A twist on falafel

Happy New Year!

It's January in Michigan and I wore shorts outside today.  While the weather is pleasant, it's somewhat disappointing as we haven't had substantial snow cover throughout the winter for a long time.  That said, I had a great and action-packed Friday:

I learned how to say "Happy New Year" in Arabic and was complemented with "Perfect" on first try, and ordered a falafel (fried chick peas and other good things rolled into a ball) sandwich from Amani's restaurant in East Dearborn (I also found out a few friends of mine are related or work for the restaurant too).

After a few bites, I realized adding cinnamon to the falafel prior to frying might be an interesting addition.  When I came home I sprinkled some cinnamon and the flavors work, but I'll have to ask if they'd be willing to add cinnamon during its preparation next time.

Later, I was encouraged to ask questions and hold the University accountable for its breakage card system and lab fees by the person who introduced it to the campus (he also encouraged me to "Give 'em the dickens!" before I left).

Sprinkles and the New Year

I've been staying with my Godmother for the past few weeks and noticed a lonely bottle of sprinkles sitting on a rack in the pantry. Today, the first of the New Year, was the day I finally decided to put it to use.

It is perhaps the most juvenile concoction ever to have come to my mind: peanut butter, semisweet fudge, honey, and sprinkles on wheat bread.

I was going for a nutella/peanut butter type sandwich with sprinkles.  [side note: nutella contains palm oil, which very likely contributes to rainforest deforestation and habitat loss for orangutans among other things--I'm disappointed to find that it's in KitKat bars and used in Kar's Nut mixes too]

Since the fudge said semisweet, I reasoned that honey would be a good way to sweeten the deal.

The sprinkles contributed exquisite texture and color to the experience. The sandwich was acceptable, but really I'd rank it a 2 or 3 out of five. All in good fun, here's to 2011!