hemp heart patties

last night we tried the hemp veggie burgers and they were delicious. and johnny boy agreed. yay!=)

as mentioned previously, the original recipe from delightfully raw calls for irish moss paste to bind the patty all together. since i was out of irish moss, i thought that psyllium powder mixed in water would do the job, and it worked, phew! i also used flax in place of chia seeds because i am out of them too, and i changed the seasonings, having recently discovered the joy of cumin + coriander.

these burger patties may seem like a lot of work, and i'm going to be honest and say they kind of are, because of some extra steps. but these steps keep the patties easy to digest, so you put in a little extra kitchen effort to give your body a boost and your tummy a rest. not a bad payoff, eh?

hemp heart patties
adapted from carmella's hemp veggie burgers

makes 6 burgers

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked
1/2 cup raw walnuts, soaked
1 T psyllium powder
1/4 cup water
1 T flax, ground
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped carrot
1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/3 cup chopped button mushroom
1/2 cup hemp seeds
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp coriander
3/4 tsp salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp chipotle powder


1. soak sunflower seeds and walnuts in cool water for at least four hours, or overnight.

2. mix psyllium powder and ground flax in water. this will form a gel to bind the patty.

3. process the soaked sunflower seeds, walnuts, gel mixture, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth. you will need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times. transfer the mixture to a bowl.

4. add the rest of the ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.

5. drop a little less than 1/2 cup of batter onto a teflex sheet and form into patties (or drop into cookie cutter for shapes). dehydrate at 110 degrees for 2 hours. flip onto mesh and continue dehydrating until patty is firm but moist in the center (at least five hours).

these burgers are raw, so they're not the kind of veggie burger you'd want on a bun. that's why i called them patties and placed them on a bed of mixed greens with a creamy chiptole dressing. they would also be nice in a green bun like collard or romaine.

creamy chipotle dressing

1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup water
1 T lemon juice
few pinches chipotle powder, to taste

blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth.

tonight i came home to the smell of dinner cooking in the crock-pot. that magnificant chili made my whole day. it had the perfect amount of heat with one large jalapeno, but i have to say it was pretty spicy! i modified the recipe to include the heat factor, and i also added carrot.

john loved the chili too! woohoo! two for two.=)

i hope you're having a great week! stay warm, my fellow freezing cold friends!

xoxoxo

music monday : joshua radin + priscilla ahn

joshua radin's music brings me back to the early years with my johnny bear. (i was watching a lot of grey's anatomy back then.=)

it hasn't felt like home
before you

xoxoxo

week of meals

typing out my meal plan last week was so fun and helpful that i've decided to do it again. as i said before, the list changes with ingredient availability and what i'm in the mood for. here is my list for this week:

• vegan chili with crusty bread
• creamy potato soup with kale salad
• honey-jalapeno squash with rice and kidney beans
• raw hemp veggie burgers with salad
• miso soup with side of steamed non-gmo edamame
 

we're in for yet another week of freezing cold temperatures. i'm eliciting the help of jalapenos and hearty bowls of steamy hot goodness to keep us warm. plus mugs of hot herbal tea with local raw honey. mmm.

my mom came over today with her delicious bean soup, cozy slippers (she bought me a pair for christmas but they were too small. see?) and she brought her slow cooker for me to borrow (which means it's mine now bahaha=). in the morning i plan to throw my chili and soups in so i can just come home and relax with my piping hot, home-cooked meals. ahhh.=)

four-bean vegan chili
adapted from the best vegetarian chili in the world

yields about 8 cups/servings

ingredients:

1-2 jalapeno peppers, minced*
2 sweet bell peppers, green and red, seeded and chopped
1 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
3 1/2 C (or 28 oz. can) crushed tomatoes
1 T chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp coriander
salt and pepper, to taste
2 C cooked (or 15 oz. can) each of black, pinto, kidney, and garbanzo beans

directions:

1. gather ingredients. chop peppers, using gloves to protect your skin from the jalapeno oil. if using fresh tomatoes, pulse in food processor until chunky.

2. heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. stir in garlic, peppers and carrot and cook a few minutes.

3. add tomatoes and seasonings, to taste. bring to a boil.

4. stir in beans, cover, lower heat and simmer about 25 minutes.

add cooked grains, like quinoa or millet, and serve over greens for a balanced meal. or dip with your favorite bread or chips.

you can "fatten up" the flavor a bit with a tablespoon or two of butter. i like the flavor of earth balance's soy-free vegan butter. it tastes great!

 *edit: one jalapeno makes the chili medium spicy and two very hot! for a mild chili, discard the seeds from the jalapeno or omit jalapeno altogether.

today i cooked up a big batch of kidney beans to use in our chili and with our delicata squash. the rest will be frozen in pint jars for future use. in the dehydrator are hemp veggie burgers and nori snacks. both recipes are in carmella's delightfully raw uncook book. i had to change the hemp burger recipe up a bit because i'm out of irish moss. if it works out i'll post the adapted recipe.


want to make soon:

sweet potato fries with spicy cashew aioli

chickpea coconut curry (crock pot recipe)

almond and cacao biscotti

what's on the menu for you this week?

winter fun: a tale of two feet

ok, i'm not sure where to start this post so i'll just go ahead and tell you that i have big feet. and the left one is bigger than the right. and if i'm not going crazy, i think they're still growing. i know, very weird. so now a bigger size usually fits the bigger foot in length, but they are way too wide. my feet are swimming.

i'm long and narrow. negative curves so there's just no balance. when i walk into a room, i really walk into a room. shoes a clunking. big ol' shoes. no matter how cute a shoe is, it is just not cute anymore in a large size. see for yourself. it's just so sad. why didn't my mother bind my feet?! (totally kidding. i read what that was like. not even funny kelli.)

in high school i just had to wear this outift that i thought made me look oh so fashionable and sophisticated. problem was, i didn't have the right shoes. my friend up the street did, but she was barely 5 foot and could still wear a kid's shoe. so what did i do? suffered eight hours of torture in her tiny heeled boots, carrying around a big ol' bag of heavy textbooks better yet. i'm surprised i didn't tip over. would i do it again? you bet your ass i would. that outfit was classy!=)

ha, no really, i wish i didn't treat my feet that way. i wish i could say that was the only time i did that. but i always wore shoes a little snug. the smaller the cuter. it was normal for my feet to feel pinched and sore at the end of the day. very sad, i know. what was that saying...pain is beauty...?

but, ladies and gentleman, nation, i am here to say here and now, on and for the record, on this cold and snowy 25th day of january, that i am hereby and henceforth...setting my footsies free!

and that is why you may see me around town wearing a big ol' pair of totes boots with a tag on the tongue that reads: winter fun. yes, my boots have a message for you.

don't think i don't know how silly they are. john actually picked them out for me because he was tired of me complaining that i just wanted a good comfy boot!

"here, try these on."

"they're totes. don't they make umbrellas?"

"just try them on. they're a good solid shoe."

"ohhh, these feel niceee. but they say winter fun!"

"who cares. no one'll see that."

yeah, no one will notice my big ginormous boots with the snowflake on the tongue. and words. on my boot tongue.

but i love them. they're soft. they keep my feet warm. and they keep me from breaking my neck. 

and after he watched me trekking in the snowy icy parking lot to return my overdue library books, he said to me, now aren't you glad you bought those boots? why yes, john, actually i am. but i still wish they didn't say winter fun.

what do you mean? john said with a chuckle. those boots are you! that's like the title of one of your blog posts! (no john, actually that one was called snow fun. like so fun. or no fun. get it?)

and then it hit me like a snowball right in the face.

i am someone who would wear the words winter fun on my boots.

and i would call a post winter fun.

and there you have it.

snow what?=)