Recipes
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Eat at Home: How to Make a Perfect Veggie Burger
May 23 2013
Summer barbecues are traditionally meaty affairs, but there’s always room for a veggie burger. And I don’t mean a Boca Burger. I’m talking a homemade one that’s hearty, delicious and made with, you know, actual vegetables. I asked Eagle Rock’s Four Cafe owner Michelle Wilton how to make such a veggie burger, and she was nice enough to show us. On video. Check it out and then see the recipe and step by step instructions below.
The list of ingredients is lengthy but not too exotic, and the recipe makes about 12-15 burgers. Plus, you can freeze left over patties for 6 months.
1 red onion, diced
2 minced garlic cloves
1 cup of mixed kale and spinach
3 portobello mushrooms, chopped and grilled
3 c of cooked kidney beans
1 c of cooked black lentils
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup shredded beets
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup quinoa
Sauce:
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground flax meal
1 1/2 tsp agave
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
2 tsp soy sauce
Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Sautée diced red onion and minced garlic in a large pan over medium heat until softened. About 5 minutes. Add kale and spinach mixture and cook until softened for about 5 minutes more.
Step 2: Pulse grilled mushrooms, half of beans, onion mixture and half of lentils in a food processor. You can always mash and blend by hand if you don’t have a food processor. Transfer to a very large bowl.
Step 3: Add the rest of the beans, carrots, beets, quinoa and breadcrumbs.
Step 4: In a separate bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the sauce. Add it to the bean mixture. Mix very well.
Step 5: Form patties and lay them on a cookie sheet. For best results, chill them for 30 minutes. This will help maintain their shape once you begin cooking.
Step 6: If you’re using a frying pan, make sure the surface is very hot and well oiled. If you’re using a grill, make sure it’s very hot. Cook each side for 3 minutes. Melt cheese on top.
Step 7: Dress it up. Michelle uses a brioche bun, pickles, a thousand island style dressing, butter lettuce, red onions and cheddar cheese.
Is there a dish at an Eastside restaurant that you’d like to learn how to make? Let me know, and we’ll try to get the recipe for a future post.
-Valentina
Eat at Home: How to Make Delicious Croutons Out of Old Bread
Aug 27 2012
The problem with baguettes is that they go stale much too quickly. I used find myself throwing a hard, seemingly useless piece away only a day after enjoying the other half. It was sad, really, and so wasteful. But, happily, that madness is over for me because I’ve learned a crucial lesson: when life gives you old bread, you might as well make croutons.
Seriously, it’s so easy, you’ll freak. Then you’ll double freak when you realize how intensely homemade croutons can perk up your salad or soup.
To facilitate this revelation, all you really need is a little olive oil, your favorite savory seasonings and, of course, bread (see my recipe at the end of this post). First, preheat your oven to 375, then cut your baguette into 1/2 inch slices.
Eat at Home: Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
Mar 20 2012
I’m currently sitting on a stockpile of cinnamon rolls.
It’s true. They’re hanging out in a bag in the bottom drawer of my freezer, and every third morning or so, I break into it and enjoy one with some butter and tea. It’s quite the treat.
The best part is that I made them myself. That’s right—I made the dough, rolled it out, sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar and lived to tell about it. The result is super wholesome, relatively nutritious (75% whole wheat) pillowy cinnamon rolls that freeze well and can be reheated in a toaster oven…because you deserve a nice breakfast even on a weekday.
You can do it, too. Just beware that yeast is involved, so you’ll need a few hours of prep time. Here’s how (see full ingredients list at the end of post):
Prepare the dough: To start, heat butter and milk in a saucepan and set aside. Next, mix white flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour, water, yeast, sugar and eggs together at low speed using your paddle attachment. Now add the milk and butter mixture, salt, and the rest of the whole wheat flour. Don’t stop until it’s well blended.
If you have a kneading hook, now’s the time to use it. Start kneading, adding more flour (verrrrry slowly and in tiny amounts) if needed. The goal is to get a big ball of dough that doesn’t stick to the sides of the mixing bowl. Same goes if you’re kneading by hand. You want it to be moist but not sloppy. It should take about 10 minutes.
Once you get it right, transfer the ball into a large, oiled metal bowl. Cover with a towel, and put it in a warmish place.
Coconut Tapioca: Pudding’s Time Has Come
Feb 24 2012
I have to admit, I’m a big fan of the everything-old-is-new-again food trends. You know what I mean—like when restaurants start offering cookies and milk for dessert or their own version of Ho-Hos. It’s silly, but whatever, I’m not immune to the charms of such things.
Now I’m lobbying for another classic to have its day: I’m thinking it’s pudding’s time to shine. Specifically, tapioca pudding, so I offer a new take on the cafeteria favorite: coconut tapioca pudding. I say this knowing full well that there are a lot of detractors to tapioca. I get it. Those little beads can be a freaky, but I think the spark that coconut milk adds might help stem your fears.
I was really surprised at how easy tapioca pudding is to make from scratch, and how creamy, luscious and pretty the results were.
Here’s how I did it:
(See ingredients list at the bottom of this post.)
Step 1: Boil 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Once things get rolling, add tapioca beads and reduce to a simmer. Constant stirring is a must because the tapioca tends to stick to the bottom of the pan. Just keep things moving for about 10 minutes.
Eat at Home: Make Some Pretzel Bites. It’s Not That Hard.
Feb 09 2012
Me make pretzels? What were the chances? Pretty slim, actually, but ever since I got my new stand mixer, I’ve been pretty adventurous. I mean, this recipe even required yeast! Usually, that would be a deal breaker for me, but I took a chance.
And it was a rousing success.
I found the reasonably easy recipe on a great cooking blog called Two Peas & Their Pod and followed it to a tee. The result was a whole lot of gorgeous little golden brown pretzel bites. They were quite the hit, and I’ll definitely be making them again.
Here’s what you need:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast
3 oz. unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
Here’s how you do it:
Put water, butter, sugar and yeast in the bowl of your mixer. Use the hook attachment to blend it. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
From the Snacky Archives: Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
Feb 03 2012
A long, long time ago, I posted about these cheese-filled poppers. I thought I’d unearth the recipe again since that big football game is happening this weekend, and everyone’s looking for ideas. I’ll be making pretzels with cheese dip, myself, and I look forward to the gorge-fest element of the day.
Click here to see the original post with the recipe.
And here are some other recipes you might enjoy:
Super Bowl Snack: Spicy Cheese Ball Recipe (World’s Best)
Elf Cafe-Inspired Shallot Yogurt with Figs Dip
Have fun!
-Valentina
Eat at Home: Delicious Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies. No Kidding.
Feb 01 2012
First off, nobody is saying this is a healthy cookie. It’s neither low-fat nor low-calorie nor low-sugar. None of that is the point.
“What is the point?,” you ask. Well, part of it is that there’s some actual nutrition involved, and even more crucial is that these guys are delicious. They’re crisp, grainy in a good way, and a little salty with an appeal similar to that of McVities Digestives.
Perfect for the texture obsessed.
Being a big fan of whole grains, I’m always scouting for promising whole wheat cookie recipe, but almost all of them take a half-and-half approach—equal parts white and whole wheat flour—which seems gutless to me. I mean if you’re going to do it, then just do it. And that’s what this recipe does.
No pussyfootin’ around with the complex carbs here. I’m talking 100% whole wheat flour, baby.
Super Bowl Snack: Spicy Cheese Ball Recipe (World’s Best)
Jan 27 2012
If there’s one thing I don’t care about it’s the Super Bowl.
Just now, I even had to look up whether it was one word or two. That’s how not part of my consciousness it is.
I do, however, care a lot about party food—chips and dips, meat in blankets, etc. etc. And, since I figure some of you might be looking for something breathtaking to take to a Superbowl (darn it!) Super Bowl party, I’m sharing my should-be-famous Spicy Cheese Ball recipe with you.
Seriously, it’s the best in the world. The BEST! People go crazy for it.
It’s pieced together from the many cheese ball recipes I’ve followed over the years, plus a few of my own ideas. I did get the idea to use Gouda from Amy’s Sedaris’ Lil’ Smokey Cheese Ball recipe, but the rest of the credit, I’m holding onto.
Here’s what you need:
4 cups of Gouda cheese (about 1 lb)
2-3 Habanero chiles (depending on your spice desires and tolerance)
2-3 jalapenos
1 heaping tbsp of cilantro
2 packages of cream cheese (room temperature)
4 stalks of green onion
2 tbsp of mayo (Weird, right? But trust me.)
2 cups of chopped nuts (I use 1 cup walnuts, 1 cup pecans)
Eat at Home: Super-Healthy Chocolate Breakfast Smoothie Recipe
Jan 13 2012
Life can’t be all wet burritos and pie, but you can have a chocolate breakfast smoothie pretty much every day. At least I have ever since my new blender came into my life. It’s nothing special (the blender, I mean, not the smoothie)—just a $40 machine, but it sure does make a mean breakfast smoothie.
Thus far, I’ve experimented with a couple of different concoctions. I’ve done the yogurt-oj-banana thing and the berry-banana-milk shuffle, but the one that I keep coming back to is a powerhouse blend of antioxidants, vitamin C, protein, calcium, Omega 3s, and most importantly…chocolate.
For breakfast.
Still, it’s not too sweet, and the granola I layer in gives it an earthy quality that makes you feel like you’re some health nut living in Santa Cruz or Berkeley or whatever ultra-liberal college town you’d like to imagine yourself.
Sound good? Well, here’s what you need for one smoothie:
Accursed Fruitcake: A Holiday Drink Recipe from Allston Yacht Club
Dec 24 2011
Being pregnant at Christmas is a little harrowing. I really want to drink….many drinks! But, even if I can’t, I thought I’d be unselfish and share a great drink recipe from Allston Yacht Club in Echo Park with you. This Christmas/ Chanukah-ready concoction is called the Accursed Fruitcake, and it got the seal of approval from my husband, who is allowed to drink. Sigh. He says it embodies everything he loves about winter—it will make your friends and family all warm and festive.
Here’s the easy recipe:
2 oz Applejack
1 Tbs inebriated fruit*
Top with apple cider, and add a Splash of Ginger Beer.
Stir and serve in iced highball glass.
* For the inebriated fruit, you can use dried versions of any or all of following: cranberries, cherries, apricots, blueberries, peaches, candied ginger, white and dark raisins. Boil for 10 minutes. Drain and pour the fruit into a container. Add ¼ cup of sugar for every pound—a pound will make a ton of drinks. Now just add a few cinnamon sticks, a couple of cloves, and allspice. Cover with brandy and let sit until needed.
And, if your not up for making your own drinks, Allston is serving up 6 holiday cocktails until December 30th.
-Valentina
