Yesterday was an unusual combo of horrendous house conflict and delightful falafel consumption. I think, for the sake of everyone's enjoyment and the fact that one day this blog might be read by more people than just my mother, the falafel should be the focus point of this entry. I used a really simple recipe that I found somewhere online a few months ago, but it is v simple to remember : fry some onions and garlic, get lots of chickpeas, probably about 2x400g tins, some parsley, some cumin, some coriander, some chilli powder if you fancy them lightly spiced and an egg. Mash it all up together in a semi-gloopy mix, and then make little falafel shaped blobs and fry them in some olive oil. Sadly, the more oil the better as it prevents burning and sticking and crumbling and ALL MANNER OF FRYING PAN TERRORS. You can serve them with whatever takes your fancy - cous cous with peppers and roasted courgette is nice, or tortilla wraps and creme frâiche with cucumber and salad is also a winner. I fed five people with the quantities above and there was still some left over at the end, so it does go pretty far. As for the music that should be providing the background to this undoubtedly calm, clean and tidy food preparation time (my kitchen looked like a field had exploded in it), I suggest getting well and truly in the Moroccan zone with dubstroketraditional Berber band Argan and their eerily chilled song Tamaguite (iTunes it, babes). Now for the big part. The book to read whilst easing back on your bed, mulling over in your mind the best way to make the falafels less crumbly. It's a tough choice, but I think I'm going to be radical here, and stray from the obvious choice of North African writing as  it might be too much of a good thing. If On A Winter's Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino is also one of by BBFLs, it is SO GOOD! It's bit 'quirky' (although I hate that word...but it is true) and is also pretty confusing as it alternates between two narratives - one in the second person, describing the reader's preparations before they settle into the books, and the other in the third person, telling the actual story. It matches the falafel in a mashed up way. Please don't ask me to elaborate on that, as I don't think I can, so just eat the falafel, listen to the song and read the book, and get back to me if you still don't get it.