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February 24, 2011
It wasn’t until a couple of months back that I let go of my belief that a a burger was not a burger if it did not include meat.
There were two reasons for my change of heart: 1. we found a bangin’ recipe for a veggie burger in which the veggie patties were the bun with sprouts, cheese and tomatoes in the middle, and 2. we had to face the reality that our red meat lovin’ would come at a price of a broken heart (literally – high cholesterol and heart problems run in our families).
Hence, the key is in the ingredients. If a veggie burger is as content-hearty as a hamburger, then you will feel equally satisfied! (I’m not talking about those paper thin Boca burgers)
This recipe for Red Lentil Veggie Burgers was taken from Golden Door Cooks at Home: Favorite Recipes from the Celebrated Spa, and as Jay is working his butt off to prep all of the vegetables, including chopping them and grating the potatoes, I am sipping a Sam Adams (and writing/singing his praises - hey, we know our roles). We also made the mango “ketchup” first. So easy and yummy looking! We decided to ditch the yam fries (trying to stay away from starches for the upcoming wedding!)
Once you’ve done that, you’ll need either an enormous pot or a wok. Be sure to start the lentils first because they take about 20 minutes and don’t make the mistake that I did (unless you have the time) and buy the 5 minute brown rice instead of the old school slow cooking. Also, I used organic green lentils because I couldn’t find red…perhaps your grocery store is better than ours? We got about 10 thick patties out of this recipe! If you don’t have a large pot, cut the recipe in half. Saute everything, and add a little extra oil so that everything doesn’t stick to the pan.
 Once you’ve blended all the ingredients, try to form them into patties using a 1/3 measuring cup. We had some trouble with this because our vegetables were too chunky. It was clear we did not process them enough but we decided to try anyway…
 Once that’s done, they must chill for an hour, so don’t make these when you are really hungry! We cheated by putting them in the freezer for about half the time so they have time to form and stick together. It was about this time that we started smelling the rich curry in the patties. But, once they came out, they were a COMPLETE DISASTER! The patties were falling apart . We put the crumbles into lettuce wraps with the mango and they were delicious, but on round two, we decided to food process the remainder so it was more like your usual ground chuck, and try them again. Add a little garlic salt, red pepper and/or Montreal Steak seasoning if you’d like. Once the veggies were pureed, they stuck together perfectly. No eggs or bread crumbs necessary.
Then we pan-fried the patties and they turned out great! Add the mango salsa on top, tuck into a lettuce wrap, and voila! Lesson learned. We’re making the mistakes so you don’t have to!
February 22, 2011
If you add the word Tuscan to anything you try to sell me, you got me! I’m a sucker for all things representing the beauty, purity and naturalness that is Italy.
That’s why when we found this recipe for Tuscan Tomato Soup courtesy of Rancho La Puerta, I had to give it a shot. Now I know I said I prefer chunky goodness when it comes to soup, and it was a bit painful to watch beautifully colored, perfectly good roasted tomatoes, potatoes, celery and onions get pureed into oblivion. But in the end, it was worth it.
We rubbed six tomatoes with olive oil as instructed, using a melon baller to remove the stems (works like a charm) and then popped them into the oven. We did all of our choppin’, using a heaping teaspoon of pre-minced garlic. We only chopped between a cup and a cup and a half of basil (we didn’t have enough handy), but added some dried basil to taste. Same with the mint (Who’s counting?).
Then we began to saute the celery, onions and garlic in a large pot with olive oil. The tomatoes will be nice and roasted after 20 minutes. They look amazing.
After letting them sit in the pot for a few minutes, we mushed them up. We did not have a potato masher, so if you prefer, or if it is THAT kind of night, use the bottom of a wine bottle like we did! You don’t need apply much pressure because they’re so mushy already from the roasting, but it does take a little more time. Improvisation, people.
Throw in the rest of the ingredients. The smaller you cut the potatoes, the faster they will cook. Add a heaping spoonful of brown sugar. I don’t know about you, but marinara/tomato sauces taste better with a little sweetness.
Cover and simmer for close to 40 minutes, instead of cooking on a higher temp uncovered for 20 minutes. I just can’t help it. I like to trap all the flavors inside the pot. It’s GOTTA taste better that way right? Everything is better slow-cooked.
After you’ve simmered or cooked your way to soft potato perfection, then let it stand for 20 minutes because you’ll need to dump it all in the food processor next. Puree it your liking and disregard running it through a strainer if you don’t mind tiny chunks. We added cayenne pepper (to taste of course) for a little kick but be careful when adding peppers to hot soups because every bit is more intense.
This is not the quickest soup recipe I’ve ever made, but with a little basil garnish, it was pretty AND yummy! Perfect for a cool spring night when you need to do some entertaining while you cook.
February 17, 2011
OK, I get that there are a ton of dressing options these days that you don’t have to make from scratch, and depending on where you shop there may also be a ton of organic/all-natural ones. I also know it’s not really necessary to make your own, especially when pouring a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil on a salad can be so easy and delicious. But just for kicks, my fiance, Jay and I, decided to make today’s featured Healing Recipe for garlic tahini dressing provided by Grail Springs Spa in Ontario.
When you eat salad regularly at home, you need to spice it up a bit to keep you from veering off a healthy streak for a plate of french fries and a milkshake in a desperate attempt at dietary variety. There are five ingredients in this dressing, and the only one I really had to plan for was the tahini. I’d always wanted to experiment with it. The rest of the ingredients — garlic, ginger, red onion and apple cider vinegar are mainstays in my kitchen.
Blending all of these together is all you need to do for a thin, tart and tangy dressing. I think it goes best with a salad filled with assorted beans, feta cheese and tomatoes. I recommend filling a cruet with about 20 servings worth and keep refrigerated. Make the dressing a little creamier by increasing the amount of tahini you use. You can just feel this garlicky dressing helping cleanse your system. Take some bite off of the apple cider vinegar, which can overpower your taste buds, by substituting half the amount with white vinegar or balsamic vinegar, or adding a little sugar. Letting it sit overnight will thicken it. This delectable dressing took all of three minutes to make!
February 15, 2011
I consider myself to generally be a healthy eater. But that’s because my fiance makes it easy for me. He likes to cook, I don’t. So when I have to make it on my own at home, I often can it when it comes to soup. I have a motto when it comes to recipes: KISS. Keep it Short and Simple. That’s why I turned to our own Healing Recipes in my quest to avoid prepackaged foods! It’s really not as hard as you might think.
I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite wintertime meals is a hearty soup (sans all of the sodium that canned soups contain, which causes hypertension and fluid retention).
The appeal of the Garden Vegetable soup with Pistou is that it is chock full of goodies. AND it was the most interesting twist on vegetable soup I’ve seen. Don’t get me wrong, I like a creamy pureed soup. But when it comes to this classic soup, I want it chunky and hearty. I learned that pistou is a cold sauce made from cloves of garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil, but this pistou is served warm and can be done just as well without adding any olive oil. First, we diced the carrots, celery, zucchini, green beans, leeks (be generous with these because they are so great for your digestive system) etc. This is the easiest, but most tedious part. If you chop everything beforehand versus as you go along you could make this recipe from prep through serve in about 30 minutes!
The recipe calls for fresh great northern beans, but if you don’t have a whole day to let them soak, canned ones will suffice. Just rinse them and they will taste great!
Once you’ve begun simmering the beans in the chicken stock (substitute for vegetable stock if you want — we used a combination of both), add the vegetables with the bay leaves and wait for the natural aromas of the vegetables (as opposed to the chicken stock) to emanate as they soften.
Once you have blended your Parmesan (the most fabulous component of this recipe) with the basil and spices with hot stock, you’ll get a soupy, dressing type of consistency that smells like Italian heaven. Pour it into your simmering soup on the stove and mix together.
After a few minutes, you’ll smell the blending of spices with the chicken stock. Add the diced tomatos and then serve with a whole grain bread. The Parmesan taste is so subtle in the soup, which despite its subtleness is pretty rich and earthy. My soup turned out more green-colored than the picture shown. I suspect that is because we added more spices that it called for. Here you have a meal for under 150 calories per serving! This healthy meal for 4-6 cost under $20 to top it off. With just the good stuff.
Stay tuned on Thursday as we try a new garlic tahini dressing!
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