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Falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. Falafel is a traditional Arab food, usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa; "falafel" also frequently refers to a wrapped sandwich that is prepared in this way. The falafel balls are topped with salads, pickled vegetables, hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a meze. Generally accepted to have first been made in Egypt, falafel has become a dish eaten throughout the Middle East. The Copts of Egypt claim to have first made the dish as a replacement for meat during Lent. The fritters are now found around the world as a replacement for meat and as a form of street food.

Dried fruit compote is a dessert of stewed fruit eaten year-round in Poland, Ukraine, Russia, but it is especially popular in the fall and winter. It uses summer's bounty that has been preserved by drying, and then reconstituted with sugar, water and spices. It is a traditional Christmas Eve (wigilia) dessert and originally was made with 12 dried fruits to represent the 12 apostles. When made thicker, it's great dolloped on toast or ice cream. It keeps for about 1 week.

Asparagus is one of the most healthful foods on the planet. It leads nearly all fruits and vegetables in the wide array of nutrients it supplies. Ten ounces (one box of frozen spears) have only 68 calories and 9 grams of protein, yet it is like a vitamin pill, giving you a variety of minerals such as selenium, zinc, calcium, copper, and manganese. Plus, it is very rich in folate.

Asparagus has an exceptionally high nutrient-per-calorie ratio and is the perfect weight-loss food. Anti--cancer compounds that have been shown to prevent tumors and cancers in animals are plentiful in asparagus. Asparagus also contains isothiocyanates, indoles, and sulforaphane, powerful compounds that promote cellular rejuvenation with anti-cancer properties. It is rich in glutathione and rutin, healing compounds for the liver and blood vessels.

The asparagus plant is a hardy perennial vegetable native to Europe and Asia, where it has been cultivated for thousands of years. It was a valued vegetable to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. In ancient Greece, the wealthy paid chariot drivers to bring frozen asparagus (stored from the bumper summer crop) from the snow-covered Alps back to Greece when fresh asparagus was not available. Early settlers brought asparagus to North America, where it has been grown since colonial times.

In the past, asparagus was only available in season. Today, modern growing, shipping, and refrigeration methods have made asparagus available year-round. The size of the asparagus does not matter. It becomes soft, cooking easily with just 10 minutes or less in the steamer, and retains most of its vital nutrients when cooked.

Asparagus has a short shelf life once it is picked, which is great because it is easy to tell if it is not fresh and losing its nutrient-rich status. If the rubber band indents the spears, it is not fresh, and if the tips start to become odorous or look wet or slimy, you know it has become bad.

If you plant an asparagus crown in your garden and allow it to develop a strong root system for three years, it will then produce plants every summer for 15 years or more without replanting.

Source: diseaseproof.com

Calories

A 3-oz. serving of roasted, domesticated rabbit contains 167 calories. If you follow a 2,000-calorie diet, a serving of rabbit meat comprises 8.3 percent of the calories you should consume in a day. This portion of meat contributes toward the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recommendation of two to three daily protein servings. Add a healthy grain and a steamed vegetable dish to make a serving of rabbit into a nutritious, balanced meal.

Fat and Cholesterol

Even though 37 percent of the calories in a serving of rabbit meat come from fat, very little of that fat -- 2 out of 6.8 grams -- comes from saturated fat, the type of fat often blamed for high cholesterol levels. As long as you balance your meal plan with low-fat foods and limit your consumption of saturated fat to 15 grams or less per day, consuming rabbit meat should not contribute toward an increased risk of heart disease. A serving of rabbit meat contains dietary cholesterol as well, but the 69.7 grams per serving account for just 23.2 percent of the recommended limit of 300 mg per day.

Protein

Including rabbit in your diet gives you access to high-quality protein, as rabbit meat provides all the essential amino acids. One serving contains 24.7 percent of the 46 to 56 grams of protein you need in your diet every day. In addition to supplying you with the amino acids your body requires to function, the protein in rabbit meat also helps your body produce hormones, and it keeps your immune system working.

Vitamins and Minerals

Rabbit meat is an excellent source of vitamin B12. Per serving, it provides 118 percent of the vitamin B12 you need each day. It also supplies 36 percent of the daily recommended amount of niacin, 22 percent of the phosphorus you should consume daily and 20 percent of the vitamin B6 your body requires on a daily basis. A serving of rabbit meat contains lesser amounts of zinc, iron and potassium: 13 percent, 11 percent and 9 percent of the suggested daily value, respectively.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/375762-is-rabbi…

Christmas dishes are traditionally eaten at or associated with the Christmas season. In Great Britain traditional Christmas meal consists of roast turkey, served with roast potatoes and other vegetables, followed by Christmas pudding. Typical German Christmas dishes are Christstollen, Pfefferkuchenhaus, Weisswurst, and Kartoffelsalat.

Keep warm as the weather turns cooler with these easy fall recipes. You'll find pumpkin recipes, squash recipes and soup recipes, along with apple pies and more fall dessert recipes.

Make no mistake about it, Italian women are great cooks. And so are Mexican, Greek, Polish, Ukrainian and Romanian women, for that matter. Baby boomers didnÂ’t grow up on fast food. But most people who may not be privileged enough to have ever seen the inside of an Italian Social Club, may not know of a tradition that pre-dates the Iron Chef by decades.
http://men-cooking.takeashare.com

well '' GOOD FRIDAY'S '' PAST AND '' HOT-CROSS BUNNS '' WAS THE ORDER OF THE DAY LOL
EATTEN WITH FRIED YELLOW TAIL SNAPPERS / some home made Lemonaid...

this week end in the BAHAMAS will be filled with fun loving '' DISHES '' ALL island ALL MOUTH WATERING DISHES
there will be '' CONCH '' EVERYTHING conch salad
'' APHRODISIAC '' all da way lovely then there's the CONCH
FRITTERS , crack conch '' conch N rice ''...

what makes the dishes from the Islands so specialis IS the
'' trifacter '' blessings .

Firstly each dish reflects the culture the flavor and the spirit of the people of the '' Islands ''

A ''BAHAMIAN '' DISH OF NOTE '' STEAM RED SNAPPER WITH PEAS N RICE '' SIDE DISHES PLANTIANS/POTATO SALAD /OR COLD SLAW...

Secondly '' BAHAMIANS '' are a warm hospitable people while simultaneously being a hot spicy people and this is reflected in the warm herbs used '' fresh '' thymes garlics hot peppers onions...

the gravy poured lightly over the finished dish represents depth of our people

Easter is a very special gathering time for many families. Whether you're planning a traditional ham or roast leg of lamb, a breakfast, brunch, or a big Easter buffet, start planning your Easter menu with some of week's suggestions and links at Dishbase.com