Homemade Black Bean Burger

This is one of the times when experimenting with making something you never made before without a recipe actually works! This makes a wonderful meatless Monday dish and it's just plain rewarding to make from scratch.   I soaked and cooked black beans.   I added most of the cooled cooked beans to a food processor.   I saved the rest of the black beans I cooked to add in later to give my burger texture.  A burger doesn't taste right to me without onions.  It's hard to believe that there are people who don't like onions!  I come from an onion eatin  family where we can eat saute onions as a side dish.  With that said I diced a large raw sweet onion and added half the amount to the food processor  saving the rest to add in later with the leftover beans.  I also  added one clove of garlic and a small amount of arrowroot starch  to the food processor with my seasoning (sea salt, black pepper, spikes and fresh cilantro).

  Here are the burgers on the electric grill.   It's great when experiments turn out right!

Savory Biscotti! I could see adding some herbs to this

This would be great to make for a party! served with hummus, tomatoes, white bean dip yum!

Homemade Veggie Patties!

Sauteed eggplant, spinach, onions and garlic oh my.    You could use any veggie you like.  I used what I had.  I couldn't resist all the different varieties of eggplants in the market now, so I pick up a bunch of different sizes and colors.   I made my normal pie crust but I added turmeric for the color. Turmeric also gives it a little flavor.   A tip for making pie crust is not to over work the dough to activate the gluten.  You want to have a nice crispy and flaky crust!  Yum

Avocado Dessert!

Avocado Creme Brulee by Food Samba

I'm really curious of what this dish would taste like.  I have never had avocado prepared as a sweet dish.  I have heard of avocado ice cream.  I can see why it would be good, so I really would like to try this.   Photo by Food Samba.

Look What I Got From The Market!

Cinnamon and the fall season goes together to me.   I just got some new ground cinnamon and this one is extra fancy from Vietnam!  It is stronger than other types I have tried.   I just love the taste of cinnamon.   There's so many uses for it.  It's one of those spices that is so important to always have around.  I use cinnamon in everything from my morning oatmeal to apple/pear desserts, cookies, sweet potatoes, carrots,  homemade chai tea and more.   Here's 10 health benefits to Cinnamon. 

Att: Bread Bakers! Make Challah Traditional Braided Bread!

The joy that comes from making and eating your own bread is amazing!  I have learned how to make all types of bread including really good gluten free loaves.  Most cultures around the world eat some form of bread.  I like that this challah bread has a meaningful history and taste delicous!  Read here for more on challah  also called kitke in South Africa.

 Ingredients

• 1 tbsp yeast
• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup  palm sugar
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2/3 cold water
• egg for glazing

In this order mix flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl. ( Don't add the salt next to the yeast it will kill it!) Add eggs, oil water and knead by hand until the dough is very soft, silky and quite elastic.  Allow it to rise until doubled.  Punch down.  Divide the dough into three equal parts and roll each one into a long rope. Try to make sure your three ropes are equal in length, and tapered at each end. (just like rolling a coil in clay!) Here's the fun part. Braid the three ropes into a firm plait and tuck the ends under. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size on a lined sheet pan.

When risen, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. 
Bake at 375 for around 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Take out of oven and let cool on a wire rack! 


-Enjoy!

Raspberry and Champagne Grape Sugar Free Sauce/Filling

I remember the first time I tasted champagne grapes.  I was pleasantly surprised how good they were.  Ever since that day I dreamed about getting a whole bunch of grapes and putting them in a barrel and stomping them with my bare feet.   Well even though that sounds like so much fun.  I know nobody would want to consume any of my foot stomped grape juice.  I used a colander and my fist to squeeze the cramp out of two packages of champagne grapes.   I bought them from Trader Joe's at about two dollars each pack.  The juice came out green.  In my excitement I forgot to measure out how much juice the 2 packages of grapes yielded.  I added the juice to a pot, cooked the juice on low heat till it reduced more than half in size. The plan was to make a grape juice concentrate to sweeten the sauce/filling.  I added the fresh raspberries,  cooked them a few minutes till lightly broken down and I thicken this sauce/filling with arrowroot starch.

-Shevon
Eat good!

Making Homemade Biscuits! Bookmark this Recipe!

I love biscuits even though I don't make or eat them often, they are truly a special treat.  This recipe is a good base for sweet or savory biscuits.  I made the filling of this biscuit with a sugar free raspberry and champagne grape sauce I came up with.  I will do a post on the sauce later  so you can see how I made it.    This recipe is good!  Try with vegan butter or whole wheat pastry flour.  I will also do some more experimenting with this recipe.  Like adding herbs, flax seeds or using a non dairy cream instead of butter!

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups organic all- purpose flour, plus extra for dusting or use whole wheat pastry flour.
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 tbsp organic butter or use vegan butter.  
• 2 tbsp superfine palm sugar ( I just ground up regular palm granulated sugar in coffee grinder) 
• 1 cup of non fat milk  plus a little more for glazing.  (Try hemp or almond milk)

Step 1

Preheat oven 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Rub in butter using fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs (just like making a french pate brisee pie crust.)

Step 2

Stir in sugar.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in milk using a spatula until it forms a very soft dough! 

Step 3

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and very lightly flatten it until is  about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut out biscuits using a 2 1/2-inch round cutter and place on a lined baking sheet.

Brush with a little milk and bake in the preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown and well risen. Let cool on a wire rack.  

Serve alone or with cheese, nut butter or jam! 

My Take on Whole Foods Quinoa Salad with Grapes and Cashews.

Who would have thought that quinoa and grapes pairs so well together. The first time I had the quinoa salad I was hooked.   I made mine with lightly sauteed onions instead of raw.  I wanted to take away the  after taste of raw onions because It causes me to want to eat something sweet after.  I'm trying not to have dessert after every meal and definitely not every day.  I used raw cashews instead of roasted.  I was just being lazy.  I should have toasted them it would have brought out the flavor more, but it was still good.  I then tossed the whole thing with olive oil and a touch of apple cider vinegar.   Seasoned with  sea salt and black pepper.  Simple and good! The only thing is I wish I had some chives or at least some parsley to bring more color to this dish.   

How I make Quinoa

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water

 Rinse grains, place in a pot with the water and bring to a boil.  Stir once, cover pot then reduce heat to low, and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.

For quinoa recipes and ideas visit:  http://www.cookingquinoa.net
What's your favorite quinoa recipe???

Weekend at Union Square Farmers Market!

I had a wonderful time at the farmers market this weekend.  It was also nice just hanging out in Union Square Park.  I picked up some raspberries I needed to make a sauce.  I really wanted to buy that letter S shaped squash but I decided to take a picture instead.  How cool is that!

Cold Buckwheat Sesame Noodles!

I had this for lunch today but I made it yesterday.  Since I didn't really go food shopping this week because I need to save money and I  thought this is a great opportunity to clean out my cupboard.  I discovered I had some buckwheat noodles! (among some other good things, which I can share later).  I made a quick teriyaki sauce with shoyu, brown rice syrup, sake,  apple juice and ginger.   I cooked this mixture on the stove until it slightly thickened.  Boiled my buckwheat noodles which cooked really fast.  Rinsed the noodles with cold water  and drained them really well.  I then tossed the noddles with toasted sesame oil (just a little) added some of my teriyaki sauce and  black sesame seeds.  Then I put the whole thing in the frig to chill. I will be making this again, it was that good.  It's so surprising and wonderful what dishes can be made with "limited" ingredients.  This is a life lesson to see what you can do and be creative with what you have already.   I  did wish I had some cashew or peanuts to chop and add on top with the cilantro which was divine as a garnish but it really didn't need it! It tasted just fine without the nuts. Here's a recipe for cold sesame noodles.

I encourage you all,  to go clean out that cupboard and see the good things waiting to be discovered! and tell me what you find! :-)


-Shevon

Teeny Tiny Potatoes: Part 1

Make a Brown Betty dessert using left over bread!

A Brown Betty is an American dessert made from fresh fruit, usually apple and sweetened bread crumbs.  Cake crumbs can be used too! ( that sounds sooooo good)  This dessert is thought to date back to colonial times.   I used 3 different types of left over bread ends that I  had in the freezer.  I used this recipe as a guide.  I didn't really follow it because I was really short on the quantity of the ingredients, but I wanted to make it anyway.   I mainly just followed the ratio of the ingredients.  Overall it came out pretty good.   Mine came out similar in look to a cobber because of the crumb topping but it tasted like a bread pudding.   I think even following a bread pudding recipe and then adding the crumbs on top might be worth looking into.  I have only made a bread pudding once with my mom and she didn't follow any recipe.  I just remember really liking how pump and tasty the raisins she added got after it was baked and soaked up all that flavor of the spices she added.   I 'm not done with this Brown Betty dessert  recipe yet.  I will try different types of bread next time but I was glad not to waste any of those left over bread ends from my freezer.   Also check out this Brown Betty recipe from Baking Bites this is a great resource for ideas if you plan to make one. 

If you do make one let me know.  I would love hear about it and swap recipes.

        

Life as a foodie!

I love grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and reading cooking magazines at Barnes and Nobles.  I could spend the whole day there, really I could!  I 'm glad where I live their just a block away from each other.  I got some of my favorite food items from Trader Joe's which I will try to do a post on later this week.  I also got some great culinary ideas too!  I want to make a fruit galette and a nectarine brown betty.  I have some left over bread a could use to make the brown betty so I'll probably make that first.  The organic nectarines a have been getting this season have been so good!  That dessert is going to be great.   What is a Brown Betty it's similar to a cobbler or a bread pudding.  I think it dates back to colonial times.  It's usually made with apples.       

Homemade Acai and Blueberry Agave Sweeten Preserves!

Making preserved fruit is pretty easy.  I love Pomona's Universal Pectin because you can make your jam jellies and preserves with any amount of sweetener.  I used agave syrup  and my preserves came out  with just the right amount of sweetness.  I followed the recipe in the packet, which is really simple.   I added Acai berry powder to their recipe for extra antioxidants. Why not??   Blueberries and Acaiberries pairs very well together.  I also made some freezer pops with orange juice, frozen blueberries and acai powder.  I'm all ready thinking about what fruit I should preserve next.  Have any ideas or suggestions  let me know.   I want to do something with watermelon or make a marmalade. hmm...

Have a great weekend!
-Shevon

Gluten Free Pasta and Spinach Casserole!

I made this casserole using quinoa and brown rice pasta.  I like mixing the two pasta's together for color and texture. I also made my own bread crumbs from stale gluten free brown bread I made.  After I Processed it in my food processor. I then spread it on a baking sheet  and toasted it in the oven.  It came out so good.  That was such a good way to use up my left over bread.  I'm storing the rest of my bread crumbs in the freezer for later use.   I was taught never to waste food!  I could make a peach brown betty with the rest of those bread crumbs maybe for dessert next week!

    

I want to eat here!

I'm adding braai to my list of restaurants I want to try.  Their desserts menu looks really good!  I would order the Malva Pudding or the koeksister.  I got to make time to go there soon.  What would you get?

Barbecue 3000!

 I will be trying out this new seasoning  I got from Penzeys.  This dry spice mix seems like it would be great  to give veggies, especially grilled potatoes that barbecue flavor.  yum!  It has a very nice blend of herbs and spices like  paprika, black pepper, nutmeg, mustard, allspice, garlic powder, ginger, sage, thyme, white pepper and cinnamon.  I might mix this with some coconut oil and maple syrup to make a glaze for  chicken, fish, tofu or ribs.  

Summer Grilling

I love summer simply because I love barbecues and all the fresh wonderful food available.  I enjoy seating and eating outside, the smell of food cooking on a hot grill yum!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  Anyone making any special grilled dish for the Fourth of July let me know.  I'm thinking about grilling up some peaches but not sure yet!   My sis is going to make her mean potato salad.  I'm looking forward to that.

Food In Art

I love the summer because of all the wonderful selections of fresh food.  I picked up lots of fruits and veggies (mainly fruits from my local organic health food store). I came home and had to make a fruit arrangement.   I get so inspired by the color and shapes.  It made me think of painters like Cezanne and Paul Gaugin who studied and painted nature's food bounty.   I have been laying off the sweets including consuming less agave syrup.  I'm eating more fruits to help me, and it's working.   Here's  some inspiration.