Spring in My Step Salad

This has been my favorite salad as of late. It's light and crunchy and perfect for spring (oh hey, it's 70 degrees and sunny today!). I have been eating tons of salads lately because of all the greens popping up at the farmers' market! Today I made this with Goetz Farm's salad mix but any green will do!

Ingredients:

2 large handfuls of greens (I recommend spinach)

1 avocado, sliced

1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

2 handfuls of grape tomatoes, halved

1 bell pepped, chopped

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 T fresh dill, finely chopped

1 T rosemary, finely chopped

juice of 2 small lemons (about 1/4 c)

optional: stevia to taste (or other sweetener of choice, e.g. 1 T local honey or maple syrup)

Warning: This makes a whole lotta salad, definitely more than one person can comfortably eat in one sitting (and this is from someone who eats the most beastly of salads...)

All mixed up

This is not an all local recipe but all ingredients can be bought trash free. For Ann Arbor residents:
-Greens, dill and rosemary can be bought locally right now at the AA farmers' market.
-All produce can be purchased packaging free.
-Stevia can all be bought in bulk at the People's Food Co-op.

Falafels are too easy.

As mentioned in passed posts, my mom works at the Golden Gate Cafe, a vegetarian, natural foods restaurant in Detroit. They get bulk falafil vegetable burger mix that make it pretty easy to make large volumes of falafils. After seeing a smaller package (therefore more packaging waste...) version of the mix they serve, my mom realized that the mix is made in Dearborn, MI! Thanks Jerusalem Foods (no website to link to, roughh...)!

The result of said events is a delicious, way too easy meal and me being gifted 2 boxes of falafil mix!

For a full Mediterranean meal, try a falafil pita wrap.

Brother bear with falafil pita.

Falafil Pita
Ingredients:
Falafil
1 c falafil mix
1 c water
Sandwich Extras
1 onion, sliced
2 T oil
1 pickle, chopped
1 T hummus (recipe below)
1 T dill tahini sauce (recipe below)
1 leaf of romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 tomato, diced
1/2 whole wheat pita bread

Directions:
Falafil
Follow Ingredients on box. Waaaay too easy.
Sandwich
Heat oil over medium-high heat in saute pan.
Add onions and saute until softened.
Add sauteed onions, pickles, hummus, sauce, lettuce and tomatoes to pita bread.
Add falafil patties to pita sandwich and enjoy!


Hummus
Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 c cooked garbanzo beans
1/8 c lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
1 T tahini
1/8 t cumin
1/8 t paprika
1 t dried parsley
dash of salt
dash of cayenne powder

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a food processor.

Dill-Tahini Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 c tahini
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 T fresh dill
2 T oil
1/2 c water
salt to taste

Directions:
Mix all ingredients by hand or in food processor.

PS Max recently acquired two very cute kittens. Winnnn!