Who’s in the kitchen: Times they are a changin’

As cliché as this sounds...boy have times changed since I was a teenager in the 70s. In those days most of us babysat on Saturday nights. You know, to make money to buy those “frivolous” things that our moms said wasn’t necessary to buy, and if we wanted it, we could pay for it with our own money....I actually find myself saying the same thing to my daughter, but usually end up buying it for her.

We didn’t take trains into the city to eat Thai, sushi or drink $5 lattes, we didn’t even know what lattes were, come to think of it. We didn’t take the LIRR to meet up with friends from all the other boroughs and we certainly didn’t manage to get hold of fake IDs, that looked nothing like ourselves and were of people about seven years older than us. The guys checking out the IDs these days seem to have the same vision issues as the umps in the post season.

When I was a teenager, every now and then we went out for pizza or went to a friend’s house. One Saturday after Shabbat, my friends decided they all wanted to go bowling. That was not going to fly with my mom. She was always nervous to let me out at night and stayed up till I returned home. But the whole “chevra” was going, including boys she knew and liked. I was just going to make my pitch and hoped it worked. As soon as I opened my mouth to speak though, I changed my mind. How bad could a little white lie be? It was, after all for their sake, wasn’t it? Why should they worry when I was gone? I didn’t want them to worry, so, I told my parents it was my friend Fay’s birthday and we were going to make a surprise party for her at my friend Lynn’s house. She only lived two blocks away so that would not be a problem. To make it sound realistic, I asked my dad how much lox I needed per person as we were going to stop off at Miller’s appetizing to buy the food. To this day, I question myself as to why in the world I would have asked about lox; we were 15 years old for heaven’s sake. I still remember his response, 1/4 lb per person when ordering lox. Anyway, it worked and we all had a blast. It was a warm night and the walk to Maple Lanes and back was uneventful. We bowled, laughed had a great time and then went to Amnon’s on 13th Avenue for pizza and falafel (aside from the best pizza they had the most awesome falafel balls.) When I returned home, my mom stuck her head outside her bedroom door to say good night. Hmm, that wasn’t that bad. I had fun, and my parents weren’t nervous, a win-win situation.

Unlike today, when the kids can text each other at all hours of the night, I had to wait till the morning to hear the conversation Fay had with her mom. When she got home, her mom was up and excitedly asked her how it went. Fay responded, “It was fine, the usual, we bowled two games then went out for pizza. It was fun.” Her mom said, “No, really how was it? Were you really surprised?” Fay said, “Mom, what are you talking about?” “It’s ok, you can tell me all about it,” her mom said. “Judy’s mom filled me in on the party when I called to see if she was home yet, as it was getting late. Her mom told me to relax and not to worry as you were all at Lynn’s house for your surprise party, and you were all going to be driven home.” Fay, a bit confused said, “Um, no we went bowling......but something tells me you probably shouldn’t discuss this with Mrs. Feig any further.”

I did fess up a few years later and we all had a good laugh.

So if you’re too old to go “clubbing,” not in the mood for designer coffee and don’t want to drag into the city, try these falafel balls and invite some friends over on a Saturday night. Might just make you think of the good ole’ days.

FALAFEL BALLS

Ingredients

•24 ounces chickpeas (canned)

•1 1/2 large onions, chopped

•4 cloves of garlic, chopped or 2 cubes frozen garlic cubes

•4 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped

•1 1/2 teaspoon coriander

•1 1/2 teaspoon cumin

•3 tablespoons flour

•Salt

•Pepper

•Oil for frying

Preparation

•Drain and combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste) in medium bowl. Add flour.

•Mash chickpeas, and mix ingredients together. If you like you can also mix ingredients in a food processor. End result should be a thick paste.

•Form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a walnut.

•Place in a pot of oil, enough to cover the falafel balls, and fry for about 7-8 minutes. Check one to make sure they are done.

Now you’re set to make your falafel. You can buy a variety of pitas from local stores. I like to chop up fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and sour pickles and toss the salad together with the falafel balls inside the pita and top with techina and a touch of sour kraut.

Judy Joszef can be reached at judy.soiree@gmail.com