Baked Pea Falafel with Sesame Rice Balls

For the Baked Pea Falafel:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Pulse sunflower seeds in a blender or a food processor for about 30 seconds or until they’re roughly chopped. Add peas and pulse 1 minute.
3. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Keeping pulsing until the mixture is slightly coarse and well combined.
4. Transfer into a mixing bowl and add all remaining ingredients (chopped herbs, spices, flour, baking powder) and stir until combined into a "dough".
5. Using your hands, form 18 small round falafels and place on a lined baking sheet (I use parchment paper).
6. Bake at 375 degrees F, turning each falafel halfway through baking until all falafels are evenly golden brown. This takes about 25-30 minutes total.
7. If keeping for later, store them in an airtight glass container for up to 1 week. Reheat by popping into the oven or toaster oven until heated through and crisp again.

For the Sesame Rice Balls:

1. Cook the wild rice to package instructions using vegetable stock instead of water. Let the rice slightly cool off before handling, then take about ¼ cup of the rice and firmly press in the palm of your hands forming a ball. You can use a bit of water on your hands to help it stick.
2. Combine black and white sesame seeds in a bowl and roll each ball into the black and white sesame seeds, repeating with all the rice making a total of 8 rice balls.
3. To serve, place falafel and rice balls into a bowl of your favorite steamed greens (like collard, kale, spinach, etc.), steamed veggies like carrots, zucchini squash, with avocado, a drizzle of tahini or cashew cream, a splash of nama shoyu, etc.