Sweet Potato, Lentil and Kale Burgers

For me, 2014 is the Year of Change. I'm in the midst of moving from the shores of Washington's Puget Sound, where fresh seafood is abundant and shellfish is easily harvested, back to a place in Oregon that is beautifully situated between the Cascade Mountain Range and a city where a river runs through it.

I'm also starting off this new year transitioning towards more of a plant-based diet, eliminating the fish and shellfish that have been a part of my pescetarian diet for the past number of years.

I've tried this before and failed, but now I have the support and encouragement of family who are also discovering and enjoying the benefits of vegetarian and vegan cuisine, which makes it easier for me to stick with my resolution to eliminate seafood and more. I haven't entirely eliminated eggs and the occasional sheep and goat cheeses, yet.

Ever wondered what to call yourself while you are transitioning to a plant-based diet?

• A vegan is one who does not eat meat, eggs or dairy of any kind. Some vegans avoid such foods as gelatin, honey... or eating or buying anything that has some form of animal-based ingredient used in the process of making the product.
• A flexitarian is one who has a mostly vegetarian diet, but sometimes eats meat. 
• One who is a vegetarian but also eats eggs is called an ovo-vegetarian. 
• One who is a vegetarian but also eats dairy is a lacto-vegetarian. 
• One who is a vegetarian but also eats dairy and eggs is called a lacto-ovo vegetarian. 

This past weekend,  I attended a vegetarian/vegan potluck. Everyone brought something for the "Burrito Bar" - tortillas, beans, corn, tempeh, tofu, homegrown sprouts, salsa, spices and condiments. One brought black bean brownies and another black bean pudding for dessert.

The theme of our discussion was beans. I tossed out the idea of having a bean burger "bake-off" with a prize for the best bean burger recipe. I am not posting my bean burger "bake-off" entry recipe until after this event happens, IF it happens.

Although this is not a bean burger, here is one our family's favorite ovo-vegetarian burgers. There are only a few changes to the original recipe, which is on page 79 of Luke Volger's cookbook "Veggie Burgers Every Which Way."

 This recipe will make six 4-inch burgers, so we recommend doubling or tripling the recipe, cooking and freezing what you don't eat right away to reheat for later meals. Remember to never double or triple the salt when making more than one batch of anything with salt as an ingredient; increase salt to taste.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup French Lentils (small, green)
1 bunch Kale (remove tough stems)
1 medium Sweet Potato (approx. 8 ounces), peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
4 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 medium Onion, diced
1-1/2 teaspoons Garam Masala
1-1/2 teaspoons Curry Powder
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon ground Coriander
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Squeeze of fresh Lemon Juice

3/4 cup Oatmeal (gluten-free), lightly ground

1/4 cup Almonds, ground to a meal-like consistency (using spice grinder with slivered Almonds)

Sort through the lentils and rinse. Bring lentils to a boil in a small sauce pan in 3 cups water. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. When tender, drain and transfer to a large bowl. Coarsely mash lentils with a potato masher.

Steam the kale, by what ever method you prefer, for 5-8 minutes. Remove and cool, then wrap in a clean kitchen cloth towel and squeeze out any excess liquid. Finely chop and set aside.

Steam the sweet potato for 8-10 minutes, or bake until tender. Add the sweet potato to the lentils, mashing and blending with a potato masher or fork.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saute pan on medium heat. Add the onion, garam masala, curry powder and cayenne pepper. Cook until the onion is translucent, 8-10 minutes. Then add the chopped kale and minced garlic. Cook and toss to combine for 2 minutes. Note: If a crust forms on the base of the pan, add 2 tablespoons water and scrape up the browned mixture with a wooden spoon.

Combine the kale-onion and lentil mixtures together. Stir in the eggs, coriander, salt and lemon juice. Blend in the ground oatmeal and almonds. Adjust seasoning according to your taste. Shape into 6 burger patties.

In an oven-safe skillet or non-stick saute pan, heat another 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat. Once hot, add the patties and cook until browned on both sides, 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until firm to the touch and cooked through.

Serve hot on a toasted bun, or room temperature in a lettuce wrap, with your favorite condiments. Freeze and reheat leftovers.

Recipe adaptation, meal preparations, and photos by Effie.

Savory Vegan Stuffed Bell Peppers

I love stuffed peppers, and didn't think it was possible to serve up a vegan version as good as the meat-filled and cheese-topped peppers my mother served up when I was a kid, or those I served my family in years past. I've since changed my tune and share my recipe with you here.

Ingredients

4 medium green Bell Peppers
1 single package of unflavored Tempeh
1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/4 cup fresh Onion, minced
1/4 cup organic Catsup
1 cup soft gluten-free Bread Crumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried Basil Leaves
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Herbamare (vegetable salt)
1/4 teaspoon rubbed Sage
1/4 cup Water

_____

1/4 cup hot Water
1/2 teaspoon Better than Bouillon Vegetable Stock Paste
 _____
Shredded Diaya brand Mozerella Cheese (non-dairy)
Paprika

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash peppers. Leave them whole, but cut off the tops, and removed the pulp and seeds, and rinse seeds from cavity.
3. Steam the peppers upside down in a steamer or on the stove in a covered pot with a small amount of water to steam for five minutes.
4. Brown the crumbled tempeh on medium heat in hot oil, adding onions, catsup, water, bread crumbs, basil leaves, salts, herbs and seasonings. Adjust salt, herbs and seasonings to taste.
5. Fill the peppers with the tempeh mixture and place in a square or round glass baking dish. 
6. Dissolve vegetable stock base in 1/4 cup hot water and add to the bottom of the baking dish.
7. Cover the baking dish with foil, then bake the peppers at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
8. Uncover the peppers, top with shredded cheese and paprika for another 10 minutes. If you want the cheese to bubble and brown a bit, you can broil for a few minutes.

Serves 4

Recipe for Happiness... and Chai Tea

My amazing friend, Laura Lavigne, founder of the Happiness Sprinkling Project, recently shared a recipe from her yoga friend Pam. Making homemade Chai Tea... what an aromatic scent to fill one's home with in the process of brewing a batch. Then again by a crackling fireplace breathing in and sipping a steaming cup of Chai while curled up reading a good book. This year, my favorite of the culinary books I read was Yes Chef,  a true story with a happy ending. If interested, check out a book I read this year that continues to have the greatest impact on my life and sustaining level of happiness.

And if not now but later, when you are back here at your computer with your second cup of Chai Tea in hand, please take time to watch and enjoy this delightful 16-minute video presentation"Go for Joy!: Laura Lavigne at TEDxSkagitValley."

Join Laura Lavigne along with a host of others around the country, and soon around the world, to be a Happiness Ambassador in your community! Gathering and making friends to sprinkle happiness wherever we go, now don't you think this is the best recipe for happiness there is?

"Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Crabfest & Dungeness Crab Egg Foo Young

As the gray clouds of the past week peeled away their canopy, we breathed in the crisp air as the sun bounced it's light off the waters of Puget Sound and poured it's warmth upon the fall leaves, displaying their glorious amber and crimson leaves as we drove up Highway 101 to Port Angeles for the 12th annual Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival.

Under the bigtop, food vendors lined the perimeter to serve up their offerings hot off their grill or ladled from industrial size cook pots. Some folks, even whole families stood in line for an hour for the crab feed, ordering either a whole or half crab with drawn butter, corn on the cob and coleslaw for $29 or $15 a plate. We preferred to sample a variety of seafood dishes - chowders, scallops and crab. 

Me sampling "World Famous" crab cakes.*(see links below)

The Blackball Ferry was churning out droves of Canadian tourists from Victoria and beyond along for the waterfront Crabfest - many there to see their favorite culinary celebrity and his wife, Graham and Treena Kerr. Graham, Treena and family were there to give attendees and opportunity to meet Graham, buy books, and attend events where he gave a talk, judged the first annual chowder competition, and watch his cooking demonstration. Unfortunately, we had to head back home before Graham 's time came to give his cooking demonstration on Sunday afternoon. However, we did have the good fortune of listening and watching Chef Les Chan, cooking instructor in Victoria B.C.

Chef Les Chan's delightful sense of humor entertained us while we watched his cooking demonstration and waited to taste his two dishes - Dungeness Crab with Black Beans and Crab Foo Young. Both tasty, relatively quick, if you don't try to talk and cook at the same time, and easy to prepare at home. The perks for staying through to the end of each demonstration was to taste the dish, and take a copy of the recipe, which I did for both and share with you here.

Dungeness Crab with Black Beans

Ingredients

8 Crab Leg segments, cracked
4 Tbsp Thai Basil, chopped
2 Tbsp Fresh Ginger Root, minced
2 Tbsp Fresh Garlic, minced
1 tsp Chinese Chili Sauce
4 dried Chinese Peppers, crushed
4 dried Chinese Black Beans
2 tsp Cornstarch
2 tsp Peanut or Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp Sherry
1/4 cup Water
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a small bowl, soak fermented black beans in warm water and set aside.
2. To hot wok, add oil.
3. When oil is hot, coat the sides of the wok and add garlic, ginger, drained black beans and crushed Chili peppers. Cook for one minute.
4. Stir cornstarch into the water until blended smoothly.
5. To wok, add water and cornstarch mixture, and chili sauce. Cook two minutes.
6. Add crab legs, sherry, and Thai basil. Cook two minutes until crab is hot.
7. Serve on a warm platter family style.
8. This is finger food, so don't be afraid to use your fingers. Enjoy.

Crab Foo Young

Ingredients

8 Eggs, large
1 cup Fresh Bean Sprouts, minced
1/2 cup Green Onions, finely sliced
1/4 cup Bamboo Shoots, minced
1 cup Fresh Crab Meat
1 tsp Light Soya Sauce
2-3 tsps Cooking Oil
1/2 cup Water

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine eggs, crab meat, soy sauce, and vegetables.
2. Heat 2 tsp of cooking oil in a non-stick skillet, coating sides.
3. Add 1/3 egg mixture and fry as you would a pancake, cooking until lightly browned on bottom. Carefully turn over to cook and brown the bottom.
4. Keep warm while cooking the other two pancakes.
5. Add more oil to the wok, if needed. Cook, and keep all three pancakes warm while making sauce.

Foo Young Sauce

1/2 cup Chicken Broth (if vegetarian, substitute with vegetable broth)

1 tsp Light Soya Sauce

1/2 tsp Sugar

1 tsp White Vinegar

1/2 cup Water

2 Tbsp Cornstarch

Directions

1. In small pot, combine cornstarch and water with Foo Young Sauce.
2. Cook and stir until slightly thickened.
3. Serve hot over stacked Egg Foo Young, family style.

*If you  are in search of a great crab cake recipe, click for my crab cake blog post here. For Graham Kerr's Crab Cakes on Mixed Greens with Peanut Vinaigrette, click here.

Vegan, Gluten-Free Finnish Pancakes

Thanks to our sweet friend Sarah, from Edmonds (WA), we enjoyed a Sunday breakfast of Finnish pancakes. Sarah shared her recipe with friends on Facebook, and being one of her friends, I jumped at the opportunity to give her recipe a try to compare with the Dutch Babies (pancakes) I make. I found the Finnish pancake to be just as delicious, but slightly thicker with a bit of a custard texture (more on that later).

While baking, rather than the batter raising up on the sides to form a bowl like the Dutch Babies, the  vegan, gluten-free version of Sarah's Finnish pancakes I made domed in the center. Both types of pancakes settle down and flatten once out of the oven, as the start to cool.

I served our Finnish pancakes with a choice of real maple syrup or agave nectar, and slices of fresh mango and lichee on the side. If I had an assortment of fresh fruit in the house, I would have served a medley atop the pancakes with a dollop of coconut yogurt.

I'm sharing with you Sarah's original recipe, then give your my vegan, gluten-free version.

Sarah's Finnish Pancakes

Ingredients

4 Eggs

2 cups Milk

1 cup Flour

2 Tbsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

4 Tbsp Butter

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 
2. Whisk eggs with the milk, flour, sugar and salt, until well blended.
3. Melt the butter in an 9x12 baking pan.
4. Pour in pancake mixture.
5. Bake for 20-23 minutes.

Lee's Vegan, Gluten-Free Finnish Pancakes

Ingredients

4 large Eggs
2 cups Rice Milk (try using Almond, Coconut or Hemp)
1 cup Gluten-Free Flour Mix
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Dried Lemon Peel (or fresh lemon zest)
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
4 TBSP Butter Substitute (I suggest Earth Balance or Smart Balance)


Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put two glass pie dishes in the oven to heat.
2. Whisk eggs with the rice milk, gluten-free flour, sugar, salt, vanilla and lemon peel, until well blended.
3. Carefully open the oven door, slide the rack out a bit and place 2 Tbsp of the butter substitute into each pie plate. The plates are so hot, the butter substitute melts very fast.
4. Carefully remove the pie plates with melted butter substitute from the oven, and pour half of the pancake mixture into pie dish.
5. Return the glass pie plates to the oven and bake the Finnish Pancakes for 22-24 minutes.

Note: I cooked our Finnish Pancakes for 21 minutes. The very center had a custard-like texture, but yummy! Next time, I will bake them one to two minutes longer. I might suggest reducing the milk just a bit, as I did add a little vanilla extract.

Effie's Gluten-Free Flour Recipe

I finding myself meeting more and more people who have discovered they have a problem with gluten. In chatting with them, sometimes I mention that my daughter, Effie, came up with a no-fail All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Mix. When interested in giving it a try, I've emailed it to them. 

Shortly after being seated for lunch at a restaurant in La Conner, I had a conversation with Kim, the hostess, wanting to know if certain dishes were gluten-free, which led her to say that she understood, recently having changed to a gluten-free diet herself. I said that I'd like to share Effie's recipe with her.  

But even better than emailing, I thought it would be good to post it on my blog, so it's also quick access to the rest of my gluten-free recipes I've posted thus far. Here you go! 

Effie's All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Mix

2 c. white rice flour

2/3 c. potato flour/starch

1/3 c. tapioca flour

Makes 3 cups.

Double or triple the batch and store in an airtight container to keep flour on hand for cooking and baking.

Every time we experiment converting a recipe to gluten-free using her flour, it works just as well, if not better! Let me know if you've enjoyed baking and cooking with it, too. Post a comment.

Here's a photo from the tulips fields - the reason stopped in La Conner.

Which reminds me - if you like foreign films, we recently watched the Italian film Bread & Tulips. A charming, quirky love story with English subtitles. 

Home-crafted Vitamin Water

I don't know where these vitamin water recipes originated from, as they came from a post that went viral on Facebook. I'm sharing them, because it makes sense that we make our own "vitamin water", which is far more refreshing and nutritious than anything we could buy off the grocer's shelf.

Just as important as eating healthy foods, it's absolutely critical to stay hydrated, especially when exercising. How do we know when we are dehydrated?

• Confusion
• Dry Mouth
• Extreme Thirst
• Feeling Dizzy or Lightheaded
• Headache
• Little or No Urine (or urine that is darker than usual)
• No Tears (when crying)
• Sleepiness or Fatigue

I've experienced all of these symptoms. You? Let's not wait until we notice symptoms, which are often hard to recognize at the time, often masking as other problems. 

Let's hydrated, drinking plenty of water, enhancing our enjoyment of staying hydrated with vitamin rich, home-crafted flavors made from organic fruits and herbs. Here are eight recipes:

1) The Classical : Lemon/Cucumber:
Mix in a pitcher: 10 cups of water + 1 cucumber and a lemon, thinly sliced + 1/4 cup fresh finely chopped basil leaf + 1/3 of finely chopped fresh mint leaves. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

2) The Granite : Strawberry/Lime or Raspberry/Lime
Mix in a pitcher : 10 cups of water + 6 strawberries / 0r Raspberries and one thinly sliced lime + 12 finely chopped fresh mint leaves. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

3) The Digestive : Fennel/Citrus
First: infuse 1/4-3/4 teaspoon of dried and crushed fennel in 2/3 cup of boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool. Mix in a pitcher: 10 cups of water + lemon juice (put the leftover lemon in the mix) + a small thinly sliced orange + 12 fresh chopped mint leaves + the infusion of fennel seeds. Leave in refrigerator overnight before serving.

4) The Anti-OX : Blackberry/Sage
Note that a part from the berries, sage leafs is the herb that has the highest antioxidant content.
Mix in a pitcher : 10 cups of water + 1 cup of blackberries that have been very slightly crushed + 3-4 sage leaves. Leave in refrigerator overnight before serving.

5) WATER-melon : Watermelon/Rosemary
Mix in a pitcher : 10 cups of water + 1 cup of watermelon cut into cubes + 2 rosemary stems. Leave in refrigerator overnight before serving.

6) The Exotic : Pineapple/Mint
Mix in a pitcher : 10 cups of water + 1 cup of pineapple cut into cubes + 12 fresh mint leaves finely chopped. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

7) The Traditional : Apple/Cinnamon
Mix in a pitcher : 10 cups of water + 1 cup of apple cut into cubes + 2 cinnamon sticks + 2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

8.) The Zingiber : Ginger/Tea
In advance: heat 1 teaspoon of ginger in two cups of tea, let it cool down. Mix in a pitcher: 10 cups of water with two cups of the ginger tea + 4-5 pieces of fresh ginger cut into cubes. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.