vegetarian

... not vegan.

I was never huge into beef alternative-type burgers. I like beef. I really do. (Sorry if this grosses you out, Lori) I love greasy, plain, smokey, slightly burnt good ol' fashioned burgers. Usually with those church barbeque type burgers, it's all about what you put on the burger, not the burger itself. In Japan they make these beautiful "hamburgers" (if you can even call them that), and eat it like steak. It's a fancy dinner on a fancy plate kind of meal. And I love it like that. I love a huge range of ground beef mixed with a few things, formed into a flat, round (or oval) patty, to be happily devoured.

But then in high school I discovered the gardenburger, and surprisingly loved it! And I didn't know what to do with myself. So once in a while I buy them, and once in a while I crave them, and that's about it. I leave the making of them to those who do it for money.

... But THEN, I came across this recipe in my Everyday Food Great Food Fast cookbook, and have been secretly drooling over it since. And I finally told Blake I want to make it for dinner. He was a little skeptical, but agreed, and we were both stunned at the delicious beauty of the burger. You MUST try it. Vegetarian, meat-over alike, you are going to love this burger.

Lentil Walnut Burgers with Parsnip and Yukon Gold Oven Fries
Serves 4
Lentil Walnut Burgers:
3/4 C lentils, picked over and rinsed
3/4 C walnuts
1/3 C plain dried breadcrumbs (I didn't have any, so I just processed about 1 slice of toasted whole grain bread and it was awesome!)
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 t ground cumin
2 t ground coriander
1/4 to 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
4 T olive oil
1 L egg

for serving:
thinly sliced tomato
thinly sliced cucumber
red onion relish (just some super thinly sliced red onion, soaked for 30 minutes, and tossed with red wine vinegar)
yogurt-cilantro sauce*
cilantro leaves

* yogurt-cilantro sauce:
3/4 C plain low-fat or fat free yogurt
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 T fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the lentils in a small saucepan, and cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Cover, and cook until the lentils are tender but still holding their shape, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well and cool.
2. Meanwhile, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet, and toast in the oven until fragrant and darkened, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
3. In a food processor, combine the walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, 1-1/2 teasspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; process until finely ground. Add the lentils and 1 T olive oil, pulse until coarsely chopped (some lentils will remain whole).
4. In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add the lentil mixture; mix well. Divide into 4 equal-sized parts; roll into balls, and flatten with the palm of your hand into 3/4 inch thick patties.
5. Heat the remaining 3 T oil in a large non-stick skillet. Add the burgers; cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, turning gently with a thin-edged spatula, 8 to minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.
   

Parsnip & Yukon Gold Oven Fries:
2~3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into thin strips
3~4 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into thin strips
4 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. Toss the parsnips, potatoes, oil, salt and pepper together until coated well. Place the vegetables on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Place in the oven and bake until outside is golden and cooked through, about 25~30 minutes. Serve warm.
   

quick take-out at home

I didn't have much time to make dinner before our youth activity tonight, and since we are leaving for Utah in a couple of days, I had to try to use up some ingredients. So, the only thing I could think of doing was pan-fried noodles. I know, it's weird. I can't seem to enjoy cooking pasta, a usual staple in our home, but I LOVE Panda Express-type food. Anyway, this was a really quick and easy (with simple ingredients) take-out at home dish. Try it out sometime! Hopefully you can find fresh Chinese egg-noodles, but if you can't, I think angel hair pasta should be ok.

Quick Pan-Friend Noodles
serves 4
1/2 lb fresh Chinese noodles
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
2~3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2 inch pieces at a diagonal
2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 leeks (or 4 scallions), cut into 1/4 inch slices on a diagonal, and carefully washed
3 garlic cloves, crushed
soy sauce
2 T sake, optional
1 T mirin, optional
salt and pepper to taste
canola oil
sesame oil, optional

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large wok, heat about 1 T oil over high heat. Add the garlic cloves and quickly stir-fry until browned and crispy. Remove the garlic from the wok. Add half of the chicken, and let the brown on both sides and remove. Add a little more oil and repeat with remaining chicken.
2. Set chicken aside on a plate. Add another tablespoon of oil and cook carrots and celery. Season with a little salt and pepper. Add sake and mirin, if using, and cook until both evaporate. Add leeks and stir-fry for about 1 minute, and set aside on a plate.
3. Meanwhile, place noodles in a large bowl and pour boiling water over the noodles and drain after 1~2 minutes, when they are barely tender but still slightly firm. Add one more T of oil to the hot wok, and place the noodles flat in the wok to get slightly crispy. Holding the handle firmly, flip the noodle right over and let it get a little crispy on the second side. Add the chicken and vegetables back in the wok and, using cooking chopsticks if possible, break up the noodles and toss all ingredients. Add a little soy sauce to taste. Drizzle a little sesame oil on top, if using, and serve!
   

kitchen help

Just had to share some cute pictures my Blake took of our little girl "helping out" in the kitchen. Here she's helping out by feeding Kumo ... something.
Metal mixing bowls and plastic hitting things are my new best friends!

Weekend Brunch

Another food I sometimes crave right now is pancakes, but I don't love what they do to my love handles. And Blake makes some fantastic pancakes from Everyday Food magazine (pretty much every weekend), but this week we decided to try out their whole grain substitution. It was a total hit! And since I recently went blueberry picking, I made a really tasty simple blueberry syrup. We ate a few more than we probably should have, but I felt a lot less guilty this time!

Pancakes and Homemade Blueberry Syrup
Serves 4
First of all, here's Blake's usual basic pancake recipe. It comes from Everyday Food magazine, with a couple of our own alterations to make them the perfect Japanese-style hotcakes.

1 C all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 C milk
1 t pure vanilla extract
2 T butter, melted (or vegetable oil)
1 L egg
1 T vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 200°; have a heatproof platter ready to keep cooked pancakes warm in the oven. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, butter (or oil), egg, and vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not over-mix; a few small lumps are fine).
3. Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium. Fold a sheet of paper towel in half, and moisten with oil; carefully rub skillet with oiled paper towel. (I really like this method because you're not deep frying your pancakes, so it's way better for you, but still tastes amazing!)
4. For each pancake, spoon 2~3 T of batter onto the skillet, using the back of the spoon to spread batter into a round (you should be able to fit 4 on a square griddle).
5. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1~2 minutes. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until lightly browned on the other side, 1~2 minutes more. Transfer to the platter, cover loosely with foil, and keep warm in the oven. Continue with more oil and remaining batter. (You should have 12~15 pancakes.) Serves warm, with desired toppings.

Now here's the recipe for whole grain yogurt pancakes:

1/2 C whole-wheat flour
1/4 C corn meal
1/4 C wheat germ
2 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 C milk
1/2 C plain low fat or fat free yogurt
1 t pure vanilla extract
2 T canola oil (or melted butter, of course, but we're going for healthy here, and it's really good with the oil)
1 L egg
1 T vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 200°; have a heatproof platter ready to keep cooked pancakes warm in the oven. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, wheatgerm, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, yogurt, oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not over-mix; a few small lumps are fine).
3. Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium. Fold a sheet of paper towel in half, and moisten with oil; carefully rub skillet with oiled paper towel. (I really like this method because you're not deep frying your pancakes, so it's way better for you, but still tastes amazing!)
4. For each pancake, spoon 2~3 T of batter onto the skillet, using the back of the spoon to spread batter into a round (you should be able to fit 4 on a square griddle).
5. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1~2 minutes. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until lightly browned on the other side, 1~2 minutes more. Transfer to the platter, cover loosely with foil, and keep warm in the oven. Continue with more oil and remaining batter. (You should have 12~15 pancakes.) Serves warm, with desired toppings.

Homemade blueberry syrup
*I think that blueberries tend to taste a little bland and musty when they're cooked, so I added the lemon to brighten the flavor. It's really good! And not too sugary sweet. If you like things sweeter, add more sugar or even better, dust the pancakes with a teeny bit of powdered sugar right before serving.

1/2 C~ 1 C fresh or frozen blueberries
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
2 T honey
1~2 T sugar

1. Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the blueberries all burst and soften and the sugar starts to thicken. Take it off the heat, and let cool slightly. It will get slightly thicker as it cools. Serve over pancakes.

*try this with other berries as well. But if you're using strawberries, I recommend cutting them into small pieces and combining them with some other berries. Strawberries don't have much flavor once they're cooked.

cravings

To my few foodie fans out there, I owe you an apology. I haven't been too much in the mood to cook lately, so my blog has been sadly neglected. But I have a really good reason, I promise. We are actually expecting our second baby! I'm really excited about it, but with pregnancy comes a constant serious upset stomach ... so, I've been really avoiding the kitchen. Most things that I usually love sound really unappetizing at the moment. It's miserable! But, there are a few things that I still love, so I'm hanging on to those. I love salad. And when it comes to dressing, the vinegar-ey-er the better. The other day, I made this dressing and fell in love. You might want to change the vinegar-oil ratio, though. My pregnant taste buds seem to like things VERY tart.

Grapefruit and Red Wine Vinaigrette
juice of 1/4 grapefruit
1/2 t grainy dijon mustard
3 T red wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine the grapefruit juice, mustard and vinegar in a small bowl. While whisking quickly, add the oil in a steady stream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss with some simple salad greens and enjoy!