Piles

I’ve decided that my favorite meals are pretty standard: whole grain, protein, mountains of vegetables. The combinations are endless… quinoa, rice, millet, oats, beans, tempeh, tofu, EVERYTHING.

Tonight’s pile included brown rice with roasted onions, broccoli, zucchini and wild rice tempeh. This is simply my favorite way to eat… simply.

Tempeh sandwich

Today I tried a new-to-me tempeh flavor: wild rice. I bought this kind:

Wild rice tempeh

I love me some tempeh, but I think the black strands of wild rice are going to freak some people out.

Hmmm

On a sandwich, this tempeh is really no different that the regular kind in terms of taste and texture. If you eat the tempeh alone though, free of bread and condiments, you’ll catch the chewiness of the rice. It doesn’t taste weird. It’s just there.

I think my favorite tempeh (other than plain) is garden vegetable.

Anyway, I had this one on Udi’s gluten-free with tahini dressing, spinach and tabbouleh. Tastay.

No vegetable left behind

In an attempt to empty the fridge of perishable food items before they near their end and before I replace them with more appetizing selections after my Sunday grocery trip, I created a strange but delicious lunch: brown rice, maple balsamic glazed tofu roasted broccoli, green peppers, carrots, eggplant, pecans and Stew’s magical spinach feta hummus.

Few things are more irritating than tossing out food, and I’ve already thrown away one moldy peach this week so this pile was a necessity. I must say, Stew’s hummus MADE the meal.

Tempeh sandwich with avocado and slaw

Don’t you hate when people say panini when talking about a singular sandwich? No? You didn’t take one measly semester of Italian and now consider yourself the official Italian Grammar Cop? Just me?

Really though… panini means sandwiches. Panino means sandwich. However, it’s permeated American English in such a way that I fear there’s no turning back. In fact, I say panini all the time.

Anyway, this PANINO was awesome. It had tempeh, avocado and carrot zucchini slaw on Udi’s gluten-free multigrain bread and was toasted up on the Breville.

Breville panini press

Stew bought this one day and we kind of didn’t think we’d use it. We were wrong. It’s super fast and is also easy to clean up. We use it multiple times a week. Because sandwiches are just better toasted… nay, pressed.

Sandwich sunning by the pool

I think that quitting my job to work as a contractor was one of the smartest moves I’ve ever made. Sure, I get stir crazy being alone all day and I have zero social stimulation. And sure my taxes are going to destroy me this year… But when I’m sick of looking at a computer screen and want to eat lunch by the pool… I do.

This also means, however, that I may have to work Saturdays and/or Sundays and/or nights. But I don’t even care. Working like this means every single day is the same. They all run together. It makes no difference to me if I work all through the weekend or if I maintain a Monday – Friday schedule. I don’t care if I wake up at 6am and crank it out until lunchtime or stay up late and work into the wee hours of the morning. Six… half dozen… whatever.

This freedom sandwich by the pool contains tempeh, Stew’s carrot hummus, spinach, salsa, tomato and pickles on Udi’s gluten-free bread. Delightful. My poolside literature of choice is Chelsea Handler’s Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang. If you can get past the painfully uncomfortable first chapter, it’s delightful. It’s also bright pink and neon orange so you have no chance of convincing people you’re reading anything remotely mind stimulating.

Photobooth, yes

Ever have those moments where you feel too busy to get up and grab something (like your camera) but not too busy to get up and make something elaborate (like a salad)? Priorities.

Yeah, I was too lazy busy to go get my camera so this photo is coming at you courtesy of Photobooth. Not bad.

The salad is:

spinach
brown rice
tempeh
curry burger
carrot
parmesan
lemon juice & olive oil

Oh, and pickles DUH.

Also…

My first Glo Bar

Classic

I felt it fitting to start with Classic… so that’s what I did. Delightful. Can I just tell you (this is lame, now) that I got an overwhelming rush of pride when I opened the box? I’ve been reading Angela’s blog for a while now–drooled over her photos, tried her recipes, watched her quit her office job and open the bakery. I feel like I know her without really knowing her, and when I saw the perfectly arranged little bars, the neat packaging, the business card, the official nutrition facts and all… I thought, “Wow. Good for her.” So yeah, I’m proud of a stranger because she figured out what she wanted, abandoned what she didn’t and is succeeding in her new venture. Get it, girl.

As for the bar… delightful. I’d eat them every day if I didn’t have to pay shipping. Hey Angela, when will I see these babies on store shelves in the US? No pressure. Oh, and if you expand your business into the States and need to open up a satellite kitchen, I hereby formally submit my application for employment.

Tempeh sandwich with squash

I’m running low on produce but I did manage to get as far as Roy G. on the ol’ rainbow.

Red – tomato

Orange – Stew’s carrot hummus

Yellow – squash

Green – pickles? I can count pickles, right?

This sandwich just reunited me with tomatoes. I’ve been leery of them this whole season and I don’t know why. I hated them as a child, went to college in the south and loved them and now have been avoiding them for no reason. They’re back.

Someone joined me for lunch…

Look who wants a bite...

Thanks, Ralph. Working from home makes me feel isolated and crazy. But working in an office made me feel irritable and crazy. So…

Carrot hummus must sound pretty crazy. It’s not. It’s delicious. I’d tell you what’s in it but I haven’t a clue because Stew made it. Assume chickpeas, carrots, tahini and olive oil were present.

Carrot hummus

Homemade chips and salsa

If you think you can’t eat Mexican food without inhaling a day’s worth of calories and week’s worth of sodium AND getting all farty, I’m here to show you that you sure as hell MexiCAN. (You see what I did there?)

I’m not a fan of Mexican restaurants. Not even a little bit. For starters, most of the “Mexican” food we eat here in the States isn’t even remotely close to what they eat south of the border. So let’s all come to terms with that and grieve the loss of our beloved neon green margarita. Moving on…

I’m not Mexican (though people often ask me if I am <–true story) and I don’t know how to make real Mexican food (unless it’s a margarita you seek), but I do know the flavors and foods that we associate with Mexican cuisine. So here’s a quick and easy “Mexican” menu that won’t make you unbutton your pants post-consumption.

Stuffed green peppers and re(un)fried beans

Baked chips and fresh salsa

Re(un)fried beans - What’s a refried bean anyway? Is it really fried? Twice? I have no idea. Tastes like a bean puree to me, and so that’s what I made. Saute 1/4 chopped onion in a little olive oil. Then add a can of rinsed pinto beans (or beans of choice). Add a bit of vegetable broth (maybe 1/3 cup) and let it simmer away. Use an immersion blender or transfer to a food processor to puree.

Baked chips – Cut corn tortillas into triangles, strips… dinosaur shapes, whatever. Lightly coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle on salt and spices of choice. Bake on 375 until crisp.

Salsa – This was my first time making salsa and I just used what I had in the fridge, which turned out to be 1 tomato, 2 green onions, 1 garlic clove, juice from 1/2 a lime and salt. Throw it all in a food processor and go to town.

Stuffed peppers – There’s not really a recipe for this since I just used what was available. Each pepper included 1 chopped curry burger, about 1/4 cup brown rice, homemade salsa and cheese. I baked them propped up in a muffin tin for about 20 minutes on 450. Halfway through baking I poured in some vegetable stock to prevent drying. Then I broiled them for a few minutes to melt and brown the cheese.

Ole!

Thoughts of black bean burgers consume me

I’ve had a lot of black bean burgers since I’ve been in the Charlotte area. I had one at The Counter, another at Pewter Rose and these beauties that I made today.

Hey baby

Sadly, all pale in comparison to the wonder food that is the black bean burger at Big Daddy’s Burger Bar. What is the DEAL with these things? They’re ridiculous.

I’ll tell you what part of the deal with them is… They’re fried. No question. You don’t get a perfectly crisped exterior like that in an oven. Am I right? Dear Big Daddy, please tell me the secret. What’s up with the black bean burgers? I promise I won’t tell.

Until Big Daddy caves, I’ll take to obsessively trying to recreate his burgers in my own kitchen. Today’s curry black bean burgers were definitely the best I’ve made at home so far (I even used Stew’s homemade curry!), but they’re still not even close to what I want. I gave them a ground flax seed crust to see if that would add some crisp. I sauteed them using just cooking spray and then did a shallow pan fry for the last two to see if that would recreate the Big Daddy style. No dice. The fried ones still weren’t crispy. Sigh.

BUT they were still very good. So if you’re not already at Big Daddy’s, try these (keeping in mind that I never actually measure anything, ever):

Curry Black Bean Burgers

1 can black beans
1/4 onion
1/2 red pepper
1 c fresh spinach
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp salt (I left this out and it needed it)
1/4 c brown rice
2 Tbsp sunflower seeds
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp ground flax (plus enough to coat each patty)
1/4 c corn
1/4 c grated carrot
1/4 c grated zucchini

1. In a food processor combine black beans (all but about 1/4 cup that you’ll mix in later for texture), onion, pepper, spinach, curry powder and salt. Leave some chunks. We’re not making a hummus here (although it would be good).

2. Mix in (by hand) the remaining ingredients.

3. Form patties and coat with more ground flax seed.

4. Saute in cooking spray (or oil if you want) until brown and crisp on each side.

Top with something delicious (like avocado) and dream of Big Daddy’s.

Nom nom

The curry doesn’t taste like what you’re used to if you buy ready-made curry powder. But after watching some poor guy get ridiculed on Next Iron Chef for using curry powder in an Indian food challenge, Stew knew it was time to make the leap. I love it. Cinnamon? Crazyyy.

Stew’s Curry Powder

4 1/2 tsp coriander
2 tsp turmeric
1 1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger

Nom nom nom

I started to love lunch when I was in Spain. Here in the States, I’d grown up carrying a sack lunch to school filled with PB&J, pretzels, a drink and a dessert. Pretty standard and perfectly acceptable to me at the time. When I became a “grown up” I spent most of my meal time hunkered over a computer trying to get my hours in so I could leave earlier.

Not so in Spain. In Spain, time stands still for a couple hours every day. This is lunchtime. Shops close. Kids go back home from school. It’s amazing. I loved it.

When I got home from the university, I was greeted with a full meal–usually three courses with a soup, some type of veggie protein (tofu, tempeh or the occasional veggie sausage that I didn’t have the heart to tell my host mom I hated) plus two sides, and always fruit for dessert. It wasn’t anything fancy. Quite humble, really. But my love of this meal time had less to do with the food and more to do with the whole production of it all.

Dropping everything in the middle of the day is not something we do here. We eat in our cars, over our computers or walking down the street. Now that Stew and I are both working from home, we meet up in the middle of the day to sit down and eat a real meal.

Stew's sandwich

We had tempeh sandwiches with spinach, salsa and avocado (Stew’s also had goat cheese) and small salads for some green.

The cats joined too.

Behind you, Weaz

Gimme dat sammich

We split our last remaining 4th of July cupcake for dessert.

So good

Do you break for lunch or eat at your desk/in your car/somewhere else?

Lunch break

For reasons of safety and general privacy, I haven’t let on that Stew has been gone for the last MONTH. He was on the road with the band while I was here at summer school. Ack. But now he’s here and it finally feels like we’ve officially moved and settled in even though I’ve been in this house for two weeks and in the city for a month now.

He’s working from home but I managed to lure him out of his office with this lovely tempeh sandwich–flax tempeh, green peppers, onions and salsa on Udi’s gluten-free bread.

Oooooo

Oh happy day.