Monthly Archives: April 2012

Veggie Patties

Posted by straighttalk2u in RECIPES


Veggie Patty


I loathe to call my creation a “BURGER” that conjures up visions of ground beef, but “KITCHEN SINK” comes to mind!  I reviewed many recipes but did not have exactly what was called for.  Regaining some of my confidence as a cook, I opened the fridge and pulled out left overs.  Here is a breakdown of what went into what we think are delicious

VEGGIE PATTIES 

Cooked Quinoa (leftover Quinoa pilaf)

About 1/2 cup each 3 cooked beans (kidney, canneli, limas)

1/2 baked sweet potato

The rest is RAW

Onion

Carrot

Celery

Parsley

Basil

Cilantro

Garlic

Almond Flour

Oat Flour (I used whole oats and made “flour” in my dry Vitamix container) 

Flax Flour

SEASON:

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

Coriander

Cayenne

MIX:

Put everything except flours in food processor and reduce to coarse texture, remove and mix in flours until manageable consistency.  Form into 1-2″ thick patties.

COOK:

Although I think I can make a loaf out of this, I chose to pan fry just enough to heat through, I did not want to cook the added raw vegetables too much.  Burns easily, so keep heat medium and turn as soon as browned.

SERVE:

Cucumber Salad, (Cucumber, red onion, dill marinated in Apple Cider Vinegar) served on top of Arugula greens.

Sweet Potato baked “fries”

Top patties with avocado, tomato slice, and spirialized raw veggies.

Mustard and Ketchup  (use Organic made with real sugar, not high fructose corn syrup).

I should be embarrassed to publish this without exact measurements, but I literally threw in the kitchen sink and will never make this exactly the same again.

I overcame my VEGGIE PATTY intimidation!!

Enjoy making your own, it is really not hard to do, or go to Wendy’s link I used to get a picture of Quinoa Patties!  http://www.cookingquinoa.net/couscous-and-quinoa-patties-with-vegetable-yogurt-sauce

Happy fooding!

Carecia

Hydration

Posted by straighttalk2u in ARTICLES, PERSONAL EXPERIENCES, PRODUCTS

How to open a young coconut made possible by rawguru.com.

Young Cocnut

I really do not like to drink water except when hot sun parches the earth and all who walk upon it, then an ice cold glass of water is gratifying.  When the buzz got out that drinking 8 glasses of water does not mean WATER and drinking water with a meal is counter productive to digestion, I was smug.  Servers grow frustrated that he/she cannot bring me water and if they do, I send it back unless I think I will need to sneak a corner of my napkin into its wetness to clean my fingers.  

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of my favorite bottled water which is one of the more expensive variety with a beautiful bottle and pretty picture.  I liked the fact that the alkaline was .8 and the whole ph pitch; I am every marketer’s dream.  However, my daughter teased me about the cost and boasted she only paid about $3 for a case of her favorite water and when I visit her, she meets me at the airport with one bottle in hand and a spare in the car.

Okay, $60 – $90 a month on water is a little over-the-top, and I was not drinking it except during workouts and  using it in smoothies.  I also worried about the plastic, although my bottles were free of the bad stuff and recyclable, I still felt I was damaging the planet.

I decided to test my tap water, and the alkaline was 7.5 and everything else was great, so I made my glowing green smoothie with tap water. Blasphemy!  I cannot believe I did that!  No, this was not going to work for me.

The next step was to buy another water filter pitcher, which I did. My Brita is round and bulky and I just do not like it.   I was in Williams-Sonoma and what called my name?  A pitcher.  I bought it because the lid was red and the sides were flat, really, that was a selling point.  The Mavea looks nice in my fridge and is easy to handle and refill, but I do not drink water from it.

Not to worry!   I found my hydration source.  Young coconuts!  Yep, I finally did it.  Bought it and let it sit in the fridge about four days, intimidated by the opening process.  I do not like corks, caps, lids, or covers that are hard to remove, so the little guy on my counter posed a huge challenge in my mind.  I remembered Kimberly Snyder’s video where she took a mature coconut to her patio and with one hand safely behind her back, she wacked the coconut four times with a cleaver and was so pleased she was on target and did not embarrass herself.  I opted for Ani Phyo’s method and scored the top with a knife, making a boxed pattern.  I gently lifted the “lid” and presto, my coconut was ready to drink.  That method is better illustrated on the link above.

Boxed coconut water is expensive, but I buy it on occasion.  Young coconuts at WF cost about $3.  There is no comparison in taste and lasting hydration!  I put my straw in to taste and I slurped it all down, guzzled it like I was dying of thirst.  And I was

Quenched,

Carecia

Posted by straighttalk2u in PERSONAL EXPERIENCES, RECIPES

Amber Shea is a fasinating, authentic young woman whose recipes and nutritional expertise are exceptional. I bought her cookbook and am thrilled to have it and be a part of her BLOG community. Perhaps you will enjoy as well!

Almost Vegan

News & Notes

  • Earlier this week my publisher, Vegan Heritage Press, shared some photos out of Practically Raw. Check ’em out, do a little drooling (::wink::) and grab a copy of the book, if you haven’t already!
  • Speaking of Practically Raw, Adriana over at Vegan Corner interviewed me recently about the book. In the post, she also shares my recipe for raw Sugared Doughnut Holes…so yummy!
  • Speaking of interviews, I was also interviewed yesterday by Caryn Hartglass on her internet radio show “It’s All About Food”—click here to listen.
  • I finally have an Instagram account! I don’t know why I put it off for so long. Feel free to “follow” me—my username is almostveganchef. I predict I’ll be sharing a lot of fun stuff on there.

 

I want to start out by dedicating this post to my friend Shanna Sandmoen…

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