Veggie Burgers- to grill!

This burger is fairly simple to make, but does require a little planning ahead in order to ensure all ingredients are ready to go. We love to grill food in the summer, and so decided to try making our own burgers-ones that were eggless and could hold their own on the grill. This recipe is it!

Notes:
-I use soaked and sprouted pesara, however, sprouting is not required. This is one ingredient to plan ahead to have ready.
-Recipe calls for cooked rice and quinoa, which should be cooked ahead of time and allowed to cool.
-Spices can be modified according to your taste preferences and creativity :)
-When the burgers are frozen, they hold up a lot better on the grill. Again, part of the planning ahead process.
-Makes 4 good size burgers.

Ingredients & Process
To saute:
1 large clove garlic, minced
1Tbs ginger, minced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 cup shredded carrot
1 8oz package mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 tsp fresh sage (optional)
Dry ingredients:
1/4 cup oat flour (ground oatmeal)
2 Tbs flax meal (ground flax seeds)
1tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup DRY soy granules (also known as TVP) *Do not soak in water prior to adding
spices:
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp garam masala
pinch of turmeric, marjoram, sugar
For making paste:
1/2 cup soaked & sprouted pesara (green moong dal)
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
2-3 spoons oil
To add for texture and "bite":
1/2-1 cup cooked quinoa or brown rice (or a mixture of the two)


Saute the garlic, ginger, and onion until onion is translucent. Add the carrot, mushroom, and sage and continue to cook on medium heat until nicely cooked and most of the liquid evaporates. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, set aside and allow to cool.

In a separate bowl, mix together the oat flour, flax meal, cornstarch, dry soy granules, and spices. Add into the cooked vegetables and stir to thoroughly combine.

Using a mixie or blender, grind the pesara and rice to make a paste, adding oil as needed to thoroughly blend. Add to the vegetable mixture, again stir to thoroughly combine. This is the main binding ingredient. Add the cooked quinoa, starting with 1/2 cup. If mixture still seems too sticky, add the remaining 1/2 cup and stir to combine.

Now is phase 1 of the cooking process: lightly pan fry the burgers.
Take a ball of the mixture (about a 1/2 cup makes a good size burger) and form patties. It will help to put oil on your hands and on the surface you are working on since the mixture will be slightly sticky. Put a few spoons of oil in a pan and fry on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes on each side (should turn a light brown) Lightly cooking like this will help it hold up on the grill. Also, as noted above, we found that they grilled best with less sticking when they were frozen first. This is a perfect recipe to double or triple in order to freeze and have burgers ready to go when it's time for phase 2 of the cooking: grilling!!

 Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Yogurt Soup

Speedy preparation if you have butternut squash purée left over. Otherwise, you will need to allot a little more prep time in order to cook and purée the squash.

The proportions are based on what I was using up, but can easily be increased if making for more than one person.

Ingredients & Process

1 cup butternut squash purée
1/2 c plain yogurt (use non-fat or low-fat to make a creamy yet healthy soup!)
Seasonings- salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, brown sugar

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients. Whisk to combine, and heat to desired temperature. Add water if you prefer a thinner consistency. Season to taste. I used about 1/2 tsp salt, a dash of onion and garlic powder, a sprinkle of black pepper, and a generous pinch of brown sugar.

French Bread

Freshly baked bread. Enough said :)

I used my mom's French bread recipe. One batch I shaped as per instructions for a loaf of French bread. The other I put in a bread pan. Both turned out well.

Recipe & Process

2 1/2-3 cups flour (I used a combination of all purpose flour and oat flour. I added a spoon of wheat gluten too, which is optional)
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs butter *can substitute coconut oil for vegan version
1 pkg dry yeast
1 cup plus 2 Tbs warm water

In a food processor with metal blade, place 2 cups flour, salt, sugar, butter, and yeast. Run machine until butter is cut in. Add half of the water. Turn processor on and off 4 times. Add remaining flour and water. Repeat pulsing, then run until dough ball forms. Let run 40-60 seconds to knead. Knead lightly on a board. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rest for 20 minutes. Roll dough 15x10 inches. Roll tightly into a 15 inch loaf. Place on greased baking sheet. Brush dough with oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise 45 min-1hour and bake at 425 for 25 minutes. *I left out the last part of this recipe for an eggless version, but if desired you can beat an egg while and 1 Tbs water, brush it on the loaf after 20 minutes baking time and then bake for 5-10 more minutes. This will give it a nice golden brown, crusty finish. I just drizzled a little coconut oil instead of brushing with the egg white. It still turned out delicious!

Uttapam

The idly dough has been in the refrigerator for almost a week. At this point, it would make sour, flat idly. When the dough gets like this, though, it's perfect for making uttapam!

Uttapam with a bit of ketchup for dipping

To the idly batter (approximately 2 cups remaining) add

1/2 of a red onion, chopped
1 carrot, shredded
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
5 curry leaves, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, minced
sprinkle of salt & pepper
1 green chili, minced

Heat small skillet with a tsp of oil. Add about a cup of the batter and press lightly to spread to fill pan. Cook over med-low heat until golden brown, flip to cook other side.

Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is amongst my favorite cakes. I love hearty, dense cakes--full of goodies. That's why I added nuts to this recipe. And honestly, next time I may add in some other varieties of dried fruits, like golden raisins and dried cranberries. Perhaps almonds. Yumm-o. The beautiful thing about this cake is that there is no refined sugar added. It  gets its sweetness naturally, hence its inclusion in the cookbook, Sweet & Natural.

Carrot Cake

3 large carrots
1 egg (or egg substitute) *I used 1 Tbs ground flaxseed, whisked together with 2 Tbs warm water
3/8 cup oil
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, in juice
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Scrub & grate the carrots. Measure 1 cup and set aside.
Grease an 8x8 inch square baking pan.
In a blender, combine egg, oil, pineapple & juice, raisins, and vanilla. Process until raisins are finely chopped.
Measure flour, spices, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Stir well.
Add blended mixture, grated carrots and walnuts to dry ingredients, mixing until batter is uniform.
Spread batter into an oiled pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until done.
Cool.

OK- I cheated and made a cream cheese frosting,
so I can't say this is completely free of refine sugars.

For the frosting,

I just softened a package of neufchatel cheese, added barely 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, and maybe a 1/4-1/2 tsp of vanilla flavoring. Lightly sweet. And oh, so delicious!

Chocolate Pudding

Last night I was having a craving for caramel sauce. But since we didn't have any ice cream in the house for me to put it on, I decided to settle for something more acceptable to eat by the spoonful...butterscotch pudding! As I was making it, I remembered another recipe I wanted to try out...so I made pudding again today. And I told my husband we can eat it relatively guilt free since it has no egg, no butter, and only 1/4 of the sugar as last night's indulgence. Relatively guilt free dessert? Seconds please :)

This recipe is adapted from a Turkish rice flour & rose water pudding, courtesy of the cookbook Vegetarian Dishes from Around the World. The original flavor was not our favorite; however, I was pretty excited to realize that this would be a good base recipe to experiment with making various flavors of pudding, requiring NO eggs!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup rice flour
1 can evaporated milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs cocoa powder
1tsp vanilla extract

Process:
In a small bowl, combine the rice flour with 1/4 cup of the evaporated milk to make a paste.

Combine the rest of the milk with the sugar & cocoa powder in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Once mixture boils, reduce the heat to low, and add in the vanilla extract.

Take about a 1/4 cup of the boiling mixture and whisk it into the rice flour paste. Once it it smooth, pour it into the boiled mixture and increase to medium heat. Constantly whisk the pudding until it thickens. *By constantly whisking it you help prevent it from sticking to the pan & getting clumpy.

 Once it becomes a pudding-like consistency, turn off the heat. Spoon into custard cups and refrigerate. Or eat it warm. It's tasty both ways!

Serves 2-4

**Update** I have now experimented making this pudding with a few different types of thickening agent. Rice flour, tapioca flour, and cornstarch. With rice flour, it does have a slight after taste and is best eaten warm. With tapioca flour, it gets very rubbery, I do not recommend this version. Our favorite version is made with cornstarch-more velvety texture, best when served immediately, but ok the next day as well.

Pineapple Pastry Cake (Eggless)

Husband raves about Pineapple Pastry Cake from India. He had been waiting for me to make it for several months, and I finally found a recipe to adapt in my attempt to make something I have never tasted before in my life. The initial result was definitely a success, but I made a few mental notes to adjust on subsequent attempts. I made this cake two months in a row because it was so delicious. Oh, and we had a couple occasions worth celebrating with cake :) I am always glad for an excuse to indulge!

slice of pineapple and whipped cream heaven

Pineapple Pastry Cake
*Notes*
-If making in 9x13 pan, will probably need to make two recipes of cake.
-Line the pan with parchment paper to make a sling to easily remove and transfer the cake from the pan.
-Original recipe which I used as my inspiration was from this blog. Many thanks!

Ingredients & Process
Ingredients for Simple Eggless Vanilla Cake

Plus
1 can of pineapple pieces (reserve the juice)
1 jar of maraschino cherries (a dozen or so cherries for decorating)
1 quart heavy whipping cream (this is more than enough for decorating and for leftovers to add into coffee, or eat by the spoonful)
pineapple essence
powdered sugar

1. Follow the Simple Eggless Vanilla Cake recipe and substitute pineapple essence in place of the vanilla extract. Bake the cake in a 9x13 pan (or whatever size you have on hand) or divide between 2 baking sheets.
*If you have two pans of the same size, you can pour half of the batter into each pan to make the layers. Otherwise, you will bake one cake, wait for it to cool, and slice it in half so that you will have a two layer cake.

2. Allow cake to cool. Slice if necessary to have two layers. Use a spoon or pastry brush to apply the reserved pineapple juice onto the cake. Allow to sit for a couple hours at least, optimally over night in the fridge. (This is an important step so that the cake gets nice and soft. Like, it will practically melt in your mouth!)

3. Make whipped cream by whipping the cream with 1 tsp of pineapple essence, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 cup powdered sugar (adjust to suite your taste preferences). Using a hand mixer makes whipped cream without much effort.

4. To assemble the cake: On one layer of cake, spread 1/2 the whipped cream mixture and 1/2 of the pineapple pieces. Very carefully, place the second layer of cake on the top and apply the remaining whipped cream. Spread evenly. Use the pineapple pieces and maraschino cherries to decorate the top of the cake.

Top layer of the cake is still in the parchment paper sling. This helps to more easily place on top of the bottom layer.

Refrigerate until serving.

Simple Eggless Cake + flavor variations

Nana's chocolate snack cake recipe has been my go-to recipe for several years when it was time to whip up a treat for special occasions. I've been on a quest for a while to find the perfect eggless white cake recipe. I've tried a couple that were acceptable, but they all included an ingredient I don't normally keep on hand. So I decided to try the never-fail chocolate cake recipe minus the cocoa-and landed upon the best eggless vanilla cake yet! Super moist. Not too dense. It makes the perfect cake for pineapple pastry cake, too. Recipe for that will be posted soon!

Chocolate Snack Cake
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
3/4 c sugar
1/3 c cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c water
1/2 c canola oil
2 Tbs white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine first 5 ingredients. In separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients & stir to combine. Pour into greased 8 inch square pan and bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. *Optional-- Once out of oven, sprinkle 1 c chocolate chips and when chips looks melted, spread with a knife.

For vanilla cake
Instead of 1/3 cup cocoa, add additional 1/3 cup flour.

For orange cake
Instead of 1/3 cup cocoa, add additional 1/3 cup flour
Instead of 2 tsp vanilla extract, add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 1/2 tsp orange extract
Add 1/4 tsp orange zest (or more for taste preference)
Optional: for more intense orange flavor, as well as to help make cake more moist
-Use the juice from one orange mixed with 2-3 Tbs water to drizzle over the cake after it is baked

Peanut Butter Balls

This simple no bake cookie, from the cookbook Sweet & Natural, was an instant hit with everyone who tasted it. 


1 c raisins, chopped fine (I used food processor)
1 c natural peanut butter
5-6 Tbs dry milk powder

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Use your hand to mix. You should be able to knead the mixture without it sticking to your hand. You may need to add a little more dry milk powder to get to this point. Form into walnut size balls, place on tray and refrigerate to help them firm up.
That's it! Eat & enjoy! 

*The recipe also suggested using oatmeal instead of milk powder as a variation. Next time I would be curious to try using chunky peanut for more crunch...or almond butter...or cashew butter...


Update: 5/11/2012: 
Today I wanted to make these cookies but was out of peanut butter. I had bought peanuts to make peanut butter, but instead decided to try a short cut. I threw it all in the food processor-1 c peanuts (dry roasted, unsalted) and 1 c raisins. It didn't get as smooth, but I had wanted to try with crunchy pb anyways...so this gave a great texture. I also rolled a couple in cocoa powder for a chocolate fix. So good! You can probably add a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder to the mix if you want an entire batch of chocolate peanut butter balls. I remembered to take a picture, too :) before my husband and I eat them all!