Sweet Potato Burgers

Quick post tonight - sorry I haven't been posting recently.  Kind of got attacked by integrals/derivatives.  It was rather scary, to tell the truth.  But it's all good - got some excellent grades, and I'm feeling good about life right now..
ANYWAY

Adapted from How Sweet Eats

Roughly blend/ mash

• 1 sweet potato, cubed and cooked
• 1 tbps flax meal mixed with 1 tbsp water
• 1 cup white beans
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced and sauteed
• 1/3 cup bread cumbs
• 1/3 cup oat flour
• Smoked paprika, onion powder, and cumin

For the sauce, blend silken tofu with LOTS of roasted galic.

Shape into patties and bake for about 20 minutes at 350, until cooked.
Serve on buns with avocado, red onion, and sauce.
*A note on the buns: I managed to get my hands on some white whole wheat flour this weekend, and used that to make the buns.  They turned out much better!  Yum!

Desserts!

Well, my friends, I am not allowed to upload any more pictures.  Quel horreur, mes amis!  So, I think until I have the time+energy to mess around with that stuff, I'll be linking you to my Tumblr (which you should visit anyway ;) ) for my pictures, and posting the recipes here.
Oh, gosh, I'm writing this at 4:41 in the morning.  I will be leaving at 7 for my traditional Thanksgiving Day race (I'm so excited), and I guess I was just too anxious to sleep... (?)  So, thus, I am typing this, in order to stall on doing my french homework...

I give you desserts!

Up first is CCK's crustless pumpkin pie, which I gave a crust, and topped with some raw whipped cream.  I made two servings, and divided that recipe into two ramkins.  For the crust I mixed together 3 tbsp oatmeal, 1 tbsp whole wheat flour, and 1 tbsp applesauce, and baked it for about 12 minutes at 350, until firm.  Then I added the pie (doubling pretty much all of the seasonings), and using baking blend stevia. 

These babies were a chocolateglobofgoodness :D  I used PB2, and sugar free maple syrup for the agave, but no changes other than that.  Woooowww...

I wasn't too big on the texture of these blondies, but it may have just been my flour.  However, the flavour was excellent.  I used applesauce for the oil, and skipped the frosting since it doesn't freeze too well.

WHOLLYFREAKINGBANANAS This cake was excellent.  Seriously.  Good.  Gooooood.  I essentially fifthed the recipe, so I used 2 dates, 1/5 banana, and 3 tbsp of pretty much everything else.  The only actual changed were to use applesauce for the oil, and instant coffee powder + water for the coffee.  Topped with more of the raw whipped cream from above.

Oatmeal ATTTTAAAAAAAACK!

So, here's what I did... made a quadruple batch of Bottomless Oatmeal, and just reheated the stuff every day, with a different flavour each day!  It worked out great, and oatmeal tasted normal.  Saved sooo much time too!  I also added a splash of almond milk when reheating, to loosen it up a bit.

 

#1: Pina Colada.
Pineapple, cinnamon, stevia, reduced fat shredded coconut, sunflower seeds

#2: Mocha
Instant coffee powder, cocoa powder, banana (roughly mashed), vanilla extract, low fat shredded coconut

#3: Loaded PB and J
Granola (actually leftover oatmeal cookie crumbs!), frozen banana, frozen strawberry, peanut butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar free strawberry jelly, peanuts

#4: Banana Split
Frozen banana, frozen strawberry, fresh pinapple, cinnamon, stevia, dark cocoa powder, vanilla extract

#5: Peach Pie
Cinnamon, nutmeg, frozen peach, mashed banana, cinnamon, walnuts, sugar free maply syrup, butter extract

#6: Banana Peanut butter
Banana, peanut butter, vanilla extract, dark cocoa powder, stevia

#7: Chai
Instant coffee powder, mashed banana, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla extract, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon

#8: Orange
Chopped glow orange, walnuts, maple syrup, vanilla extract

#9: Sweet Potato and Cranberry
Mashed sweet potato, dried cranberries, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar free maple syrup

#10: PB and J
Strawberries, banana, peanut butter, sugar free maple syrup, vanilla extract

#11: Blueberry and Chia
Frozen blueberries, chia seeds, walnuts, cinnamon, flax seeds, dried goji berries, sugar free maple syrup

Lunch Wrap + Blueberry Muffins

Double whammy today! 
A) I'm proud of myself for starting to be braver about eating raw foods - like onion.  I used to be so scared to eat raw foods like onion and cabbage, because I thought it would mess up my stomach (don't ask).  However, my courage is slowly returning.  Thus, I put raw onion in my lunch wraps, and am loving it!
B) Have been searching for frozen blueberries for a llllllooooong time, and finally found them!  I don't like fresh blueberries (I know, don't hate), but decided to try frozen.  Voila, I like 'em!

And with all of that...

Muffins are from HHL, changes are whole wheat flour, baking blend stevia in place of sugar, omitted orange juice and oil, gingerbread cookie tea, and no almonds.  24 mini muffins at 35 calories per muffin.
The wrap is adapted loosely from VegBurgers.  It consists of:

• avocado
• raw red onion slivers
• silken tofu blended with lemon and cilantro,
• iceburg lettuce
• smoky cashew-pesto cheese, using this pesto recipe (omitting the oil, using water instead, and omitting the miso), and adding sun dried tomatoes to it
• tofu, pressed, cooked on the panini press after being smothered in bbq sauce (omitting the oil, omitting the bourbon and adding vegan worchestire sauce and rum extract)

And I suppose that I should go ahead and add in here that I made a pizza with the bbq sauce:
Pizza crust topped with bbq sauce, paninied mushrooms and red bell pepper, arugula, and the cheese from above.

Dessert Plate

 

Ok, so this first one... let's just say I wasn't expecting it to taste all that great after I made it - it looked kind of off.  BUT, contrary to my expectations... WOW.  It had that flavour of sweet, sweet fruit.  Seriously, this is good stuff.

Adapted from Sweet Healthy Living

Part 1, the fruit: Mix together 1/4 cup chopped frozen strawberries, 1/4 cup chopped frozen bananas, 2 tsp chia seeds, a drizzle of maple syrup, a dash of cinnamon, and a dash of dried ginger.  Let sit in the fridge for several hours to thicken.

Part 2, the whipped cream (more than needed): blend 1 pear (ripe, cored, peeled, roughly chopped), 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/3 cup raw cashews, a dash of dried ginger, 2 dates, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp xanthan gum.

When you are ready to serve, top the fruit with the cream, and sprinkle with granola (I just used store-bought).  Mix together.

 

And now for the cookies and such...

 



The newcomers here are...
The white blob on the bottom is cookie dough from Chockolawtay.  I halved the recipe, skipped the protein powder, butter extract, coconut extract, rice flour, and vanilla paste.  I added vanilla extract and rum extract, and used baking blend stevia for the sweetener.  Big hit!
The chocolate to the right of the cookie dough is red velvet fudge from Foodie Fiasco.. although, obviously, not so red.  I opted to use banana, and thought these also turned out excellent.  Zapping in the microwave is not optional, trust me.
On the veeery right of my plate was some banana-pistachio bread.  Yuuum!  Straight from Boy and the Rabbit, only I skipped the frosting and added the pistachios straight into the bread.  Hey, that worked too...
The cookies on the left are pumpkin oatmeal.  I wasn't too impressed with them - rather flavourless, actually.

Zesty Sweet Potato Burgers

I honestly think that these are some of the best burgers I have ever made. 

 

 

Bursting with flavour...

 

And full of veggies!

Adapted from Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes

Blend until smooth:

• 1 small sweet potato, peeled, cubed, and boiled until tender
• 1 cup crimini mushrooms (~5), sauteed
• 2 dates
• 1 lime, peeled
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• Chipotle powder
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Cumin

Mix with 1/4 cup millet, cooked, and a handful of pepitas. Shape into patties, and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so, until firm. Serve on buns with ketchup and pickles.

Saturday Dessert Plate #2

I think I'll start posting this every Sunday.  Some things remain the same, and some change!
See last time's plate here.

Newcomers and updates:

The candied almonds were completely frozen this time, and the texture was much better.  The taste is still somewhat off, but that *might* be remedied next week... stay tuned!
Made some orange cardamom mousse!  It's not that hard... really.  Chuck into a vitamix: 1 small peeled orange, ~8 oz tofu (I used half silken and half firm because that's what was readily available), 1/2 tsp cardamom powder, a small splash of almond milk, ~1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup, ~3 tbsp stevia (might want to add more, it could have been sweeter), and 3 tbsp cocoa powder.  Blend until smooth - and further.  The texture of this was great, with the help of Mr. V!  Just slightly puffy....  Recipe adapted from Oh My Veggies.
No-bake chocolate-PB balls!  The texture was a bit odd - still needs some work.  But the flavour was all there.  Mix together 2 tbsp brown rice flour (might go with oat flour, or straight up oatmeal, next time), 2 tbsp almond meal, 1  scant tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp stevia  (would add more next time), a heaping tbsp PB2, and enough sugar free maple syrup to make a dough-like substance.  Chill until firm.  Recipe adapted from Chocolawty.

What's Up Wednesday #6

Interesting article about agave - Why I Never Use Agave Nectar.  I never knew this stuff!

I tossed leftover veggies/setian on a bbq sauce - slathered bun, and called that dinner.  (Ok, so I had my usual soup and salad too...)

Friday was a MASSIVE cooking session for me! 
First up, I made Colby Cheese from Ordinary Vegetarian.  This was my first time trying agar... THAT STUFF IS SO WEIRD.  No kiddin'... I omitted the lemon juice (all my lemons went into making lemonade!), used 2 roasted bell peppers, cashews, and straight up sesame seeds instead of tahini.  It smelled fabulous...
Secondly was a strawberry bbq sauce, which also smelled really good.  I slathered it on tofu slabs, and stuck that on a sandwich.  Uh, YUM!  (Adapted from Vegan Yack Attack) Changed to the sauce: half recipe, 3/4 cup strawberries, add a bit of water, and ~1/4 cup sugar free blueberry jelly... I ran out of strawberries...

Lastly was this super-awesome-amazing salad dressing from Fat Free Vegan.  I followed it pretty closely, just doubled it, used a shallot in place of onions, and used sesame seeds in place of tahini.  Oh, gosh, this is the BEST dressing I have made in ages.. Susan is such a dressing genius.

And on Tuesday, I made a little army of vegan sausages!  OK, guys, repeat after me: I will read the instructions in the recipe and not blindly assume that all water goes directly in the dish.
I totally added the two cups of water to the gluten... and you can imagine how watery THAT turned out... -_-  Oh, well.  I ended up omitting the apple part of the sausages, using 1/2 cup oat flour in place of oats, 1 1/4 cup gluten, and 1/4 cup brown rice flour in place of rice.  They actually turned out realllllly good, though.  Although they did need about 45 minutes of baking time, not 30.  But, still, I think the flavour can best be discribed as 'calming', if that makes any sense at all...

One last thing... this morning I made Coffee Gingerbread Oatmeal... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Good stuff.  I made bottomless oats, and then added the banana and spices from this recipe (and stevia), using instant coffee powder in place of brewed coffee.

Oh, sorry, I lied.  HERE's the last thing... I made a coffee flavour of my b-fast tofu dip, which went very well with pizzerts.  Just blend silken tofu, almond milk, instant coffee grounds, and stevia.

What's Up Wednesday #5

Lemon poppy seed oatmeal!  Again using this bottomless oatmeal recipe, and adapting the flavouring from The Oatmeal Artist.  Notes on the oatmeal: You have to let this stuff simmer for about 2 hours - as long as possible, really.  The idea is to force the grains to absorb as much water as possible.  Also, leave the lid on your pot - this will keep the water in, and force it to be absorbed.  The more liquid that escapes, the smaller the portion!  However, I have ended up having to leave the lid off for a few minutes right before I eat the oatmeal, in order to not have it SO liquidy.  To the oats I added: juice of 1 lemon, a bit less than 1/2 mashed banana, ~2 tsp poppy seeds, ~1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup, ~3 tbsp baking stevia, and ~ 2 tsp cinnamon.

More oatmeal (again, using the bottomless oats recipe), this time with CHOCOLATE!  Yay, giant bowl of chocolate [oats] in my tummy right now!  Basically, I added 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, a few hazlenuts, and a whole pile of stevia, adapted from Chocolawty.  Uh, YUM!  (You know, this really makes me think that I need to get some stevia extract.  All of this powdered stevia is getting a bit overwhelming... )

Attempted, and HATED, this cereal.  Erm... wow, epic fail, right there, guys!

I started a new anime - Soul Eater.  Boy, I am SUCH an anime freak.

My computer totally got infected with a virus on Friday, and I spent all Friday and the better part of Saturday babying the poor thing.  Luckily, M and I were able to fix it, and all is well now... I hope!

Guess what!  Home made lemonade: 1/2 lemon to 1 cup water, and stevia to taste.  YUM!  It's so easy, why haven't I tried this before?

What's Up Wednesday #4

Chocolate Covered Katie's granola bars - dipped in my strawberry sauce (the picture, however, is just jam)!  (Used sugar free maple syrup, added cinnamon, and all applesauce, comes to ~800 calories for the whole recipe)

Spent waaaay to much time watching Gurren Lagann

Better picture of ramen noodle soup ;)

Ohmygosh this article is so sobering: on yahoo.

I made chickpea flour in my Vitamix.  Oh, the NOISE killed me -_-

And then used it in this setian recipe to put in soup, baking at 350 instead of steaming, and omitting the anise and beef flavouring.  That seems to give it a better texture, in my opinion - less rubbery.

And I also made this setian, again baking it, omitting the oil, using 1 tbsp corn starch in place of the tapioca, and using water in place of the wine.  Really good in a sandwich!

Fresh corn on the cob!  First time in years I have tried corn.  My dad would eat corn with fish, so I always associated the two together.  However, the food pantry that I volunteer at got some fresh corn in - I'd say about 1000 ears.  I spent about 2 hours shucking that stuff last Friday... and I was like "I should try corn again!"  So I did a bit of homework, and found this nice little article on Fat Free Vegan.  Shuck the corn, bake at 350 for half an hour.  AMAZING!

Did you guys know that your body does not absorb the calories from fiber!?!?!  Yay!  You learn something new every day.  Here's a good article about it.

And, finally, I made a tasty salad dressing with the last dreggs of the pineapple juice.  First I boiled the juice for a few minutes to reduce it, and then blended that with tofu, fresh oregano, and fresh basil in my Vitamix.  Yum - great summer dressing!

TVP Burgers

Epic burger-ness!

Yay!

And, like M said, the pickles are the best part.  (Totally kidding ;) )

Adapted from Melomeals

For the sauce: blend together 1/2 cup tofu, 2 tsp onion powder, 2 tsp garlic powder, a few pickles, liquid smoke, and 1 tsp dried mustard.  Set aside.
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil.  In a large-ish bowl, mix together 1 cup tvp, 1/2 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion powder, fresh chopped oregano, sage, paprika, 1 tbsp flax meal, 3 tbsp nooch, 1/3 cup oatmeal, and 1/2 cup italian flavoured bread crumbs (whew!  That was a lot!)
Pour about 1/2 of the boiling water into the tvp mixture, and add 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, liquid smoke, 2 tbsp ketchup, and a bit of balsamic vinegar.  Add water until the mixture can be formed into patties.  Shape into patties and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.  Serve on hamburger buns with tofu sauce, cheeze sauce, and pickles!