things seems like a ton of work to me for kind of a gross payoff, so left to my own devices, I don't tend to do it. The waffle iron is a pretty awesome solution to this problem because you don't need much/any oil (I just used a teeny bit of nonstick canola oil spray) and you don't have to monitor the falafel while it's cooking.

I decided to make these this morning, and I had big plans to make my own pita bread, my own falafel mix, etc. But then at the farmer's market this morning I bought some good, fresh pita bread and when I got home I was starving, so I lazed out by reaching for an old box of Fantastic falafel mix I've had sitting around for quite a while. The only thing I actually DID make was the tzatziki, which I made by just free-forming this recipe (and veganizing it, obvi, but that goes without saying). I was going to use some plain soy yogurt, but it turned out to be too old, so instead I used Tofutti sour cream plus a teeny bit of soy milk and lemon juice to thin it, then a teaspoon of crushed garlic, some hearty shakes of dried dill (didn't have any fresh), a little pepper, a lot of diced cucumber. If you've never had tzatziki, I highly recommend it as a compliment to falafel. I remember being 17 and traveling with my two best friends after high school. We got off the boat in Greece absolutely STARVING and there was a lady selling falafel pitas smothered in this totally incredible sauce (I was vegetarian back then). At that moment, it seemed like the greatest thing I had ever tasted. And it probably was.

Anyway, next time I'll make my own falafel, I promise. It'll be a while though, because the mix made 4 big falafel waffles, and I only ate half of one, so there's tons left over. I think I'll freeze the rest for some convenient lunches down the line. This was a super easy lunch, so it gets two big thumbs up from me. And I'm already trying to imagine what else I can cook in the waffle maker... maybe black bean burgers next???

P.S. Tofu Mom and Vegan Dad both have more detailed instructions for making vegan tzatziki. Tofu Mom's is dill-less for the dill haters out there, while Vegan Dad's is a little closer to what I did (although his recipe is more complicated). Check them out!