October 17th, 2015…
Today i spent most of my time on homework, as students know its midterm season and although i am not complaining (i actually enjoy spending my time doing homework) it is a stressful time. Even when i am sitting doing homework all day i make an effort to get up and move around to stretch my bones every once and a while. Today stretching consisted of yoga and man, does yoga feel great. For those of you who have not tried yoga, i would highly suggest it to anyone. It is not only relaxing, but it just feels so great. I feel like a whole new person every time i do yoga, even if its only for five or ten minutes at a time.
Now about food (that is why you’re here anyways isn’t it?)
Oh do i love food, love smelling it, love cooking it, and love tasting it. Lentils are something special because they are delicious but full or protein and so tasty with quinoa or as a meat substitute for someone not consuming meat! (Well, to be honest, lentils are great even if you do consume meat but that is besides the point).
What is my dream burger you ask?
Something tasty, something big and something full of vegetables. I was never one to enjoy those veggie burgers that you can buy frozen in stores…. although they would always say ‘full of vegetables and wholes grains’ or ‘natural and delicious’ i always thought they tasted like plastic… and i do not really want to eat plastic. Instead, i cook my own, from scratch and they really are natural and delicious this time. So its probably time for you to give it a try….what have you got to lose anyways?
| Vegan |
Ingredients:
2 carrots (can substitute this for any kind of root
vegetable you have on hand, like potatoes, or yams)
½ onion
2 cloves garlic
2 cups of cooked lentils
2 flax-eggs
½ cup flour (here you can use oat flour, all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, anything!)
A few of your favorite spices (optional, but great for flavor)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Hamburger buns, or pieces of toast, or flat bread, i personally enjoy wrapping it in fresh lettuce, use bread by all means but
a nice piece of crunchy iceberg lettuce adds such a nice texture!
Other vegetables to put into your hamburger
Instructions:
1. If lentils are not cooked, cook them according to directions on package – may need to do this a day or a few hours ahead of time
2. If using a carrot: grate with a cheese grater into thin pieces –if you have a food processor, you can use it to this as well
If using a root vegetable such as a potato, peel it and either bake it, or steam it (you can boil but you will learn that i am not a fan of boiling anything….just like i am not a fan of microwaves) Then mash it into a bowl.
3. To the carrot (or potato) mix in any of your spices (salt, pepper, and your favorite spices)
4. Whip the eggs in a separate bowl, and add to the carrot-spice mixture.
5. Add the cooked lentils to the carrot mixture
Note: if you do have a food processor, it works great to add the above mixture of carrots, lentils and eggs into the food processor to fully mix everything. If you do not have a food processor, try to mash the lentils before incorporating, although you can leave them whole but this will add a different texture to your burgers
6. Add your flour into the carrot-lentil-egg mixture and incorporate well.
7. To cook the burgers, add a little oil to a large skillet and spoon your batter of desired size onto the skillet with hot oil.
8. When the first side is cooked, carefully flip them over and cook the other side fully.
9. An alternate way to cook them is in the oven, although it does take longer and they will be more soft than crunchy. If you want to cook them in the oven, set oven to 425 degrees and cook the burgers until they are fully cooked –you may need to slice one to see the center-
10. When the burgers are cooked, add to a bun with any desired vegetables and enjoy