Vegan/Veggie Burger

Recently I had a good friend tell me that she and her husband were making the switch to veganism. They went from being meat eaters to vegan over-night... and all because of having read a book called The China Study. I have not read the book yet. But I've heard about it and have read about others making changes in their diets because of it. (Perhaps it should be on my must-read list?) Then again, maybe there are things that I'd like to stay naive about just a little bit longer... I'm not sure that I could live without ice-cream, yogurt, cheese, and eggs. I've been a non-red meat eater for 16 years. I even dabbled in vegetarianism for about 8 months one year. Even now, I don't eat a lot of meat, but I do enjoy small amounts of poultry, fish, and seafood. And I cook about 2-3 vegetarian (not necessarily vegan) meals a week. Even as a meat eater, it is hard to deny the knowledge that eating "alive" and whole food is simply healthier for your body. It just makes sense. The fruits, vegetables, and greens that we eat are filled with life and nutrients that are given to us directly from the earth itself. It's where we get our natural vitamins. And it's exciting to know that there are sources of protein - something our body does need and crave - that we can get from non-meat sources. So in honor of that, and in honor of this huge life change that my friends are diving headfirst into, I am at least vowing to explore some vegan as well as more vegetarian meals. I almost succeeded in the vegan meal tonight,but couldn't resist slapping a slice of yummy melty sharp cheddar onto my vegan burger. ;0) I'll get there!

The burgers I made tonight were soft, sweet, and yummy. We grilled them in a pan with a little olive oil spray and served them without a roll, along with a side salad. I did stray from the recipe a bit as far as spices. I wanted my 2.5 year old to still enjoy them. You can always kick the spice up a notch if you aren't feeding delicate palates! Follow the link to the original recipe to see what they added, spice wise. I also am upping the amount of quinoa that it calls for. The burger needed a bit more grain to hold the patty together.

Quinoa, Black Bean, and Sweet Potato Burgers

Lightly adapted from fatfreevegan.com

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, finely grated
• 1 can of black beans, washed and drained
• 1/2 of 1 baked sweet potato, flesh scooped out (or 3/4 cup canned)
• 1/2 cup Quinoa (uncooked). Make sure to choose a brand that is pre-rinsed or you will need to sort (for rocks) and rinse off the sour coating on the grain. Try "Ancient Grains"brand for a nice pre-rinsed Quinoa.
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs
• 2 TBSP ketchup
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• An hour before you make the burgers, wrap your sweet potato in aluminum foil and bake for one hour at 400 degrees F. You can use a toaster oven if you have one.
• Place dry quinoa with 1 cup of water into a sauce pan with lid. Bring to a boil, then turn heat back to a low simmer. Simmer, covered, for 10-12 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
• Saute onion and garlic with a little olive oil. If you are using jarred minced garlic instead of fresh, add the garlic at the very end when the onions have turned translucent.
• Add beans to the same pan and cook for 2 minutes more.
• Turn off heat. Lightly mash about half of the beans.
• Combine all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix until well-combined. Form into patties. It will make 4-5 patties.
• Lightly spray a skillet with olive oil (and spray top of burger before flipping) and fry until brown on each side.

My little bunny rabbit... liked her veggies and vegan burger.

Roasted Beets with Feta

I did it! I finally took the purple plunge. I've always enjoyed beets, but thought that preparing them seemed a pretty daunting task and just too much work. I'm here to report that it really wasn't that big of a deal. I found a recipe that was pretty easy, simple ingredients, and not all that messy. And my inspiration? My neighbor brought us a "welcome to the neighborhood" bushel of vegetables and melons straight from her garden. After all the heirloom tomatoes were slurped up, all of the squash grilled and eaten... there sat three lonely purple beets. They were just staring at me and begging to be used. I just couldn't let them go to waste. "But what do I DO with them?", I pondered. So after a quick search on the internet, I rolled up my sleeves and went to work.

I attempted a recipe straight from allrecipes.com. I didn't vary a thing, other than I only had three beets instead of four, and I took it easy on the amount of shallots I added to the dressing.

The result was a wonderfully light beet salad, with a slightly "pickled" taste... which is something I really enjoy after growing up in an area with a heavy Mennonite and Amish population. The Pennsylvania Dutch pickle everything, by the way. I'll never forget my husband's disgust as he learned about my obsession with purple pickled hard-boiled eggs! (Yum!) The salad's pickled taste is nicely balanced with the feta cheese, though I also thought I would enjoy it with a creamier goat cheese as well.

If you try this, let me know what you think. And if you are a beet lover, I'd love to hear what YOUR favorite ways to prepare them are!

Roasted Beets with Feta (click the link to go directly to the recipe)

Garden Lunch

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Do you juice? What are your favorite combinations?

Zucchini "Crab" Cakes

Wondering what to do with all of that zucchini that is over-flowing your garden at the moment? This is a great way to use up some of the extras (or maybe one that got too big!).

It is usually around the end of July that home gardeners start pulling out their really "creative" recipes to use up the extra bounty from their vegetable patches. My Mom always used to make us zucchini pancakes and zucchini bread to try to use up her extras - and as kids, we appreciated the effort! Here is another twist on a zucchini "substitute" to throw into your repertoire.

**The trick to making this recipe successful is draining your zucchini to get the excess water out of it. I use my food processor to grate the zucchini, but you can use any hand held grater as well. I then throw all the grated zucchini into my salad spinner and sprinkle on a tsp of salt. The salt will help to draw out the moisture. I let it sit for 15-20 minutes before spinning the extra moisture out. If you don't have a salad spinner, line a colander with paper towels and let it drain that way. With either method, you may want to squeeze the grated zucchini with some paper towels after the draining period to get any extra water out before starting the recipe.

Zucchini "Crab" Cakes

Adapted from the infamous "Connie's" recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups grated zucchini (about one large, or two small)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 TBSP butter, melted
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 1/4 cups bread crumbs (regular)
• 1 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (for dredging right before frying)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (or vegetable oil) for frying

Directions:

• Grate and drain your zucchini (see tip above recipe)
• In a large bowl combine zucchini, onion, whisked egg, and melted butter.
• In another bowl combine bread crumbs and seasonings.
• In a cast iron, or heavy bottomed skillet, melt your cooking oil on medium heat.
• Combine zucchini mixture with the bread crumbs and mix well. Shape mixture into patties. Immediately dredge with flour, and fry in skillet until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels before serving.

Quick and easy remoulade:

• 1/4 cup Mayonaise
• 2 TBSP Ketchup
• 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 1-2 shakes of hot sauce

Zucchini "Crab" Cakes are great served with a Tomato, Avocado, and Corn salad, or with this Potato and Mushroom salad!

Zucchini Casserole

This little creation was a "fridge clean-up" for me last night... But I think I'll keep it in the current round of awesome summer side-dishes, just for how yummy it turned out. It was light and healthy, but flavorful. And it used all of the vegetables that are pouring out of people's gardens right now, so it shouldn't cost you that much to throw together!

Zucchini Casserole

6-8 side servings (or 4, if you use it as a main dish)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-large zucchini (or about 2 cups sliced)
• 1 cup fresh or thawed sweet corn
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1/4 medium onion, diced
• 2 medium eggs
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 2 TBSP half and half
• 2/3 cup of bread crumbs (or two slices of wheat bread grated in food processor)
• 2 TBSP freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 TBSP butter, melted

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Lightly spray a 2 qt baking dish, or a deep dish pie plate.
• Wash and cut ends off of your zucchini. With a food processor with the slicing blade (or use a mandolin) slice zucchini very thin (almost ribbon thin). Place slices in a large bowl with your diced peppers and onions.
• Mix together your eggs, HnH, and garlic salt. Season with a pinch of pepper if you like. Whisk together well and pour over top of your vegetables. Stir together to coat the vegetables. Pour into your baking dish and spread them around in an even layer.
• Sprinkle the top with your freshly grated parmesan cheese, then bread crumbs, then melted butter.
• Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

CousCous and Vegetable Stir Fry

This is an easy and healthy meal that takes less then 30 minutes to prep and prepare. It came into being one summer when my garden was overflowing with wonderful vegetables and we needed a quick dinner option. And nothing cooks more quickly than couscous! It recently made another blogger's "Top 25 in under 20 minutes" meal list. This is a versatile dish and can easily be tweaked to fit your taste preferences!

Ingredients:

• 1 box of any Couscous (Optional - preparing the couscous with chicken or vegetable stock to add flavor)
• 3 cups of cut up vegetables – whatever you have laying around that you need to use up. I like to use onions, green and yellow zucchini/squash, and red peppers – great color, but great flavor too!
• 3/4 cup frozen, shelled edamame
• 1/4 cup Pine Nuts, toasted
• olive oil
• 3-4 TBSP grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Lightly toast Pine Nuts in toaster oven or in a dry skillet

Slice up your vegetables and set aside. Prepare Couscous by bringing water to a boil WITH your frozen edamame in the pot. Add CousCous (And flavor packet if there is one. If not, add 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp garlic powder if you have some) and stir. Pull off the heat and allow it to sit covered for the instructed amount of time.

Pre-heat a large skillet with about a TBSP of olive oil. Add your sliced vegetables, cover, and turn heat to low for about 3 minutes. This allows your vegetable to steam lightly. Uncover and finish stir-frying the vegetables on medium heat. Uncover and stir your Couscous and place into a large serving bowl (Optional: an extra drizzle of olive oil helps the couscous from sticking together in big clumps). Top with your stir-fried veggies, toasted pine nuts, and grated parmesan cheese.

**This is also a wonderful dish served cold, as a picnic dish or a side salad to a main dish. It can be made “vegan” by leaving out the parmesan cheese. You could also substitute the Couscous with wonderful, healthy Quinoa, or even a wheat pasta if you don’t keep Couscous in the pantry!

Thin Crust Whole-Wheat Pizza

Who doesn't love pizza? This is such a great recipe and is really easy to make. You'll be able to make and bake two pizzas in about an hour - or chill the second half of the dough and have pizza again later in the week!

You have choices with your ingredients here... if you want organic, use organic! If you want Pizza Margherita, use fresh mozzarella sliced thin with fresh basil. Meat lover? Go on ahead! This also makes a great dough for calzones, though you may need to add some minutes to your baking time.

Thin Crust Whole-Wheat Pizza

Ingredients (dough):

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 1/4 tsp yeast
• 2 TBSP Olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp honey or raw sugar
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• Some corn meal for the bottom of the pizza (optional, but authentic!)

Ingredients (pizza toppings):

• Olive oil
• Sauce, about 1/4 cup - use can use tomato, or if your are making a white pizza, use dollops of ricotta and minced garlic. I like using organic strained tomato sauce that comes in a jar. It allows me to add my own spices to the crust prior to putting the sauce on.
• Cheese - about 1 1/2 cups, shredded. Or sliced, if you are having pizza margherita.
• Any other toppings you like on your pizza!

Materials:

• Stand Mixer w/ dough hook
• Parchment paper
• Rolling pin
• Pizza Stone. You can also used unglazed terra cotta tiles to cover the baking rack and give you a larger baking surface. OR in a pinch, use a large flat cookie sheet.

Directions:

• Place pizza stone on a low or middle rack of your oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Let the oven preheat for at least 45 minutes prior to putting your pizza in the oven. This allows the stone to get nice and hot - which will give you a crisper crust to hold all those lovely toppings.
• Place all above ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer. With dough hook attachment, mix on low until dough comes together. Then switch to "2" and mix for another 8-10 minutes. This allows the gluten to build up in the pizza dough. Don't worry if the dough "hugs" the hook the entire time - it is still getting a work out!
• When finished mixing, coat the dough lightly in olive oil and allow it to rest in the bowl (covered) for 10-30 minutes. I've used the dough after resting only 10 minutes, and it still works really well!
• Cut the dough in half. If you won't be making both pizzas immediately, then refrigerate the second piece in a sealed container or plastic bag.
• Lightly flour a clean surface. Press the dough into a large flat circle with your hands. Let rest for 5 minutes while you get all of your toppings and spices out.
• Take a large square of parchment paper and sprinkle with corn meal. Place your dough on the paper and begin to roll - working from the middle of the dough, outwards, and turning the paper/dough while you work. If it sticks at all, lightly flour your rolling pin as you work. I like to leave the dough slightly thicker at the edges so that the crust puffs up nicely. (If you want a thicker, dough-ier crust, then simply stretch the dough with your hands, let it rest, and stretch/press some more. The pie won't be as big, but it will be that much more filling per slice!)
• Use a little olive oil to brush over the crust - especially coating the outside edge.
• Add spices to your crust if desired. I like to use dried basil and oregano, and sometimes some garlic salt.
• Add sauce to the crust and spread around with the back of a spoon. Don't use too much, or the crust may not crisp up as much as you desire it to. About 1/4 cup should be plenty.
• Sprinkle on toppings and cheese.
• Slide the parchment and pizza onto a pizza peal or the back of a cookie sheet to help transfer to the oven. (YES - bake the pizza right on the parchment paper - it won't burn if you are baking for this short amount of time, and it makes the dough easier to transfer in and out of the oven.)
• Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool for 3-4 minutes before slicing!

Easy Kettle Corn

OK - so this is not the greatest photo. But let me assure you that what is in this blue bowl is something you will crave after tasting it. I LOVE kettle corn. And this is a really nice (and healthier) option than the carnival crafted stuff. Not to mention, you will avoid all the chemicals associated with the microwave variety.

Kettle Corn

It is easy to double this recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP Coconut Oil
• 1/4 Cup popcorn
• 1 TBSP sugar (I like the brown "raw" sugar)
• salt

Directions:

Over medium heat, in a pot with a well-fitting lid, heat the coconut oil until melted. Add three kernels of popcorn. Once they pop, add the rest of the popcorn and the TBSP of sugar. Cover immediately and continuously shake (over the heat) as the rest of the popcorn pops. Transfer popcorn to a large bowl, add salt, and stir to mix before the popcorn cools (and sticks together). It's that easy!

Fresh Pasta with Butternut Squash

Happy Mother's Day to all of you! If you live on the East Coast like me, you spent the day braving chilly temperatures and unusually gusty winds. After over-enjoying an incredible gourmet Mother's Day brunch buffet, sleeping it all off with an hour long nap, I woke up craving some chilly weather comfort food. I didn't want anything too heavy, so I turned to this old favorite... Butternut squash that is braised with butter and broth and lightly sweetened with sugar. The flavor of the sage and nutmeg are perfect compliments to this dish.

Fresh Pasta with Butternut Squash

and Brown Butter Sage Sauce

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma

• 8 TBSP of Butter
• 2 lbs of Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1" square (or buy prepackaged fresh cut squash)
• 2 TBSP of Sugar
• 1/2 cup of Chicken Broth (or vegetable broth to keep this a vegetarian dish)
• 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 medium Onion, diced
• 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1 TBSP minced fresh sage (or 1/2 TBSP dried)
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 TBSP minced fresh parsley (1 TBSP dried)
• 1, 12 oz package of fresh pasta sheets, cut into 1" ribbons (I used "lasagna sheets")
• fresh parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Begin a pot of salted water to boil for the pasta while you make the sauce.

In a heavy bottomed pot or wide skillet, melt 3 TBSP of butter. Add squash in a single layer; cook, without stirring, about 6 minutes. Stir squash, cook 4 minutes more. Add sugar, broth, salt and pepper. Cover and cook 2-3 minutes. Uncover; cook, stirring occasionally 2-3 minutes more. Transfer to a bowl.

In the same pot/skillet, over medium-high heat, melt 5 TBSP of butter. Cook onions, nutmeg, and sage for 1-2 minutes. Take off the heat, add lemon juice and parsley. And return squash to pot. Cover and keep warm.

Cook pasta ribbons for 5 minutes, or to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Add pasta and reserved water to the squash; toss to combine. Transfer pasta to plates, top with fresh grated parmesan and sprinkle with pine nuts.

*If you can't find fresh pasta sheets, try fresh cheese raviolis. **This is also wonderful with grilled chicken apple sausage, sliced and mixed in with the pasta!

My Favorite Guacamole

I know what you're going to say... I totally missed the boat on posting this for Cinco de Mayo. But here is my theory... EVERY day is a great day for guacamole. Thanks to the fact that our grocery stores pretty much carry avocados year round, you can make this yummy and nutritious treat any time the craving hits! The trick is keeping Avocados on hand in order to allow them to properly ripen. Avocados are best when the flesh yields a little if you squeeze them. If you buy them when they are hard, let them sit on a warm windowsill for a day or two, then stick them in the fridge until you are ready to use them.

After you taste this version, you'll never want to buy the pre-packaged guacamole again!

Ingredients:

• Avocados
• Tomatoes
• Lime
• Cumin
• Salt

Directions (so simple!):

Take two avocados, cut them in half, and remove the seed. Score the fruit in both directions, making little cubes of avocado, while still in the skin. Scoop the fruit out with a spoon and into a bowl. Discard any really dark areas. Add one tomato, diced. 1/2 tsp of Salt. 3/4 tsp of Cumin. Juice 1/2 lime and pour over top. Take a fork and mash and stir the ingredients until well-mixed, but still lumpy.

Serve with (my favorite) Garden of Eatin' Multi Grain organic Tortilla Chips.

Kid tested, Sous-Chef approved!

Best if accompanied by ...

Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas

For those of you not familiar with this wonderful rice and pasta alternative, Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa) is a grain-like plant grown for it's edible seeds. Quinoa originated in South America where it had been an important part of the Inca diet 6,000 years ago. It is prized for it's high-protein content, which makes it a great staple for the vegetarian diet. It is also gluten-free, for those dealing with wheat sensitivities. So many reasons to love this stuff! It also has a wonderful nutty flavor and can be mixed with so many different things... it can serve as a side dish, main dish, or even as a breakfast cereal mixed with honey, almonds, and milk! Yum!

Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Cherries, and Goat Cheese

Adapted from Debbie Koenig/The San Francisco Cronicle

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Cups Quinoa, rinsed (or buy a 12 oz box of pre-rinsed)
• 1 Can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 Cup dried Cherries
• 1 red bell pepper, diced small
• ------dressing-------------
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
• 2 TBSP red wine vinegar
• 1 TBSP honey
• 1 tsp mustard
• 2 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
• ---top just before serving----
• 4 oz of goat cheese, crumbled (you could use feta, if preferred)

Directions:

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, add quinoa, and turn down to a simmer (covered) for 10 minutes. Drain over a fine mesh sieve and spread over a large baking sheet to cool and dry. If you don't have a mesh strainer, you can line a regular strainer with paper towels as a substitute.

Combine Quinoa in a large bowl with chickpeas, cherries, and peppers. Mix your dressing and pour over quinoa. You can serve this immediately or chill in a covered container until needed. Don't add your cheese until right before serving.