Saturday, December 16, 2006

Moroccan Chickpea Patties......WOW! ('n a bunch of food)

Thank you, Dreena Burton, for this aMAzing recipe. I've seen some of you blog about these before and have been itching to try it. I can tell we're going have these many, many times in the future. I served them on leaves of Boston (butter) lettuce, Dreena's suggested Ginger Dipping Sauce and with a side of our favorite sauteed broccoli (saute in olive oil with garlic until nutty smell is wafting thru your kitchen but don't burn!...add oregano, basil, and sea salt, a bit of water, cover, and steam til desired tenderness....tastes buttery!) and half a sweet potato with a teeny bit of EB, some sea salt, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.I did make a tiny change or two to the patties in that I tossed the sauteed fennel and pepper in the food processor to break them down a bit then added about a cup of brown rice to the mixture to try and give it a little more form. I coated them in panko breadcrumbs (our favorite) and used both white and black sesame seeds in the breading.

I cannot get over how yummy these are and reeeeally enjoy eating them by way of picking them up inside the lettuce leaves after drizzling with the dipping sauce. The only thing better than this dinner? LUNCH of leftovers and an apple the next day.
It'd been a while since I made VWaV's Tempeh Bacon so I thought it was high time we had some for TLT'n A wraps (Tempeh, Lettuce, Tomato 'n Avacado).
My avacaco, tho nice and soft to the touch, was not quite ripe so I mashed it up and added a touch of lime juice, salt and pepper, and some vegannaise before adding it to the wrap.

Leftover Tempeh Bacon made for a great breakfast the next day with herbed roasted tiny potatoes, some avacado,
and some banana with Silk blueberry yogurt.

Here's a His 'n Hers display:
His

Hers (with a touch of Toffuti's) BTSC
I really cannot admit enough how much I rely on Amy's Non-Dairy burritos when I don't have time to cook anything. I especially enjoy loading 'em up when I'm all by my lonesome and don't want to mess up the kitchen but want a full meal. Here's one on top of a huge bed of romaine lettuce, topped with some hummus, Tofutti Better'n Sour Cream, fresh tomato, Zappata's Salsa Verde, and avacado. I wish you could see the romaine in this picture. It was such a deep, vibrant green and really nice to mix in with everything. Like my own little (well, not that little, really) burrito salad.

Yesterday I decided to try my hand at bread for a second time. I like that I don't own a bread machine and really enjoy the whole kneading and baking process so La Dolce Vegan's Easy French Bread sounded like a great recipe to work with. SO EASY! and now? the Cap'n has requested that we have this bread at least EVERY DAY. hehe. Here it is in the oven, almost done, just misted with water to give it that crunchy crust. And here it is cooling, just begging to be torn apart and eaten hot out of the oven. the inside is so soft, perfect bread in no time and with little effort, even!
Wanting something warm and flavorful to sop up with this amazing bread I reverted back to the Tofu Marsala recipe that I'd stumbled upon a few months ago in Veg. Times.
I love this one pot meal and the flavor is really amazing. I didn't have enough Marsala wine in the house so i subbed half of what is called for with some Sherry and honestly? While I thought it smelled a bit different upon reducing, the end resulting flavor was just as delicious as I remember.

I served it with roasted brussel sprouts (something else the Cap'n wants only every day...me too!) and they were so fantastic at soaking up some of that marsala goodness inbetween their tender leaves. I swear, they are a perfect food!
I'm ashamed to say that, of those two loaves of bread pictured above, only a third of one remains today. We just could not stop eating the stuff! I'm going to have to limit my bread making in the future ;), but am really excited to get into making some whole grain baguettes.

Oh, and before I forget...I've been wanting to share with all of you my new, favorite snack. I've actually been enjoying it for quite some time but never seem to remember to blog about it. If you're anything like me you want a healthy snack from time to time but don't want to rely on processed foods, even the good organic varieties that lend themselves to all that packaging. Enter homemade TRAIL MIX!
I've been treating myself to bulk bins at the local healthfood store and stocking up on raw cashews, raw almonds, raw sunflower seeds, roasted pepitas, raisins, vegan chocolate chips, and my beloved crystallized ginger. I just chop it up and add with the rest of the above and keep in ziplocs or tupperware containers and basically always have some in my purse, just in case. I'm thinking I need to add some dried cherries or cranberries and maybe some coconut or dried mango the next trip to the store, but I am totally loving this combination as is right now.

25 comments:

aTxVegn said...

Okay, I'm the only one who hasn't made the chickpea patties yet. But I will soon!

I made that french bread too - it was so easy. Now you gotta try the Sassy Sandwich Bread too. I make it with 1/2 whole wheat flour instead of all white flour. It's just as easy and just as good.

I remember you posting about the tofu marsala before. I'll have to try that too, esp. with Brussels sprouts which I love!

Amey said...

What a fun post!
I was looking through the various recipes I tried this year, and I noticed that I had twice meant to make the chickpea patties - but hadn't gotten around to it. It must happen soon!

Also, I love all the other goodies you've got - the tempeh, the burrito, the trail mix, and THE BREAD!!!! Oh Goodness... Don't feel bad about confessing to eating so much bread - Frankly, I'm just impressed that you still had any left!

:)

Batty said...

haha.. i'm with atxvegn.. maybe we're the only TWO that haven't made chickpea patties yet haha... we'll get there!

.. everything looked so good in that post mmmmmmmmmmmmm.. wanna come be my personal chef? haha

laura k said...

I haven't ever made those chickpea patties, but I have heard so much about them that I really ought to try them soon.

I'm with you on the bread--I LOVE kneading my own dough and would never, ever want to leave it to a breadmaker. That French bread looks so good... I wish I could splurge on another cookbook just so I could make that! Honestly, I love bread!

laura k said...

I haven't ever made those chickpea patties, but I have heard so much about them that I really ought to try them soon.

I'm with you on the bread--I LOVE kneading my own dough and would never, ever want to leave it to a breadmaker. That French bread looks so good... I wish I could splurge on another cookbook just so I could make that!

laura k said...

I haven't ever made those chickpea patties, but I have heard so much about them that I really ought to try them soon.

I'm with you on the bread--I LOVE kneading my own dough and would never, ever want to leave it to a breadmaker. That French bread looks so good... I wish I could splurge on another cookbook just so I could make that!

laura k said...

I haven't ever made those chickpea patties, but I have heard so much about them that I really ought to try them soon.

I'm with you on the bread--I LOVE kneading my own dough and would never, ever want to leave it to a breadmaker. That French bread looks so good... I wish I could splurge on another cookbook just so I could make that!

laura k said...

I haven't ever made those chickpea patties, but I have heard so much about them that I really ought to try them soon.

I'm with you on the bread--I LOVE kneading my own dough and would never, ever want to leave it to a breadmaker. That French bread looks so good... I wish I could splurge on another cookbook just so I could make that!

laura k said...

I haven't ever made those chickpea patties, but I have heard so much about them that I really ought to try them soon.

I'm with you on the bread--I LOVE kneading my own dough and would never, ever want to leave it to a breadmaker. That French bread looks so good... I wish I could splurge on another cookbook just so I could make that!

laura k said...

I haven't ever made those chickpea patties, but I have heard so much about them that I really ought to try them soon.

I'm with you on the bread--I LOVE kneading my own dough and would never, ever want to leave it to a breadmaker. That French bread looks so good... I wish I could splurge on another cookbook just so I could make that!

laura k said...

I haven't ever made those chickpea patties, but I have heard so much about them that I really ought to try them soon.

I'm with you on the bread--I LOVE kneading my own dough and would never, ever want to leave it to a breadmaker. That French bread looks so good... I wish I could splurge on another cookbook just so I could make that!

urban vegan said...

I have to make these patties. I know I'll love them.

You've been a busy girl. It all looks wonderful. Nice to nurture yourself with homemade food.

Brooke said...

Mmmm, I have been eyeing those chickpea patties for a while too! Excellent foodstuffs!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE the Moroccan Patties. I have made them several times since I first tried them.

Your photographs are always so vibrant and beautiful ! Everything you make looks like an explosion of color and freshness :)

Anonymous said...

love the post, im with thew rest i need to try them :) thanks for share so much yummy food!

Anonymous said...

Happy Holidays!

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

I remember seeing that tofu marsala shot on your blog a while back, I'm big on Italian food done with tofu and will look into it.

And that breakfast plate - I *need* to make that!

Dan said...

Holy Toledo these things look good! And they're vegan??

I didn't know there were so many of us out there. I found you by following a comment trail.

Thanks for posting these cool recipes!

Dr. Melissa West said...

Wow you have really been cooking! I love the chick pea patties too. I have got to try that tempeh bacon... if I could only find a good source of tempeh around here! I'm impressed with the bread.

Candi said...

Hi!! :) :) I'm back and am amazed at all the foods you've made!! It all looks so good!

ok, for that first photo, were you standing on the ceiling?! Lol!! What a cool shot!

I love those chickpea patties! I'm glad you tried them and love the idea of putting them on lettuce!

Great job on the home made bread! I still use the bread machine. :) (even for pizza dough!) :) Making it like you do sounds fun though!

I love the trail mix idea!! I keep nuts in the car in case I am starving and cannot find anything good to eat! I like your idea of the mixed nuts and fruits from the bulk section! :) I think I will do that and seal them in snack sized 'to-go' bags!!

Thanks for the great ideas!!

Candi said...

Thank you so much for the message you left me about beanie bunny! You're so sweet. yes, I always think of you working in that refuge. Must have been sad to see so many unwanted bunnies!

I had to ask you if that is normal for a bunny to just died with no signs of illness? Seems so odd to us. He was fine the night before! I had no idea. I feel guilty, but I have no idea what I could have done differently. Did you have any experience with bunnies before and showing no signs of illness?

Thanks again for the comment!!!!

madeinalaska said...

Happy New year to you and yours.. Love that standing on a chair (?) shot..
Julee

Michelle said...

i haven't made those moroccan chickpea patties yet, but they are on my list of things to make... glad you like them! do you think they would hold up well in a lunch box?

Candi said...

Just popping back in to say hi! :) Hope you are doing well!!

Anonymous said...

Cool shot of your kitchen from "up high!" Really neat idea.

The chickpea patties sound great. Will have to give'em a try.