Lentil and Beet Burgers

This is the first time (seriously, the first) I have tried to make homemade veggie burgers. Generally, I thought that I didn't like the texture/flavor/etc... However, since I have cut out most meat substitutes (no offense to Boca, Gardein, etc...- I just don't really eat them anymore), I think that my tastes have changed in terms of my expectations of what "veggie burgers" should taste like.

Anyways, I think I will probably mess around more with this recipe in the future (more beets or more onions and definitely some fresh herbs!). However, this was definitely good as it is! The recipe made approximately 10 (well, 9 regular-sized and 1 small) burgers. I am freezing some and thinking of starting a multiple-flavor veggie burger freezer stockpile.

I have been eating these all week for dinner with a miso-tahini sauce and veggies (in the pic above it was roasted asparagus and kale). I am far more confident in my veggie burger making ability after this endeavor.

Lentil and Beet Burgers: 
- 1 c dried green or brown lentils
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 c water
- 1 small shredded carrot
- shredded beet (probably 1/2 of a small beet)
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 1/2 large red bell pepper, diced
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- olive oil for sauteeing
- 2 tbsp tamari
- 3/4-1 c flour (I used all-purpose, could likely use whole wheat, brown rice, or other flour)
Spices (could be varied):
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- red pepper flakes, to taste
- black pepper

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
1. Cook the lentils with a bay leaf and a bit of salt until done (20-25 mins), drain and cool.
2. Add the chia seeds to the water and set aside to gel (this is the binder)
3. As the lentils are cooling, heat a pan with a bit of oil over medium heat and sautee beets, onion, carrot and garlic to soften up (5 mins or so). Add spices in partway through the cooking and mix around to incorporate.
4. In a food processor (depending on the size, might have to do in batches) mix the cooked lentils, veggies and chia seed mixture. *Warning, because of the beets, it will look eerily similar to ground beef.* Try not to be too grossed out. (see below):

5. Once everything is incorporated, add in flour in 1/3 c batches until the mixture stays together well, but is still sticky. As I was making it, I thought that it was too wet; however, it worked in the cooking process!
6. Form the mixture into 1/3 c or so patties and flatten out into desired shape. Put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (I was all out, so I used aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray. It worked).
7. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes per side, until the tops are lightly browned.

Burgers out of the oven!!!!

As I said, I served these with a miso-tahini sauce, which I love. It's super easy, and keeps in the fridge for a few days (good on pita, crackers, veggies, thinned out with water as a dressing, etc...).

Miso-Tahini Sauce
3 tbs miso (I used white, I have also used brown rice, which I might like better)
3 tbs tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 tsp tamari
1 clove garlic
1-2 tsp Siracha (or hot sauce of choice)
black pepper to taste

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor, adding water (up to 1/2 cup) to desired consistency.

EAT!!!!!

Weekend Eats Roundup

So, during the school year the weekends are a time for me to do my grocery shopping, plan and make my meals and relax. Summer has meant (for the most part) that this happens everyday- but, I still keep to the same schedule of grocery shopping and cooking on the weekends....

The above picture is YET ANOTHER Appetite for Reduction recipe- the polenta stuffing. Again, awesome! I served it with baked sweet potatoes and this yummy fava bean concoction...

Fava Beans:
1 15 oz can fava beans, or two cups cooked
Juice of one large lemon (add more water to make it 1/4 cup)
1 veggie bouillon cube
3 cloves garlic
Lots of black pepper
2 tsp dried thyme
Red pepper flakes to taste
1 tsp oil

Directions:
1. Add the oil and garlic to a pot and fry garlic for 30 seconds to 1 minute
2. Add the spices and fry for another minute, stirring frequently.
3. Add the lemon juice/water and crush the veggie cube and stir around.
4. Add the beans and cook for 10 minutes or so, until beans are done

My friend Kathryn and I also went to Native Foods Cafe in Boulder. In addition to the nachos pictured below, we ordered the Moroccan bowl, Soul bowl, lavender lemonade, a chocolate cupcake and a cardamom rose cupcake. Everything was awesome and I cannot wait to go back again!

Today I am currently making some rice for a Hoppin' John salad that I am gonna  bring for lunch and granola bars. They smell OK, I usually use beans in my homemade granola bars, this time I did not. I will see which I like better. Lunch was pretty simple today (and dinner will be leftovers from the beans and polenta): a salad with spring mix, romaine, blueberries, zucchini and balsamic vinaigrette:

 I have taken to always making my own dressings, and this week was no exception.

Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
-1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
- pinch of salt and black pepper
- 1 tsp sweetener of choice (I used agave, I like liquid sweeteners in dressings, they are less likely to be gritty)
- 2-3 tbsp tahini

Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse together until mixed well. Done! This is why I make dressings- it's easier than I thought:)

Coconut Squash Rice, Blackened Tofu and Jerk Zuchini

Today when I got home I decided to do a bodyweight workout instead of trying to rush over to the apartment gym, stretch, workout, stretch and get home.... it just seemed easier and more enjoyable. Anyways, I did the following workout today:

3 Rounds:
25 air squats
40 mountain climbers
30 sit-ups
20 walking lunges with 10lb weights
10 push-ups/10 tri-dips
10 sprawls.

I finished with a 1.8 mile walk *at least that is the google map distance from my place to the stoplight at the end of the road. It's hilly, with intermittent shade/sun- it's a good, quick path and doesn't leave me the excuse that I don't have time, since it's so short.

I had a bite of chocolate avocado and banana pudding (my new favorite thing ever!) and then ran some quick errands. The best part of the day, though, was coming home to my delicious leftovers from yesterday: coconut and squash rice with blackened tofu from Appetite for Reduction (trying to cook as many recipes out of here this summer - love it so far!). I also sauteed up some sliced zucchini in jerk spices

Jerk Zucchini
2 medium/small zucchinis, sliced however, as long as it's thinly sliced
1 tsp coconut oil (or any other oil)

Spices:
3-4 cloves minced garlic
2 tbs minced fresh ginger
1 small palm (1 tbs or so) onion powder
sprinkling of salt
1/4-1/2 tsp nutmeg and cinnamon (I used roasted cinnamon since it's what I had)
2 tsp or so of dried thyme
2 tsp or so black pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1-2 tsp sugar

Directions:
1. Slice the zucchini thinly
2. Heat oil in the pan and add ginger and garlic- fry for 1-2 minutes, making sure not to burn
3. Add spices and fry for 30 secs to 1 minute.
4. Add a splash of water and zucchini. Saute until zucchini is soft, adding more water if necessary.

This was a meal that I definitely want to make again! The recipe called for butternut squash and I only had acorn, so next time I might follow the recipe to see if I like butternut better in the rice.

I am off to end the evening with some Battlestar Galactica. I am trying really, really hard to not turn out like this:

How to be Vegan......and Other Musings

Eat bowls, like this:

The "bowl" is a vegan staple consisting of grain (or pseudo-grain, like quinoa in this case), steamed or lightly sauteed veggies, protein and sauce. Considering I typically have veggies and cooked grains almost all of the time, this quickly becomes a RFV* (really fucking vegan) meal in a jiffy. Well, not really a jiffy in this case, since I had to marinate and bake the tofu... but you get the idea.

For this one, I had steamed broccoli and kale and marinated & baked tofu and red peppers over quinoa flavored with salt, pepper and a pinch of saffron. The tofu was pretty tasty and the marinade doubled as the sauce!

Marsala Balsamic Tofu:

Marinade:
--1/4 c Marsala (or, if you are rich, fancy and tasty drinking wine)
--1/4 c (probably a little less) balsamic vinegar
--1 tbsp tamari
--1-2 tsp olive oil
--2 (or so) tbsp of coffee (this was left-over espresso-roast coffee in the press-pot. I had the idea to put it in   and it worked! I think that adding some cocoa here instead would also be good)
--Black pepper (lots)
--2 tsp dried thyme
--1 tsp dried oregano
--sweetener of choice, to taste. All I had was regular old sugar. I think that maple syrup would have been better.....

Directions:
1. Press tofu for 30 mins to an hour to get moisture out. Slice up red pepper into strips. (This is totally optional, I just had some left over that needed used)
2. Whisk together marinade. Slice tofu into desired shapes and put in marinade along with red peppers (flipping over or shaking up) for 30 minutes to an hour in the fridge
3. Bake at 350-375 for 45 minutes, with the marinade dumped into the pan, flipping once.

I don't use the Marsala wine I bought for one recipe very often....the flavor is quite strong and I don't always like it. However, I liked it here and will probably make a recipe like this again. Maybe sans wine though, so I guess I didn't like it that much.

Another thing to do to look really vegan is have your lunch look like the produce section neatly vomited into three compartments in your Tupperware container, like so:

The big compartment is a salad with spring mix, green cabbage, sliced green peppers, tomato and zucchini. I added some balsamic vinaigrette and it was good to go. The small orange compartment is baked yams with smoked paprika and S&P (slice yams, spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with seasonings. Bake, flipping/oiling/seasoning the other side, until crispy at the edges). The other compartment is a pretty tasty multicolor quinoa salad.

Fiesta Quinoa Salad

Dressing:
- 2-3 tsp cumin seeds, toasted in a pan
- juice of 2 limes
- 1-2 tsp Mexican oregano
-  1-2 tsp olive oil

1. Toast seeds in pan and drain seeds and the *small bit* of oil into a bowl
2. Add other ingredients and a bit of water (less than a 1/4 c) if needed to mix better

Beans and Veggies:
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 c frozen or fresh corn, drained (and thawed if needed)
- 1 small carrot, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 tomato, seeded and diced

Assembly:
1. Add the veggies and 1 cup of quinoa to a large mixing bowl/container
2. Pour dressing over and mix really well to get the cumin seeds distributed

All in all, a good lunch. I am taking virtually the same thing tomorrow, except the smallest container will have chopped bananas and kiwi pieces left over from my morning oatmeal.

Since I ate all of the chocolate avocado pudding I made yesterday while I was watching Battlestar Galactica last night (seriously, I cannot get more vegan than I am as I wrote that sentence), there is no picture to speak of. And it meant I wanted to do some running.

I usually just run outdoors and do interval sprints on a treadmill; however, the apartment gym was closed and I did not feel like the usual run around the same route. Instead, I decided to take advantage of the 3-4 minute intervals that my iPod list gives me and alternate walk/run until I felt like coming home.

Walk/Run Playlist (run songs are in bold):

That's When I Reach for my Revolver- Mission of Burma
Academy Fight Song- Mission of Burma
Shining- Lustre
Fifteen- Lustre
No. 84 Vs. SL/A- Inch
Kermit the Hostage- Inch
50-yard Dash- Huffy
Chopper Pilot- Huffy
Genius Boy- Outhouse
Familiar- Outhouse
Belong- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

I think that I might start doing this as an alternative to a regular run on days when I am (a) pretty damn tired but still want to get some exercise in; or, (b) have time to spend (since this takes a while to really get in more than a handful of songs).

Tomorrow, I am planning a big meal that I have been wanting to make since I first bought Appetite for Reduction: coconut squash rice, blackened tofu and roasted veggies (I am going to do zucchini).... Pretty damn excited!

Weekly Eats...

Per usual, I like to make several things at the beginning of the week and eat them throughout the week (and sometimes I have a serving left to decide whether or not to eat or throw out on the weekend), and even though I am not at school all day (and therefore have more time to cook dinner at night), I am pretty much sticking to the same schedule.

I am really, really liking Appetite for Reduction, this is a BLT sandwich made with eggplant bacon and a dab of Cesar Chavez dressing.... I don't know if my oven is not as hot as other ovens or something, but I had to bake these waaaaaaaay longer than the recipe called for to get them to crisp up (now that they have been in the refrigerator, they no longer get crispy, but oh well- still delicious). It's pretty simple, basically, you bake eggplant with a little cooking spray then dip it in soy sauce/liquid smoke mixture and re-heat.

I also made a nice drink to go along with it- lemon-thyme cucumber water. It's so simple, I probably shouldn't even post a recipe, but here it is:

Lemon-thyme Cucumber Water
1/2 large cucumber, sliced thinly
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Thin lemon slices
Sprinkle of dried of fresh thyme

1. Slice veggies and juice lemon
2. Add to a pitcher and fill with cold water
3. Add thyme and shake/stir.

Let this sit for a while, as it doesn't taste like much at first.  

I also used the dressing/eggplant bacon for a pretty tasty salad that I ate a couple of nights last week as well:

Overall, I would say that this is definitely a dressing I would make again. I feel that if you lick the spoon after spooning dressing onto a salad (and even dip it back into the container for more dressing to lick) it's a good sign of future use potential.

In other news, I am mulling over in my mind doing an additional project besides my dissertation on the CO immigrant rights movement.... It seems like a lot of work (and something my advisor and likely everyone else I ask would be opposed to), but I am becoming more and more interesting in identity development and deployment among vegans. I will give this more thought (I have over a month until the next IRB deadline, it might be doable by then....). We will see.

Spicy Lentil Stew and Curried Cabbage

Someday, oh someday, I will buy a camera that is not the first generation of digital picture-taking and the pics I post will be lovely. That day, of course, is not today. Not-so-nice picture notwithstanding, this is a delicious stew that came together (despite me forgetting what I wanted to be the main ingredient- red lentils).

Since I have all of this time on my hands sans job *until Monday* I have been taking time to make interesting food this week. I made garbanzo bean and roasted broccoli pasta with sundried tomato and roasted red pepper quinoa pasta with a friend on Monday, this dish (sort of, I used tahini instead of vegan mayo, because vegan mayo tastes like egg mayo and is therefore yucky, plus mine had tons of red cabbage in the mix) two nights ago and stew last night. It's been nice- I have also been making lots of steel-cut oats for breakfast and making green juice almost everyday.

Anyways, I had the idea for an Indian-esque red lentil and mushroom stew... but then I forgot to buy red lentils. So, I decided to use the green and black lentils I had on hand. This changed the stew texture immensely- it's more like plain-old cooked lentils with some sauce and not like stew-ish- which meant that the lentils provided the bite as much as the mushrooms (so I used less mushrooms and have been throwing them in salads instead). The results were still delicious- although not the texture/color I had originally intended.

Quick note- I usually do not blend spices. I thought I would give it a try and used blended chile de arbol and cinnamon stick (it worked, but I will probably just use ground cinnamon and red pepper flakes next time). I also do not really measure spices, as I have said before, so these are estimates- use more or less however you would like.

Ingredients:
-1 cup of lentils (I used green and black, but red would likely be better)
-1 medium onion, diced
-small piece of ginger 1 or 1/2 inch, diced
-3-4 garlic cloves, minced
-4-5 cups of veggie broth (I used 1 veggie cube and regular water. I have a stock bag in the freezer I will get to sometime soon!)
-1 can (mine was 6 oz) of tomato paste
- 4 oz or so of mushrooms (more if using red lentils, as this would provide the texture in the stew)
- oil for frying onions, ginger and garlic

Spice Blend 
-1 inch piece of cinnamon
- 1/3-1/4 c of dried red chiles
(Blend first two together in spice grinder-- if you have whole cloves, etc... blend those too!)
-heaping helpful of paprika (1-2 tablespoons. I had smoked on hand, it was good)
- 1 tsp of dried thyme
- pinch of cloves
- pinch of nutmeg
- plenty of cracks of black pepper
- 1 tsp (or more, I really like color) tumeric
After I smelled it and decided it did not smell spiced enough, I also added:
- 1/4 or so tsp of garam masala  
- 1/4-1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Rinse and sort the lentils and soak for approximately 1 hour. Drain.
2. Heat enough oil to saute the onion (1-2 tsp usually works for me if you stir frequently enough) over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft (5-8 minutes). Add garlic and ginger and fry for about a minute more.
3. Add tomato paste and tumeric,stirring to coat everything and a splash of water to deglaze the pan.
4. Add in spice mixture and veggie cube
5. Add in water and lentils and bring to a boil. Lower to simmer, cover and cook until desired consistency is reached (40-45 minutes).

I must say that I like this stew a lot. It would definitely be better with red lentils (I think) for texture-sake-- and might be perfect in the cooler days as well since it is warm and spicy. I served it over plain brown rice, but it would also be good with *vegan* naan or rotis.

I also made curried cabbage from Appetite for Reduction. Since, it's like, totally copyrighted I won't post the recipe, but it's basically cabbage, carrot, pea, onion, garlic, ginger, liquid and curry powder. go crazy. It was super good and simple. I have always really liked raw and pickled cabbage, but am only recently starting to like cooked cabbage. The only time I really eat cooked cabbage is at one of these two vegan Nepali buffets in Boulder, so I thought I would stick with similar flavors for my own attempts at cooked cabbage. There are a couple of other cooked cabbage recipes in AFR that I want to try...hoping that I continue to like it! Anyways, here is a pic of how it turned out:

 Delightful.

Sunday Dinner- Pan Roasted Asparagus, Tofu and Quinoa Pasta

Well, well, well..... I want to have a place to archive these recipes (again!), so back to posting I go- this way, I will save the time of having to write these all down and put them in a recipe book (although, in all honesty, I would like to write recipes down and be able to put them in a cute little recipe book, maybe this is something I need to purchase).

I made a bunch of more complicated things for the week (pictures and recipes to follow as I eat them), but I was in the mood for something quick, tasty and unusual. This fits the bill for me, since I rarely eat pasta. I feel like a "vegan dinner" I hear about all of the time is some combination of greens/veggies, protein and pasta, but I have just never jumped on the train, I guess. This is actually pretty tasty, so I might just make something similar again.

It is also unusual because I don't really eat asparagus. I like it- I just never buy it. I was getting my haircut on Saturday and noticed it was the first day of the Boulder Farmers Market. I was always under the impression that farmer's markets were supposed to be affordable ($6 for a bunch of asparagus that I am eating in its entirety in the pasta & $3.50 for some field greens of some sort for a salad), but I guess not here. In any event, I guess I should be a GBL (Good Boulder Liberal) and support some local farmers. The asparagus, being that it is in season, is delicious. I would have loved it even more grilled, but alas, there is no grill to be found.

Since the chili-annatto tofu was already made, this was super fast.

Chili-Annatto Oil (for the tofu and whatever else)

-1/4 c peanut oil (sesame would be good too!)
-Red pepper flakes to taste
-1-2 whole chile de arbol pods
- 1/4 tsp annatto seeds

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a skillet or saucepan until warmed, but not smoking
2. Add in the annatto seeds and heat the oil until it turns deep orange. Fish out the annatto seeds and throw them away
3. Add in the red pepper flakes and chile de arbol pods. Turn off heat and let oil cool.
4. Using a funnel, transfer oil from pan to container.

Chili-Annatto Tofu:
2 blocks extra-firm tofu (drained and pressed for 30 minutes)
Chili-Annatto Oil for coating
1 tsp Mexican Oregano, crumbled between fingers
1 tsp tomato paste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Stir marinade ingredients together in a large bowl. Toss the tofu to coat and spread on baking sheet/pan
3. Bake for 30 minutes. Flip, then bake for 15 more minutes (you may need to add more oil).

Pan-Roasted Asparagus
1 large bunch asparagus, chopped into small pieces
4 cloves of garlic, smashed/chopped
1 tbs. coconut oil

Directions:
1. Heat the coconut oil over medium heat.
2. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds, or until fragrant
3. Add in the asparagus and saute over medium until desired doneness.
4. At the last few minutes of cooking, add-in tofu to warm.

To Assemble:
1. Cook the pasta according to directions, and drain. Add the asparagus and tofu mixture.
2. Whisk together the juice of 1 lemon, lots of black pepper and pour over pasta.