Kale Coma

Miss me? I am sorry I have been away. Between moving into my new house, getting cooking supplies unpacked, and well, a busted phone which holds the camera I have been relying on, I had a minor hiatus. No worries though because I am back in business and October happens to be my favorite month. Pumpkin shavings will adorn my side porch tomorrow as I chisel my spooky designs for my front porch Halloween décor. Butternut squash will be bursting with bold flavors in my oven. Apples happily sit piled in my fruit bowl and all the doors will be open letting the beautiful breeze brush my hair off my face as I feverishly cook for our weekend camping trip.

Back to the present day though. I arrived home today without one clue on what to make. Being that we attended a concert last night something warm and comforting was definitely on the menu. That and I have been in a tizzy to use anything that might expire while we are away. I despise wasting food. Maybe that is the reason I glutinously cleaned my plate today…Sure, I will go with that.

For produce I had to use up a large bushel of kale. My boiling pot is still MIA so brown rice would serve as a nice bed. And comfort? That comes in the form of a gooey, cheesy, sauce. I have made vegan cheese sauces in the past with great success but I really didn’t want to prep too much. With the basic ingredients in mind I threw together the one below and behold, a success was whirred up in my vitamix.


Cheesy Kale & Brown Rice

1 bushel of kale, stems cut off
2 cups brown rice
Cheese sauce (see below)
Vegetable broth
Pepper to taste

Easy Peezy Cheezy Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons earth balance, melted
• 2 tablespoons ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• ½ cup nutritional yeast
• ½ cup vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup cashews, chopped
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions:

Prepare brown rice and set aside. I used boil in a bag brown rice because of my time crunch.

Prepare cheese sauce:

Add all ingredients in the vitamins and blend on high until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. It will be very thick but no worries, it will thin when added to recipe.

In a medium saucepan add about half cup vegetable brown and warm. Add cheese sauce and stir. Keep adding a little vegetable broth until it becomes thinner in consistency. I like a thick creamy sauce so I didn’t add a lot but if you like thinner add more.

Add kale to the pan and coat with the sauce. Saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Add rice and combine. Serve with a dash of ground pepper on top! MMMMMM.


Enjoy!! Confession, I had two helpings. I blame it on my tiny Halloween plate!

The Search for the GF, Vegan Burger Grail

Homemade veggie burgers can be tricky, especially when you want to make them gluten free and vegan. Why? Well, with my luck as of late they have either held together, looked pretty, and tasted like sandpaper, OR they have tasted amazing but didn’t exactly remain in a patty. Which is fine, but I am greedy and want both! As my quest for the vegan burger Holy Grail progressed, I was pleased to see that I wasn’t the only blogger pursuing this endeavor so I had a plethora of recipes to peruse the last couple weeks. I wanted constant consistency throughout the cooking, a delicious and fresh veggie taste, and of course a burger that was going to settle with my dietary guidelines.

The almost Holy Grail of Vegan/GF Burgers - I'm a perfectionist.

I think I found it. I still want to tweak a few things to the recipe but this is so far the best tasting trial I have had. Moist, nutritious, and held up when I flipped them! What more can a gluten free vegan chef ask for! Plus, it makes 8 patties so I have dinner ready for this week. Maybe I will come up with a second and third recipe for you! I am thinking sandwich wraps are in order.

Of all the recipes I found, Angela’s stuck out the most to me. I baked mine because I don’t have the gumption to grill them yet. In time my dears, in time. I had most of the ingredients in her recipe but had to make some substitutions. I also made mine gluten free, and topped them with spicy guacamole, dijon, fresh tomato, and local spinach leaves. Here is her original recipe here: Angela's Perfect Burger

I prepped on Sunday and let my burgers firm up on a cookie sheet overnight. I had every intention of gobbling these gorgeous burgers down Sunday, spent the whole time making them and ended up being hit with a mean pizza craving. Hey, what can a girl do?? It was worth the wait though.




Gluten Free & Vegan Pepita Burgers
(the closest thing to the burger grail so far)

Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• Flax eggs: 2.5 tbsp ground flax + 1/2 cup warm water, mixed in bowl
• 1 cup oats, processed into flour
• 1/2 cup pepitas (Spanish pumpkin seeds)
• 1.5 cups gluten free bread crumbs (I processed 3 pieces sunflower flax bread)
• 1 cup local grated carrots
• 1 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and pureed
• Heaping 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1/3 cup almonds, chopped
• 1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp gluten free soy sauce
• 1.5 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

For the 2 burger toppings:
• 2 gluten free hamburger buns
• 2 thick slices local tomato
• Spicy guacamole (I bought Whole Foods brand to save time)

• ½ cup local spinach
• 2 tbs dijon

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350F and lightly grease a cookie sheet. In a large skillet, heat oil and add garlic. Once you can smell the garlic aroma add your onion and sauté until translucent and slightly browned. Mix your flax egg together in a small bowl and set aside for at least 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients as noted. I used my food processor and kept adding them into a large bowl, leaving the spices out to mix in last for taste testing. Once all ingredients are in the bowl mix well. The flax egg should help everything stick together. Add seasonings and salt to taste.

Roll out 8 balls to make sure all patties are equal size then shape dough into tightly packed patties, lightly wetting hands in between each patty to prevent sticking. I formed mine right onto the cookies sheet.

Bake for 15-17 minutes on each side. They should hold together for flipping but be gentle! Serve between those delicious buns holding all your scrumptious toppings.

I roasted local corn for our side! So easy to do in your oven. Just pop them in at 350F for 30 minutes, remove from oven and peel back husks. A little earth balance and pepper graced my little kernels!

Sweet Cherry Memories

I love summertime fruits. I have been slamming back strawberries like they are going out of style. My son and I go through a 2 lb carton in just a few days! Mangos mount up in my fruit bowl weekly, and pineapple is popping up in my afternoon routine.

Cherries are another treat I have been devouring by the bulk, their taste attached to so many memories. My aunt Barbra used to own apple and cherry orchards up in Spokane, Washington and I was able to go up for cherry picking season one year. The joy of walking right out her back door into the orchards and picking plump cherries right off the tree is a lasting treasure in my mind. I made the most delicious cherry tarts one afternoon.. I can still remember the juicy cherries warm against the flaky, feathery tart crust. Maybe I need to give those another go around!

Last summer my husband and I went up to Montana for one of my best friend’s wedding and created some wonderful cherry memories too. We gobbled them up by the pound at the local cherry stands on the drive in and were delighted to see they played a part in the wedding décor as well! Hailey’s wedding was beautiful, and allowed me to explore the amazing spaces of Montana. If you haven’t been, you should go as soon as you can, and in July when the cherries are plentiful too! Hailey and I always tease that we are going to open up a B&B one day up there or in Colorado. If we ever do, I expect visits from you all!



Hailey's Wedding on Flathead Lake MT



How cute was the table decor?! Cherries didn't last long...



Oh, did I not mention the cherry WINE!

OK back from memory lane. I saw this Cherry Lentil Salad recipe on Whole Foods site the other day I knew it had to be put on this week’s menu. Fresh, filling, and full of flavor and goodness. It would be a great BBQ side dish for the fourth! It serves 8, is easy to make, and easy on the budget. You can find the original recipe here: Whole Foods Cherry-Lentil Salad

Cherry Lentil Salad

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups dried green (French) lentils, rinsed and picked through
• 2-3 tbs red wine vinegar
• 2-3 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbs kosher salt
• 1 tbs freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups fresh cherries (about 1 pound), pitted and halved
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil (I used mine fresh from the garden!)

Directions:

Bring 5 cups of water to boil in a soup pot with a dash of sea salt and olive oil. Add in lentils, lower the heat and simmer partially covered for about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool in a large bowl. add in vinegar, olive oil, and spices. Toss to coat.

*I put them in the fridge after the cooled because we weren’t ready to eat yet. You can also do this step ahead of time if you have a tight evening schedule!

When you are ready to serve, add the cherries and basil. Taste test and adjust if needed. My in-laws added roast chicken to theirs, the hubby and I enjoyed it just as is!