Conference turris::cooks

    I mostly only use it in hummus, but it is also good on felafel (don't
    try to make your own felafel; I've never managed to produce decent
    felafel that way, but Near Eastern makes a good-tasting felafel
    mix).  Take a look in a Middle Eastern cookbook next time you are
    in a bookstore; the stuff figures as a minor ingredient in other
    things as well.  It has a kind of strong flavor by itself as something
    like a salad dressing ingredient, so beware.

    I use tahini on toast, instead of peanut butter.
    
    

    I'm *allergic* to peanut butter, so I never got into the habit of
    eating the stuff.  However, it occurs to me that you can substitute
    tahini for peanut butter in recipes for stuff like cold Chinese
    noodles (the sauce is usually based on peanut butter, at least in
    Americanized recipes) and Thai food with a peanut sauce.  It does
    have a sort of strong flavor, though, so I don't know how it would
    turn out to make something like tahini cookies from a peanut-butter
    cookie recipe - you could try it!

Eden Burgers

This recipe came from the Commissary Cookbook, from Philadelphia.  This 
cookbook is really wonderful, although most things in it aren't this 
healthy.

1/4 Cup corn oil
1/2 lb. mushrooms, finely chopped (about 1-1/4 Cups)
1-1/2 Cups finely chopped carrots
2 Cups finely chopped onions
2 Tbs. minced garlic
3/4 Cup walnuts
1/2 Cup sunflower seeds
1/2 Cup sesame seeds, toasted
2 ounces bulgur wheat (7 Tbs.) soaked 10 minutes or until tender in hot 
  water and drained well
2/3 Cup wheat germ
1/3 Cup chopped parsley
2 Tbs. chopped dill
3 Tbs. tahini
1-1/4 Cups cooked chickpeas, drained
3 Tbs. tamari or soy sauce
3 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 Tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 Tsp. salt
3/4 Tsp. pepper
3/4 Tsp. ground cumin

Heat the corn oil in a skillet and saute the mushrooms, carrots, onions, 
and garlic for about 15 minutes, or until golden.  Cool.  Whiz the walnuts 
and sunflower seeds in a food processor for 3 seconds.  Turn into a bowl 
and add the sesame seeds, bulgur, and wheat germ.  In the food processor, 
whiz the sauteed vegetables with the remaining ingredients until just 
blended.  Add to the bulgur mixture and mix well.  The texture will be 
coarse and somewhat soft.  Chill thoroughly so the mixture will firm up.  
Shape into patties. Saute for 4 minutes on each side in a little corn oil 
over medium-low heat.  Flip with a wide spatula for support.

Serve with toasted, garlic-buttered buns with tomato and sprouts.  (I like 
toasted rye bread too.)

These do taste good, although not exactly like a burger.  (I avoid red meat 
and my partner doesn't eat it at all, so I tried this recipe.)  The patties 
are a little tough to hold together and flip over, but we manage.  I have 
served this to meat-eater friends who were willing to try something unusual 
and they liked them a lot.

    re : .6
    How many "burgers" does this make?  I also don't eat red meat, and
    the recipe sounds great.  However, I don't want enough to feed any
    army, just one person.  Does this make a lot?
    
    Sarah
    

    Yes, this does make a lot! I'd cut down the recipe, especially the
    first time you try it.  It will probably make enough for at least
    10 sandwiches.
    
    Judy

    you can use tahini on home-style fried potatos, the way I do it is:
    
    	3 tbl spoons of tahini
    	1/2 cup of water (change this if you feel the sauce is/isn't thick.)
    	1/2 lemon juice
    	tobasco (hot) sauce as much as you like (optional)
    
    as you fry your potatos, prepare this sauce, add the sauce to the fried
    potatos as soon as you take them out of the oil, they will absorb the
    sauce and they will be tastefull of it.
    and if you are a garlic lover, you can add one clove of garlic to the
    sauce also.
    
    sahtein (enjoy)
    

    there is a tahini based sweet that is sold in any/most midleastern
    stores it's called halawa it also comes with three flavors:
    		o plain
    		o pistacio
    		o chocolat
    
    they are good on syrian bread with honey,or bananas, or just butter.
    
    sahtein

There was once a restaurant in Harvard Sq. (I'm not gonna let on just *how* long
ago...) called the Hungry Persian, whose specialty was pita bread sandwiches
filled with chopped goodies in a tahini sauce.

To make these, just shred any combination of the following:

roast beef
chicken/turkey
ham
textured vegetable protein (the canned type, not the dry)
cheese (cheddar is what they used)

and mix a sauce of tahini, a bit of garlic, lemon juice, and yogurt in the
blender or processor.  Thin with water until the consistency of light cream.

Mix with the above shredded stuff, add shredded lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, 
salonika peppers, etc.  Put in pouch and serve.  Great for picnics - just
keep the mix refrigerated and stuff at the last minute.

John