Bean Burgers

A vegetarian alternative to both standard hamburgers and frozen veggie burger patties.

Ingredients 
(for 4 burgers)

For patties:
2 cups cooked kidney beans
2 cups cooked brown rice
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon dried parsley
dash of salt
bit of bread crumbs, as needed

For the rest:
swiss (or other) cheese slices
½ an avocado
dash of flax seeds
lettuce
tomato slices
hamburger buns
dressings to taste: salsa, ketchup, mustard, honey mustard, or mayonnaise

Create a thick paste with all of the patty ingredients by blending them in a food processor.  If it doesn't seem firm enough, add a little bread crumbs.  Form patties and fry them in olive oil over medium heat.

Sprinkle a little flax seeds over the cheesed patties, and lay avocado slices over them.

Then add additional condiments as you like, and enjoy!

Tomato and Eggs with Soy Sauce

This is a simple and yummy dish, perfect for those days when you don't have much else in your refrigerator but don't feel like leaving the house.

Ingredients
(for 2-3 servings)

5 eggs
olive oil
2 large tomatoes (or 3 roma tomatoes)
½ cup water, plus more as needed
2 cloves garlic, minced
dash of sugar
1 tablespoon flour
soy sauce

Using a small dab of oil, scramble the eggs in a frying pan, and then set them aside in a bowl.

Slice the tomatoes into thin wedges. Heat up about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the same pan and fry the tomatoes over medium heat. After a minute, add half a cup of water and minced garlic. Sprinkle a dash of sugar over it as well.

While the tomatoes are cooking, mix soy sauce into a tablespoon of flour until it makes a brown paste, similar to the consistency of pancake batter.

When the tomatoes are soft and cooked, add the flour-soy sauce batter and the scrambled eggs, mixing well.  It should be somewhat wet, so add more water as necessary.  Simmer for a couple minutes, then serve with steamed white rice.

Chow Fun Noodles with Bok Choy

Ingredients

8 oz. dry wide rice noodles (chow fun)
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 onions
4 garlic cloves
1 lb. bok choy--the smaller, the better
4 tablespoons Sa Cha sauce (I use Lee Kum Kee brand)
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt to taste
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Dash of chili pepper
Splash of rice vinegar
(optional: ½ cup chopped roasted peanuts)

Cook the chow fun noodles in boiling water for 4-5 minutes, or until soft.  Drain them and set them aside in the strainer.

Cut the onion into strips and slice the garlic thinly.  Saute in the oil over medium-high heat until the onions are yellowish and glassy.  If your bok choy is large, cut it into edible pieces.  Toss it into the pan with the onions and garlic.

After a couple minutes, add the noodles.  Make sure it's not clumped together; if it is, run a little water over it and separate it with your hands before adding it to the pan.

Add the Sa Cha sauce, sugar, and a little salt. Stir it up and mix the ingedients together well.

After you put it in serving dishes, sprinkle fresh chopped cilantro and a dash of chili pepper over the top.  Drizzle a few drops of rice vinegar over it too.  If you'd like, top it off with chopped peanuts.

Veggie Fried Rice

My idea of fast food is homemade fried rice, made with leftover steamed rice and whatever veggies are lying around.  This recipe’s really flexible, but here’s a basic way to throw together an easy, yummy, and healthy meal.

 

Ingredients

3 eggs

4 tablespoons oil
5 cups steamed white rice (measured already cooked)
1 cup fresh or frozen carrots and peas

½ cup frozen or canned corn

Kikkoman* soy sauce to taste

Salt to taste

(optional: dash of sugar)

¼ cup chopped green onions

*I don't usually promote particular brands, but there are lots of soy sauces out there, and some of them are just awful. Use Kikkoman.

Heat up a small dab of oil in a frying pan at medium heat and scramble the eggs.  Add the rest of the oil and put the rice in.  (If the rice is leftover and clumped together, be sure to break it apart with your hands before frying, and add a little water if it’s dry.)

If your veggies are frozen, defrost them by putting them in a bowl and running warm water over them a few times.  Add the carrots, peas, and corn to the frying pan.  Drizzle soy sauce over it until it’s light tannish-brown.  Sprinkle salt on it and mix well.  If you want a little sweet kick, sprinkle a bit of sugar over it too.  Taste it and add more salt, soy sauce, and/or oil as needed.  Also sprinkle a bit more water over it if it seems dry.

Add the green onions and mix it up well.  Enjoy!

Libby's Pumpkin Rolls

Ingredients

                         

(Cake)

    ¼ cup powdered sugar

    ¾ cup all-purpose flour

    ½ teaspoon baking powder

    ½ teaspoon baking soda

    ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

    ½ teaspoon ground cloves

    ¼ teaspoon salt

    3 large eggs

    1 cup granulated sugar

    ²/₃ cup pumpkin puree

    (optional: 1 cup walnuts, chopped)

(Filling)

    1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature

    1 cup powdered sugar

    6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    A bit of powdered sugar (for decoration)

For cake:

Preheat oven to 375° F (190°C). Grease a 10x15 inch baking pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour the wax paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar to keep the cake from sticking to it later.

Ccombine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in a large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in the flour mixture. Spread evenly into the pan, over the wax paper. Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts nuts.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn the cake onto the towel prepared with powdered sugar. Carefully peel off the wax paper. Roll up the cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on a wire rack.

To add the filling:

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in a small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll the cake and spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over it. Reroll the cake, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least an hour. Sprinkle the edges with powdered sugar before serving.