Burger Night

I made some yummy home-made black bean burgers the other night, and they were a raging success. Especially when I compare them to the ones the bf and I made together last spring--we had to mash 2 cans of beans with a plate and the bottom of a glass drinking cup for lack of a food processor. It was labor intensive and they were totally bland, so I looked through a handful of recipes online and compiled my own! Unfortunately, we were so involved in eating them that I forgot to take a picture :( next time!

*Keep in mind that the black bean burger is very basic and is a great template to experiment with. If you don't like the seasonings I used, feel confident that you can scratch them and just wing it. My only advice is to add much more seasoning than you think is necessary, it takes a looooot of seasoning to not turn out bland.

Bangin' Black Bean Burgers

Yield: 5-8 patties (depending on how big you make them, duh)

1 1/2 C crushed crackers, bread crumbs, or torn up hamburger bun
2 T olive oil, and some on hand for pan frying
1 generous T of minced garlic
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 t grated lime rind
1/2 t salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 T smoked paprika
red pepper flakes to taste (lots)
1/2 C shredded parmesan (not the unrefrigerated, powdered kind. it won't melt properly)
1 t or 1/2 T chia seeds (optional)

1. Combine the oil, garlic and beans in a food processor until they make a thick paste. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl with the breadcrumbs, and then throw everything else in there too. Mix it all up!

2. Heat a T of olive oil or so in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Now you can either make a patty with moistened hands and plop it down gently in the skillet, or you can use a pancake spatula and a rubber spatula (or w/e) to place a dollop on the skillet and shape in a generally round fashion, which I found to be easier. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the bottom edges are browned and have formed a crust. Flip and repeat!

         Keep in mind that homemade veggie burgers are much more delicate than store bought, and you have to be super gentle to keep them from falling apart (which is why a grill is not recommended). I found that making the patties thicker made them easier to flip (I also added chia seeds on a whim, they thicken things up with their gel)(not gross I promise). You'll just have to experiment and if you find them breaking apart, mix in more breadcrumbs or egg.



I served mine with dijon mustard, slices of pepperjack cheese and fresh spinach on bakery hamburger buns. Hope you enjoy!

The Ways in Which my Little Sister Kicks Ass in the Kitchen

My little sister Mia is a wiz in the kitchen. She has always been like that. She's 9 years younger than me and plenty often when I come downstairs in the morning she'll offer to whip me up a fantastical omelette (I mean, she won't call it fantastical but what else do you call an omelette with 10 primo ingredients and feta cheese?). It's bizarre to me how inventive and comfortable she is in the kitchen, I admire it (envy more like). Perhaps being utterly outshone by someone so young contributes to my "domesticated" insecurities? Quite likely. But I won't complain, because she fills the house with yummy new dishes and just recently put together an awesome recipe for homemade Lara Bars. It's ridiculously easy and equally tasty.

P.S. Has anyone else tried to get a recipe from a chef before? It's remarkably difficult, like squeezing a confession from a suspect! I know it's because they don't use recipes per se (the chefs, not the suspects), but sheesh! Talk about hard to get. But I did, so here it is:

Mia's Homemade Lara Bars

1.5 cups dried dates, diced

1 cup almonds, chopped finely (food processor)

2-3 T raw sesame seeds

PLUS one or more of the following:

     chocolate chips

     dried cherries

     peanut butter chips

     coconut flakes

     chopped nuts

     other dried fruits

(Really, you can add anything you see fit. My favorite is chocolate chips with dried cherries!)

All you do to prepare these is to knead together all the ingredients and push into a small pan, like a small brownie pan or tupperware. Done!

     Note: Mia suggested kneading together just the dates, almonds and sesame seeds and then pressing the additional ingredients into the bar after it is in a pan, but I prefer them more incorporated. Whatever floats your boat! 

These homemade Lara Bars are super simple, healthy, delicious and naturally sweet (no sugar added obviously). Perfect! And if you really wanted to, you could always add chia seeds too.... :)

The following picture is from 2008, so it's evidently quite old but she is not only squeezably adorable but also sooo young and inventing a recipe with beets. Who does that?? Most kids won't even eat the stuff! I won't even eat the stuff! And I'm, um, an adult...

Badass from the start.

Love you Mi!

Marbled Nutella Banana Bread yumm

  

       As much as I'd like to throw off the burden of expectations of filling gender roles, I must say it has been a thorn in my side for quite some time that I am not the most domestically gifted of women. I remember well the time a guy I was seeing asked me if I was domesticated. Domesticated? Well I don't pee outside of the toilet, I haven't chewed up a shoe in quite some time and I get along pretty well with humans, so yes I suppose I am domesticated! I found it quite humorous, but it did get me thinking that I am far from a natural homemaker. I don't cook very well and when I do laundry, I do a load of whites and a load of non-whites. Nothing fancy. If a future kid or husband wants to know the best way to wash something or whether hot or cold water sets a stain, I'll do the same thing they will---google it. I was just recently turned on to the existence of color-safe bleach, so that tells you how behind the times I am. I'm also vegetarian, so even though I can prepare a handful of tasty dishes, I don't know the first thing about preparing meat. Sometimes I feel like a failure as a woman, especially when I burn popcorn in the microwave (a domestically-challenged woman's best friend), but then I think of the one domestic thing I can do, BAKE!

       Not to toot my own horn too loudly now, but I'm known to make some awesome homemake cookies, banana bread (I must get it from my grandmother), pancakes, and quiches. Well, I'm probably more famous for the quiche because I accidentally added 2x the amount of cheese called for one time, so I had to improvise and ended up with 3 quiches instead of one. I'm not actually sure how that came about.

One thing I love to bake is banana bread, perhaps because I came to love eating it for breakfast every morning when we visited my grandma. She makes amazing banana bread. I've chosen a slightly different recipe, one more tailored to my personal taste---Nutella banana bread! I made it for the first time in Chile for Thanksgiving, and it's a miracle it "turned out" given my complete lack of measuring tools and baking powder and also the difference in degrees F and degrees C. This is my first time making it back in the good 'ole US of A and other than being a complete moron and thinking that 2 mini bread pans equal one 9 inch bread pan (which they obviously don't), it turned out surprisingly well.

My 2 biggest struggles when making banana bread are:

• Using barely ripe bananas because I don't possess the foresight to get them early enough to ripen properly
• Not being able to get the center cooked enough without drying out and burning the outside

This time I got the idea to make banana bread from two otherwise disgusting-looking bananas sitting on the fruit stand and I had also recently bought two mini bread pans to remedy that second problem, though I evidently should have bought three. 

As you can see they weren't the prettiest loaves, but the interior marbled nicely and they tasted great. I'll be straightforward and tell you though that as heavenly as the Nutella sounds, you can't exactly taste chocolate. Like at all. I prefer to smear (additional) Nutella on a toasted piece instead of butter :) I just really enjoy the marbled effect and the banana bread itself is wonderful, so I continue to use this fantastic recipe.

I have quite a few projects in the works, so keep your eyes open for the next update. Have a nice week!

Add Weird Stuff to Your Smoothies!

       Does this smoothie look great or what?? I've really gotten into a smoothie kick recently. It could be over tomorrow next week or next year, but for now I've been skipping coffee (a recent interest, what did I say about those fickle kicks?) and opting for an idiot-proof way to add some nutrition to my diet. I am lucky enough to have a Blendtec at my disposal, I'm not sure how a regular blender would handle the things I'd put in it, but it really is as simple as adding whatever you have at hand. I'm a big fan of fresh strawberries, grapes, an orange, lemon zest, and some sort of frozen fruit to give it that frosty texture instead of a frothy one. On top of those traditional ingredients, I add raw almonds for their protein, calcium and vitamin E, as well as coconut oil because it tastes great and studies suggest it's good for the brain (I have Alzheimer's in my family). I've also been experimenting with "weird" healthy things, like chia seeds.
        These teeny tiny seeds, native to ancient Mesoamerica, have been termed a "superfood" for their super healthy nutrition profile--they contain protein, a good bit of minerals like potassium and iron, tons of fiber (who needs coffee!), and are the richest plant source of omega-3s (more than salmon, I hear). They also have this strange propensity to create a gel when added to water, so they make you feel significantly fuller when added to whatever you're eating and also help with hydration and blood sugar control. I personally think they're great because they look like tiny dinosaur eggs. Anyway, this is not an attempt to convert anyone to a Mayan superfood smoothie diet or even a terrible "how to make a smoothie" instructional, but rather my way of sharing how I've found this absolutely painless way of making my life just the littlest bit healthier. Truly, these smoothies can absorb the most absurd and often disgusting tasting things--without affecting the flavor. I have eaten a handful of chia seeds on their own and they sure taste like dinosaur eggs. Okay that makes no sense, who knows what dinosaur eggs would taste like (probably bad) but these little things on their own are not tasty. I've also put some of my mother's absolutely repulsive tasting lactose-free whey-free gluten-free natural organic nonGMO ostentatious protein powder in it too and viola, tastelessly absorbed! Well to a degree, that stuff really does taste like dried Yetti poo. My mother is also known for sneaking handfulls of spinach into smoothies she makes for my family, but it doesn't really fool anyone because they come out bright green (although there is no trace of spinach in their fruity flavor!).
       The point of all this though is that smoothies are so great for absorbing healthy things you want to put into your body without taking the time (or discomfort) to chew them, whether they taste awesome or are more along the lines of dinosaur eggs and Yetti poo... Oh one exception though! Peanut butter. That just makes a bad smoothie. One last fantastic thing about these smoothies, you don't have to add any sweetener! As big of a sweet tooth as I have, all that fruit is more than enough to sweeten the entire thing. So there you are, just thought I would let you know where I am in my smoothie experiments! It gets more interesting every day :P

Dino eggs! What'd I tell you?

Next time you're feeling a little weird and/or daring, toss some dino eggs into your smoothie/oatmeal/preferably flavored yogurt. I've seen them sprinkled on peanut butter toast before, too. You are really only limited by your imagination with these little guys!

A thought to leave you with,

"Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs one step at a time. " - Mark Twain