Millet Patties and Irene

(the "road" in front of my parents' house)

Well let's just say, Irene sure did a number on the east coast. My parents live in Vermont and they got an unbelievable amount of flooding! Their whole road in front of the house was covered in water and yes, they got water in their basement (which couldn't be pumped out due to the flooding in the road). But luckily, they are fine! There was the typical power outage, but they have a generator. Their alpacas and other animals are also ok. And the CSA farm, which uses their land, did pretty well in the storm. On the other hand, the one bridge to my sister's cabin across the street was washed away. Luckily, nobody was renting at the time. They will have to rebuild that soon.

As of yesterday, some rivers in NJ and VT had not yet crested, so some places were still under water, like Paterson, NJ (15 feet). I hope you are all staying safe. There IS Katia out there, and we've got our own little "tropical wave" arriving in the Gulf shortly.

On to the food part of this post!

I had some leftover items in the fridge, and instead of making my typical "bowl" of grains, veggies, and sauce, I decided to make it in a different form: patties.

Lemon Tahini Millet Patties:
(makes 8-10 patties, depending on size)


1/2 onion, chopped
1/4-1/2 zucchini, chopped
1 cup kale, chopped
1 cup broccoli slaw (or shredded broccoli and carrots)
1 cup mushrooms (any kind, I used white button), sliced
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats (you can prob. use regular oats too)
1 cup cooked millet
1 cup juice pulp (carrot/beet based)
1/2 cup (plus a few extra tablespoons for serving) *Lightened-Up Tahini Lemon Dressing


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine the millet, oats, and pulp. 

Put 1/4 cup water into a pan, and add the onion, zucchini, broccoli slaw, kale, and mushrooms. Cook on medium heat until slightly soft. (you don't need to cook all the way through). Let it cool for a few minutes. Add the partially-cooked vegetables to your food processor and pulse several times until mostly chopped. You can also puree it until it's mashed, but it won't have a nice texture and will have a lot of extra moisture (you may have to add a few extra oats if it's too moist). 


Add the processed vegetables to the millet mixture. Mix well. Add the dressing to the bowl and mix. Bake on a Silpat (or parchment paper) on your baking sheet for 15 minutes. Turn them over and bake for another 15 minutes. Take them out of the oven and let them sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Drizzle a little extra dressing on top! (I ate mine in a sandwich the first time, but the second time I just drizzled some sauce on top: delicious!)

*This dressing has become my new staple. It is absolutely amazing...I put it on salads all the time! I also serve it on top of my "bowls" as a sauce on top of grains and vegetables. I highly recommend you make at least double the recipe and keep it in your fridge!!

PS-Yay, I finally found a use for some of that juice pulp from my new juicer!!

Meanwhile, we've got a nasty marsh fire burning here and I just can't go outside anymore. It's so smokey and my lungs hurt even if I'm only going from the front door to the car! I sure hope they put it out soon. Maybe the rain that's coming will help.

I'm almost 3 weeks into my p90x program! I think I can see a little difference already. Today my glutes and obliques are pretty sore. Today's workout: Kenpo X.

Are any of you on a strict workout program? What do you do for exercise?

Eat smart,
T.

Mushroom Barley Burgers

This is going to be a short post.  Not sure why.....I've definitely been cooking. Hmmm.....perhaps I've just been making things I've already made and didn't want to re-post the same old stuff.

I bought a new cookbook the other day: Veggie Burgers Every Which Way by Lukas Volger.

So far, I've only made one burger, the Mushroom Barley burger and it was delicious!  Nice and crispy on the outside, yet soft on the inside. Just how I like 'em :) Can't wait to try more burgers. I served it with my Potato Salad Oregano.

I also made Ani Phyo's Raw Sushi "Rice" this morning, to use up my jicama.  It's really tasty....although I haven't made anything with it yet. It's waiting in the fridge for me, but I had to taste it. And I made her Chinese Chickenless Salad for lunch.  Excellent!! Both are from Ani's Raw Food Essentials.

And here's a picture of some spiralized veggies in my salad the other day:

Oh I wish I had an Excalibur Dehydrator! Hahahaha......well, maybe one day.  I don't have any room for it at all in this apartment. I keep staring at all of Ani's awesome looking raw recipes for crackers, etc....maybe I'll have to try them on the lowest oven setting....in the Fall :)

Today was my exercise day off. Only walked about 2 miles.  I just can't NOT walk on my day off.  It doesn't feel right.  Anyway, I did my weights workout tonight.  I think this workout routine is working for me. I feel pretty good.

Giveaway:

LeslieLovesVeggies is  giving away an awesome Energizer Emergency Power Kit. Enter now!
An Opera Singer In the Kitchen is giving away a $50 CSN gift card. Enter now!

And in the next few days, I'll be doing my own CSN Stores giveaway......stay tuned!

Eat smart,
T.

Book Review: Vitamin D The Sunshine Vitamin and NOT meatloaf

A while ago, Rick over at Book Publishing Company sent me the Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin book to review.  My husband and I both read it and loved it.  I recently wrote a post about Vitamin D here and we both got ours checked and we were both deficient.  So now we are both taking a supplement every month.  That's the only supplement we take.  This book is written by Zoltan Rona, MD, MSc.  He first explains how Vitamin D works in your body and that, of course, the best source is the sun.  Not all of us live in a sunny location, so it's not so easy to get for a lot of people.  He goes on to explain the differences between D2 & D3 (which I also talked about in my post), one is vegan, one is not.  And of course he mentions sunscreen and the differences between UVA and UVB rays:

"It is important to realize that it is UVA light and not UVB light that is responsible for skin damage, aging, and wrinkles."

I love chapter 4!  He talks about all sorts of diseases that can be prevented/treated with Vitamin D.  It's really interesting and you can easily skim that part for particular diseases you may be looking for, from Cancer and MS to Acne and Autism! At the very end of the book he mentions a few concerns for women's health that can be helped by Vitamin D, including Preeclampsia and PMS.

Overall, this is a great read.  The book isn't too long and is not overwhelming at all....but gives really great information on this vitamin. Go out and get it!!

And now for my NOT meatloaf recipe!! (Don't get scared, but it looks like raw meat)

Tanya's NOT Meatloaf:


1 recipe of my black bean burgers with the following changes:
-add 1 small beet, cut in small pieces and a handful of chopped broccoli instead of mushrooms
-works better with cooked black beans that have been drained well & refrigerated, rather than canned.

Follow the directions for the burgers, but instead of shaping into burgers, put into a sprayed/oiled loaf pan and press down evenly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  (I have to admit, it tasted much better cold the next day!!)  Serve with BBQ sauce, or any other sauce.....or no sauce :)

We had it with a side of steamed green beans fresh from our friend's garden!

Question of the week: I'm saving up for one of the following two. Which one should I get?  I have a small 3 cup food processor that I use several times a week, and I have no blender, but the blender is a lot more expensive than the food processor.  Not sure which I would use more:

The Cuisinart Elite 14 cup Food Processor with 3 work bowls

OR:

The VitaMix TurboBlend 4500 Blender

Giveaway: Averie's having a Naturally Nutty giveaway on her blog...this stuff looks awesome!

Coming up: American Craft Beer Week celebration at the Avenue Pub!

Eat smart,

T.

Mediterranean Veggie Burgers and Help for Haiti

Ok, I finally made those mediterranean veggie burgers I've been talking about.  The only problem was that they tended to want to fall apart a little when eaten as a sandwich.  My husband ate them with a knife and fork, only because he didn't want the bread.  The flavor is really good though!

Mediterranean Veggie Burgers:

1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 jarred roasted red pepper
2/3 cup artichoke pieces
1/3 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for at least 3 hours
1 cup cooked millet
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tomato, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, etc.)
garlic powder
salt & pepper


Put the chickpeas in a food processor and process just until still a little chunky.  Put aside in a medium bowl.  Put the roasted pepper, sunflower seeds, and artichokes in the food processor and puree until pretty smooth. Add to the chickpeas.  Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. The mixture will be pretty wet.  Put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  Shape into patties and fry until browned on both sides.  Makes 6-8 burgers.

I had mine on sprouted grain bread with kale, tomato, and some Vegenaise.  Tasty! If you want, you could try brown rice instead of the millet.....it might help it keep its shape better when cooked.  I'll probably try that next time.....and maybe more breadcrumbs?  The artichokes, tomato, and roasted pepper are pretty moist ingredients, so you need something to dry it out. Any ideas?

UPDATE: I just had them as leftovers (no bread) with some brown mustard and they are delicious! If you make sure you brown them almost until burnt on both sides, they'll mostly stay together.  I ate them tonight with kale chips...great combination :) I LOVE KALE!!!

UPDATE #2: So I just had the last of the leftover burgers.  I added some whole brown rice (cold from fridge) and baked them.  I could've baked them a little longer.  They did turn out a bit crispier because of the rice, which was nice.  So you could try replacing the millet with whole rice and bake them about 12 minutes on each side on 375.

On to dessert! I made some tasty vegan brownies.  You can find the original recipe here.
My changes: I replaced the oil with water, I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of oats (I ran them through the food processor first), I used 1 1/2 cups of turbinado sugar,  and I didn't add nuts.  So this is my fat free version I guess.  They didn't rise very well, probably because I left out the oil.  Perhaps I could've added in a banana to help?  But they are still really good.  Next time I might try them  in an 8x8 pan.

And of course I went to the market this morning in freezing cold weather.  It was 40 degrees! Brrrrr.  The wind chill was around 33 or so.......so cold.  This is what I got: meyer lemons, grapefruit, oranges, kale, collard greens, mizuna, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, turnips, rice, white button mushrooms, and strawberries.

How YOU can help Haiti:

Check out the list of vegan bake sales going on around the country. There's probably one near you.  There's even one here in New Orleans on February 6th near the uptown Whole Foods on Magazine Street from 11-3 pm. I'll update this info as I get it.UPDATE: the vegan bake sale will be rescheduled due to Mardi Gras and the SuperBowl....stay tuned for a new date!

There will be a concert here in New Orleans to benefit Haiti as well.  Click here for info.

And you can always text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross.  The charge will be on your next cell phone bill.

Eat smart and stay warm,
T.

WHO DAT! and Vegan Burger Week.

Ok, first of all, I have to say GEAUX SAINTS!!  Off to the Superbowl....

Now that I got that off my chest, I can move on to the food portion of this post.

Today's Burger: Tanya's BBQ Black Bean Burger:


1 cup cooked brown rice
1 15 oz can of black beans
1 small carrot, sliced
~4 oz white button mushrooms (1/2 small container), sliced
1/4-1/2 yellow onion, sliced
a handful of kale
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (seasoned, if you want...I seasoned my own)
1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
Creole seasoning (for the cayenne)
salt, pepper, onion powder


Put the rice in a food processor and process until it looks like millet.  Small, but not totally pureed (like the picture).  Put it aside in a medium mixing bowl.  Put the beans in the food processor and do the same.  You want it a little chunky still. Add that to the rice and mix.  

In a saute pan, put about 1/4 cup water and set it on medium heat.  Add the carrot, garlic, onion, and mushrooms.  Cover with a lid, so the carrots cook faster.  When they're almost soft, add the kale and recover.  Cook until the kale is wilted and bright green.  Let it cool for a few minutes, then put the vegetables in the food processor and puree until it's mostly smooth.  A few chunks are ok (I like to see my vegetables!).  Add the vegetables to the rice and bean mixture.  Add in the breadcrumbs. Mix well.  Add the rest of the seasonings until it's flavored the way you want.  Put the mix in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Shape into patties.  Spray a pan or skillet and cook the patties for about 5-7 minutes each side on medium heat.  Serve with BBQ sauce, and on a bun if you wish.  Makes about 6 burgers.  

I made the lunchboxbunch BBQ sauce and it's really tasty! I left out the liquid smoke, because I didn't have any and I halved the oil.  It didn't turn out very thick, so maybe I could've added a bit more arrowroot.  But the flavor is really great.

For the NOT meatloaf version, click here.

I served my burgers last night with a side of homemade baked french fries:

Take 1 med red potato for each person.  Slice them about 1/4" thick.  Then take each slice and cut those the long way.  You know, cut them to look like french fries :)  Spray a cookie sheet.  Lay the potatoes down and sprinkle with salt and paprika (maybe garlic).  Bake on 375 for about 30 minutes, turning them over after 15 minutes.  


Today for lunch (leftovers), I served my burgers on sprouted grain bread, with crispy kale on the side.  So good.

Look for my Mediterranean Burger later this week!


There's a new dessert ball in my life: Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls.  Yup, they taste like mint chocolate chip ice cream.  I used to LOVE Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.....oh how I miss it.  But now I can just eat these and taste the deliciousness.

Quick recipe: 3/4 cup raw cashew pieces, 4-5 pitted dates, handful of chocolate chips, & a splash of peppermint extract.  Process with a little water until the right consistency.  Shape into balls (makes about 6) and put in the fridge.  Thanks again, CCK! She's the founder of these babies. Click the link to get more of her great fudge baby recipes.

Oh, and I found the ultimate food processor: Cuisinart Elite Collection 14-cup Food Processor.  Yup, it's amazing (and also very expensive).  Comes with 3 different sized bowls, which is so helpful.  I will be saving up.

And finally, another giveaway (nope, it's not mine...maybe one day): An Opera Singer in the Kitchen is giving away some great stuff, including coffee, agave nectar, and Larabars.  Check her out!

I can't forget the market on Saturday (almost didn't include it): satsumas, oranges, grapefruit, kale, mustard greens, collard greens, cabbage, broccoli, brown rice, coffee(locally roasted, for charity), tomatoes, turnips, and white button mushrooms.

Yesterday, I made some tasty turnip slaw with the fresh turnips from the market.  Check out the recipe.

Until next time,
Eat smart,
T.