Month: June 2010

Sunshine Burgers

I couldn’t resist trying another veggie burger recipe. This one is from Gena at Choosing Raw. One of things I really enjoy about Gena’s site is that she is always encouraging her readers to make the choices that work for them. And in this case, she offers both a raw and cooked version of the recipe. (Scroll down a bit from the link provided to see both!)

I went with the cooked version, which contains sunflower seeds, brown rice, carrots, celery, flax, and seasoning. I needed to add more water because my food processor was groaning, so the end product was very wet. I spooned it onto a baking sheet, and the burgers crisped up beautifully as promised, but I should have baked them another 10-15 minutes or so because the insides were still a bit moist. I still think I prefer bean-based vegetable burgers, but this was a nice alternative.

Smorgastarta

My cooking club theme this month was Scandanavian food, and I decided to make this smorgastarta. Really, I had absolutely no clue what this was going to look or taste like. It was the fresh herbs that drew me in. It was meant to be a layered dish with thin slices of bread and three different fillings: egg salad, herbed cream cheese, and smoked salmon. Since some members of the group are fish averse, I left out the smoked salmon layer and focused instead on the other two.

The egg salad consisted of diced hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, scallions, salt, and pepper. The herbed cream cheese was made with whipped cream cheese, a few tablespoons of butter, chives, dill, and parsley. I used thinly sliced rye bread, and layered in this order: bread, egg salad, bread, herbed cream cheese, bread, egg salad. I put additional chives, dill, and parsley on top.

The end result was pretty good, similar to finger sandwiches, although you need a fork for this dish. The herbs really do contribute a lot. This isn’t necessarily a recipe I would make on a regular basis, but I am glad I gave it a try.

Carrot, Dill, and White Bean Salad

I don’t generally put carrots on the center stage. They’re good roasted in the oven, and they’re very useful raw (as hummus shovels) but I admit that far too often, they are left forgotten at the bottom of my produce bin. But these carrots……they’re special.


This recipe comes from 101 Cookbooks, and as suggested I used a fresh bunch of tender carrots. The result was a just barely warm salad that was so good I went back for seconds. If you use canned beans as I did, this recipe doesn’t take much time. And I hear the leftovers are even better!

Lentil Walnut Loaf

This recipe is an instant classic. I would tell you how it freezes, but there won’t be any left in a few days. It looks a bit like meatloaf, but tastes so much better, with a little crunch from the walnuts. I followed the recipe pretty closely, although I skipped the flax/water combo in favor of 2 eggs, and baked it in an 8″ square dish for more crispy surface area. Oh, and of course there was just a little more ketchup added after the photo….

Garlic Scape Pesto

My second big find at the Copley Square Farmer’s Market was garlic scapes. Garlic what? The scapes are the immature flower stalks of the plant. I had seen them on Oh She Glows, and then found another great write up on The Hungry Mouse. These are some unruly plants! But I am not sure how long they’re in season locally, so you must look for them right this minute.

I modified the recipe a bit, and then spread the pesto on top of goat cheese on a toasted whole wheat baguette. The pesto is tangy for sure, but it was offset by the creamy goat cheese and made a fantastic lunch with a big salad on the side.

5 garlic scapes, washed and cut into smaller pieces
2 T pine nuts
1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan
3 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice

Blend in a food processor until it reaches the desired consistency.

Tatsoi Salad

I escaped from my cube on Friday and walked over to the Farmer’s Market right near my office in Copley Square, where there was a huge selection of produce. Plenty of my favorites of course, but I wanted to try something new. I picked up two big bunches of tatsoi, which is a Chinese green. The vendor told me it was “like spinach, but doesn’t get mushy.” Really, she had me at “like spinach…”.

My first tatsoi recipe was this chilled salad from Kalyn’s Kitchen. It was easy to make; I chopped the greens and steamed them for 1 minute, then tossed them with the soy sauce based dressing. I left out the chili sauce, but did put in a dash of cayenne. After chilling in the refrigerator for a few hours, I garnished the greens with sesame seeds and served the salad with (takeout) sushi. It was so nice to have a cool healthy salad on a hot day, and tatsoi has a mild flavor that does taste like spinach. Stay tuned for another brand new produce item tomorrow.

Help Me Pick a Birthday Cake

Lately, my cooking hasn’t exactly been inspirational. But my summer class is almost over, and I promise that the blog will feature more interesting and seasonal recipes. I plan to do quite a bit of cooking over 4th of July weekend with my family. And that’s where I need your help.

You see, when it was my birthday, my sister made this awesome birthday cake. There were three layers of peanut butter and chocolate.

So my sister’s birthday is almost here, and she requested a special birthday cake that I’ll make for 4th of July weekend when we’re together. But the question is, what cake do you think I should make? In the past, she’s had ice cream cakes, and my Mom’s Death by Chocolate trifle. We’re looking for something special, so I am open to suggestions of cakes you’ve made, or ones you’ve had at restaurants and would love me to recreate. There are no allergies or other restrictions, so feel free to be creative.
I’ll let my sister choose, and then I’ll be sure to post the final result!

Cheese and Jam Sandwich

I think I got the idea for this sandwich from Kath, but I’ve seen it many places in the blog world. And I have to say, it’s an excellent combo! This one has cheddar cheese and blueberry preserves, with a piece of Romaine for some crunch. It took less than two minutes to assemble, and made a great lunch paired with some carrot sticks and a piece of fruit. Here it is during assembly – because once I put the two pieces together you can’t really see what’s inside.