Sue, here's my falafel recipe below. I'm still making some adjustments to it. I like to add a little bulgur wheat to couscous to the paste to give it a bit of crunch, but the liquid has to be adjusted when this is done. When I first started making it, I used unpeeled fava beans, and they were too wet (they may have soaked too long), and when I made it last week-end, I put in too much bulgur and couscous, and it came out too dry. It's easy to adjust, however. You can easily adjust the parsley to your liking as well, but coriander is the most important flavor IMO. Falafel from Fava Beans 1 cup dried peeled fava beans* 1 yellow or white onion 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 1/2 cup fresh parsley 2 tbsp dried parsley 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground coriander** 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper garbanzo flour, as needed Oil for deep frying Pita bread To prepare the fava beans, first wash them thoroughly, cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for about two minutes, and then rinse them and wash them again. Return them to the pan, cover with water and bring to a boil again. After the second boil, allow them to sit for at least an hour off the heat to soak. Then drain all the water. Put the drained beans in a large food processor, and puree. Add the onion, garlic, and fresh parsley to the food processor and process until the onion is minced (or you could mince these by hand). Remove to a large bowl and add the salt, cumin, coriander, baking powder, and pepper and mix thoroughly. Allow this mixture to stand for 1 hour. If the dough is too dry, you can add a few drops of water; if it is too wet, you can some garbanzo flour, bulgur wheat, or dried couscous. Form into balls the size of walnuts. Deep-fry in a wok or deep fryer at 350-375F until toasty brown and crunchy on the outside, about 4 minutes. (I use a timer) Drain on paper towels when done and store in a 200F oven if making a large batch. NOTE: While the falafel batter is resting, prepare tahini-lemon sauce and slice a couple of cucumbers and tomatoes. Tahini-Lemon Sauce 2/3 cup tahini 2/3 cup yogurt 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/3 cup lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons) 3 green onions, coarsely chopped 1/3 cup parsley, stems removed dash of salt 1/8 tsp cayenne (or less, to taste) 1/8 tsp paprika 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin Put all ingredients in a small food processor and combine until onions and parsley are finely minced. Store in the refrigerator. Serve falafel with Romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, pita bread, and the tahini-lemon sauce.. *Note: Make sure that you buy peeled fava beans, as peeling is rather time consuming � Goya is a good brand. Garbanzo beans can be substituted for fava beans, but they may have to soak longer. Do NOT use canned or cooked beans, as they will have too much liquid. **For better flavor, use coriander seeds and grind them yourself in a coffee mill. One tablespoon of coriander seeds will yield 2 teaspoons ground. Serves four to six. You can use the lemon-tahini sauce as a salad dressing for leftover cucumber, tomato, and lettuce. The recipe makes about twice as much as you need for this amount of falafel, but I love to have leftover sauce. Lars

The prop comic Carrot Top has a rake-kind-of-thing on a rope to pull around the carpet & leave tracks to make it look like you've vacuumed. I think just before my husband gets home from work I'll put a dust rag in my hand and spray some Pledge. He can deduce whatever he wants from that scenario. Instead of working on what I'm suppose to do be doing, I'm checking in here. I'm trying to get my husband's office put back together after painting. He has so much stuff it overwhelms me. Since it was my idea to paint and reorganize, it's my issue to deal with the fallout. He was content with the yucky old office. I decided to first put things in labeled piles - church stuff, sports stuff, business stuff, etc - so I can determine what I have to store. Then I'll figure out the best use of the existing storage space and decide what might need to be purchased to contain the rest of the stuff. I have a fantasy that once he sees how much neater it is, he'll be willing to part with a few things.

Great idea. I tend to "hoard", like buy too many things, then I don't have enough storage room. Buy two of something, not four (or a dozen). Keep track and keep current. Thanks for a great tip!

This usually doesn't happen to me but I've always got enough ingredients on hand for a great big pot of SOUP or SHEPERDS PIE such as: Sheperds Pie: Since These ingred. I always have on hand and just about as good as CheeseCake Factories Sh. Pie Mashed potatoes (I use a good quality instant such as Paradise Valley brand via Costco - why bother with the hassle when they are great!) Just use once packet prep'd,,basically I'd say about 5 cups of mashed potatoes,,we like a lot so you'll have to go with what amount of potatoes your family likes OR...you could just add canned potatoes that you've drained and diced to the meat mixture, I'd say about 2-3 cans maybe. 1 pound of hamburger 1 med. onion chopped (could use dried, minced onion soaked in water to save time here) 1 med carrot diced (I always have the shredded carrots for salad on hand so I avoid that time) 1-2 celery stalks diced (most always have this on hand for salad but could substitute CANNED CORN if you don't have it) 1 can of mushrooms drained 2/3 C frozen peas 2 TBSP dried parsley 1 tsp. dried thyme 1 tsp or more of Worcestershire sauce 1/8 tsp. nutmeg 1 can of Beef gravy I can have this meal done in less than 30 minutes and you wouldn't need to bake it if you made the instant potatoes last, then just put them directly on the hot meat mixture. Basically, brown the meat and onion,,add the carrot and celery, sweat that or cook til tender, then add the spices the mushrooms and gravy. Lastly add the frozen peas. Mix together, put in a 9x13 pan and top with the potatoes. If it all isn't still hot then bake for 30-40 min in a 400 degree oven. Regarding the Soup: The knock off Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli Soup 1 # hamburger browned with onion, 1 cup slivered carrots (says 7 oz but I just eyeball it or do the shredded salad carrots) 7 oz. celery diced 1 lrg can of diced tomatoes, juice and all 2 cans of beans (either kidney, pinto, great northern, whatever you have and like, could be 2 different ones, drained) 3 regular cans (44 oz.) beef broth or stock 1 1/2 tsp oregano 1 1/4 tsp pepper 2 1/2 tsp dried parsley 3/4 tsp tabasco sauce (optional, I don't) 24 oz of canned spaghetti sauce, your choice 4 oz. of dry small pasta, i.e. those bits for macaroni salad or other small shape Cook the hamburger, onion and carrot. Add celery and canned tomatoes cook about 10 min, drain the beans and add to pot, Add beef broth, spices, spaghetti sauce and pasta. Can be ready in 30 minutes. Makes 4 1/2 Qts. Pretty much everything is canned or frozen, the only iffy thing is the carrot and celery, I've used dried, minced onion soaked in water in a pinch. Everybody loves it.