Tried and True

Always good to have a few tried and true recipes in your collection. I am a huge fan of the  vegetarian "patty". Any combo of grain and bean and veg bound together with a bit of egg or starch then baked or sauteed to store in the freezer. Never reach for a Boca Burger again. 

These are orange, perfect for Halloween.

Now that you've cooked some quinoa and sweet potatoes are in season and very inexpensive  try your hand at this. 

Sweet Potato Kale Patties

 8oz Kale leaves, well rinsed, de-stemmed and fine chopped

1 1/2tsp salt

¾ LB sweet potatoes cut in ¼” dice

2 cups of quinoa rinsed and drained

1 small onion fine diced

½ C fine grated parmesan cheese

2Tbs minced fresh dill

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

2 large eggs, beaten

In a large pot bring 4 cups of water to boil. Add the kale and salt. Cook 1 minute and remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl, allow to cool

Bring the water back to a boil and add the sweet potatoes. Simmer 3-8 minutes until tender. Remove potatoes with slotted spoon

Measure the water that remains in the pot  to 3 cups, bring it to a boil and add the quinoa. Simmer 15-20 minutes until all the water is absorbed.

While the quinoa cooks, squeeze out the excess water from the cooled cooked kale.

in a large bowl add the kale and all other ingredients. I like to smoosh most  of the potatoes. When the quinoa is ready add it to the bowl and lightly mix everything together.

Use a ½ cup measure to scoop and form patties. Cook in a large skillet over medium heat a few minutes on each side. Use olive oil if your pan is not non-stick. I like the flavor you get using a cast iron pan.   

 I’ve made versions of this one  a few times and here are my notes

*not in the (slower) mood to use one pan 3 times, zip though the prep by starting all 3cooked  items at once  in different pots

*I rarely measure, just use what I happen to have on hand.

 *This can easily go vegan by omitting the egg and cheese (although I do prefer the added flavor of  a good parmesan).

*Substitute a dash of  hot sauce in place of the cayenne.

*If you don’t have dill don’t go out of your way to find it.

*Use red onion, white onion, scallions or chives

*add some cooked and rinsed black beans or chick peas (garbanzo) to the mix

*allow cooked patties to cool then freeze in containers or freezer baggies with a sheet of freezer paper between each patty

*Cook in a pan on the stove top or spray a cookie sheet and bake them (not too long or they will dry out) 

And here; The Recipe!

As always, Make it then tweak it to your liking! Add and subtract the elements that you prefer. I added some kale  and toasted pumpkin seeds to mine. I think a diced red bell pepper would add some nice color and crunch. 
If you are new to Quinoa I urge you to buy a little...say 1 cup...cook it and add it to a few things you normally make (stores that have bulk bins often carry quinoa so you could get a small amount to try, it expands when cooked so it does not take much) 

Smokey Black Bean Quinoa Salad
2C water
1/2 tsp salt
1C quinoa (rinse and drain well before cooking) 
4 scallions or green onions sliced thin
2 C cooked black beans (or a can or two drained and rinsed)
3 Tbs olive oil
Juice of 1-2 small limes
1/2 C chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 Can chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (finely chop the pepper and use 1 tsp or more of the sauce.)
1/2 tsp cumin

In a saucepan bring the water to boil. Add the rinsed quinoa and salt. Lowe heat, cover and cook 15 minutes until the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to cool before adding to the salad. 
While the quinoa is cooking
In a small bowl combine the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chipotle, adobo sauce and cumin. 
Whisk until combined. 
In a large bowl mix the beans, onions, and cilantro.
Add the cooled quinoa and the chipotle dressing and mix well. 
Serve chilled or at room temperature. 

You may remember my rants in lasts years posts about the horrible taste side effects of the meds. Cancer related recipes often focus on stimulating different areas of the tongue. Salt and citrus are good! 
Cruciferous veggies are other heavy hitters and all kinds of soups for the texture and palatability.  
A fantastic resource is  The Cancer Fighting Kitchen, a cookbook by Rebecca Katz. 

Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce  are a common item at any Texas Grocery store. not sure for you peeps in other states so here is a photo. They come in a small can; about 1/2 the size of a regular caned item. 

Saturday mad-dash

Go go go...non-stop go lately. Recipe on the way.  I'm trying to cut and paste from a PDF but not able so I may have to take the time to type it out for you.
I did manage to make the recipe and took some to work so my colleagues could try it. 
No matter how busy I get I always find time to cook (good) food from scratch. 

Today I participated in the subdivision annual garage sale. Three words of advice: Don't do it! 
Hardly worth the time and effort it took to clean out the closets, move the stuff outside, get it organized and think about pricing. On a good note, I did clean out the closets and move stuff outside and it is NOT coming back in. I'm hauling the remains of my morning activities to Goodwill. This was one of the baby steps towards moving in the next few weeks. 
Have you peaked in your closets lately? This will be my 4th move in 7 years. In my early 20's I think my parents counted 8 different addresses for me in a period of 3 years. I did not own furniture so it was a few boxes of clothes in the trunk of the car and I was off and running. Then I settled into a house for over a decade. Now I'm back on the move. I don't know where I am going yet but it's sure to be new and exciting. 

 why yes, that is a flower in my hair!

 Co-worker's birthday. Made some cupcakes. Spinach Empanadas too...just because. 

 This is the Black Bean and Quinoa salad in process (recipe coming)

And here to your right......the leftovers of the morning endeavors. 
And now I'm headed for some people watching and a hot cup of tea up at The Domain. (I can't afford to shop there but it's great to linger and watch) 

New stuff

Hey Ya'll. 
I'll start with the fact that there is absolutely nothing going on with the hair. It is amazingly-frustratingly slow!!! Bald was easy. I didn't mind at all. The growing part appears to be complicated. I've not yet resorted to odd products and gimmicks and I'm thankful for my friends who tell me every day how much they like my short style. 

Just after my last post I did get what I thought was a dramatic cut and I was excited to post but no one really even noticed and when I took photos I  realized it didn't look that different (to you) It was only a big deal to me. I had the bottom half clipped on a #4 guard and left the top hoping to create enough visual difference to "appear" longer. Think something like the new Miley Cyrus "do". (But she has about 8 inches up top to my measly 3) 

The new News. 
This week I started taking a 6 week cooking class offered to Cancer survivors. I love to cook and have been using a lot of the ingredients and recipes I read while researching what to eat while coping with cancer last Fall. I feel lucky to have scored a spot in this (free!!!!) class. I'm excited to meet some new people and learn new recipes. 
The class is sponsored in part by the Sustainable Food Center. 
I look forward to sharing what I learn and I will be posting the recipes and tips here in this blog so check back soon.