Summer Lovin'

Happened so fast. It's summertime in KC and I am loving it! For one it's been so very gorgeous and all I can do is praise the Lord for giving me a 4th of July when I was outside all day long and loved every minute of it. I have thoroughly enjoyed many evenings spent on our gorgeous front porch sipping wine and spending time with a great sister and great neighborhood friends. This particular evening I was blessed to spend time with a couple of friends that live within a stone's throw and we enjoyed some great food and wine. Our evening was originally scheduled as a porch crawl but the 90 degree weather merited an inside dining experience. Nevertheless it was simply delightful.

On the menu for tonight: 

• Most delightful farm to market bread toasted with avocado mousse and slivered radishes.
• Massaged and sauteed collard greens with a delightful lemon olive oil dressing, sunflower seeds, and  blueberries.
• A couple of different veggie patty fritters that I concocted.
• Wine and the most interesting delightful sangria I've ever had made with cucumber, radish, and ginger slices among grapefruit juice and sparkling wine.

Veggie Patty#1: Mushroom Quinoa (I rarely measure so these are rough estimates)

In food processor rough chop:

• 2 cup mushrooms
• 1 cup eggplant
• 1 medium onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 large carrot
• 1 Tablespoon ground flax

Add:

• 1.5 cups cooked quinoa (I actually cooked together 1 cup raw quinoa with 1/2 cup red lentils and then ended up adding about 3/4 of the total mixture to the food processor. I ate the rest with some spices for a snack.)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cup yellow corn meal (I started out with 1/2 cup and then added handfuls until it was the desired consistency I wanted.)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon curry powder

Pulse all this until it is combined but don't over-process. Form into small patties and roll in additional corn meal. I then fried mine in a combo of grass-fed beef lard and coconut oil. Alternately they can be sauteed or probably baked if you are opposed to fat, although good fat is good for you!

Veggie Patty #2: Beet Falafel

Soak overnight 1 cup garbanzo beans. Drain the beans and into food processor put:

• Soaked, but not cooked, garbanzo beans
• 2 cups shredded raw beets
• 2 Tablespoon cumin
• 2 Tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Handful of cilantro going to seed, aka turning into coriander, (alternately about 1/2 cup cilantro and 1 T coriander will do)

Remove from processor and add:

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 egg

Form into small patties and fry also in your fat of choice. I fried them right along side the patties #1.

These patties were served with a funny little sauce that I concocted out of cashew butter blended with coconut milk, dill, and celery seed.

Most delightful. I love cooking for friends and wish I took more time for blogging about such adventures. I've certainly been creating some new things but have been too busy enjoying them with new friends to record the moments. Thanks Esther and MaryAnna for making me write these down!

Quality Breakfast

I've been trying to be intentional lately about eating an adequate amount of protein daily and staying away from gluten and excess grains in my diet. Most of this has stemmed from my reading a lot about the Paleo lifestyle. I've been reading a ton from this site, Wellness Mama. The more I read and the success stories that are told are simply blowing my mind. Although I feel like a giant Grain Science traitor contemplating giving up most grains, I've already found that decreasing my consumption of them has already contributed to my overall health. More of this discussion in the future.

Here's a beautiful picture of what I have been dining on for breakfast this week. It contains a great amount of protein and good fats to fuel my day!

Local, natural eggs with bright colored yolks

Quinoa

Garlic

Avocado

Spinach

Homemade salsa 

Power salad

If you have never eaten quinoa before, you should definitely get right on it. It is an ancient South American staple grain that has sustained people for centuries. Heart healthy and gluten free this whole grain is also an excellent source of protein. It has the best amino acid profile of all grains and is mighty tasty! My mother had difficulty finding it in the grocery store, but she managed to find this brand. I also know that most stores now carry the Bob's Red Mill package as well. Make it even better and find it in bulk at your local health food store.

The grains have natural saponins on the outside that make them undesirable by pests.
These must be washed off before using. Simply rinse and ready for cooking.

After cooking you can see the germ actually come away
from the seed making it look quite interesting!

My salad with bell peppers, red onions, garlic, black beans,
red wine vinegar, olive oil, S&P, & smoked gouda cheese chunks!

Quinoa is so very easy to make and really serves as a great versatile grain. Use it like you would rice or other grains. It is a bit nutty so it lends well to salads and other mixtures. Go for it! Be amazed by the great healthy ancient food you can eat today!

Burger Delight

I had a recent success in the creation of my very own veggie burger. It was definitely inspired by the random contents of the fridge and a new blog find.

The contents:

• Mung beans- these are tiny little green beans 
• Quinoa- a fabulous complete protein 
• Carrot
• Green onion
• Oatmeal, I used some prepared and some dry
• Egg
• Curry powder
• Salt & Pepper

I pureed all together in a food processor and then added additional oats until it was the consistency I wanted. Mushy but not too mushy. Then I slapped into the handy non-stick skillet and cooked on each side until crispy. Place between a toasted whole wheat bun, add some pesto, cheese, sprouts and lettuce and you have my fabulous burger delight!

On a most delightful day!