NYTimes Ultimate Veggie Burger

Labor weekend with no plans to get out of the city makes this wife very sad. The DH was working, and I was not. No barbeque plans, and soaring temperatures outside in the city kept me firmly indoors. Beets and cotija cheese in the fridge meant that it was finally time for the NYTimes Ultimate Veggie Burger recipe.

Ultimate Veggie Burger
by Melissa Clark (NYTimes)
Makes 6 burgers

TOTAL TIME

1 1/2 hours, plus at least 2 hours to chill

Ingredients

• 4 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained
• Olive oil
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed
• Black pepper, as needed
• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 medium beet, peeled and coarsely grated (3/4 cup)
• 3/4 cup tamari almonds or cashews
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 ounces Cotija cheese or queso blanco, crumbled or grated (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon dulce pimentón or sweet smoked paprika
• 4 ounces tempeh, crumbled
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice

Preparation

1.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Slice tofu into 1/4-inch-thick slabs and pat dry with paper towel. Arrange tofu on one half of a rimmed baking sheet; brush both sides with oil. Spread mushrooms on the other half of the baking sheet; toss with 2 tablespoons oil and salt and pepper.

2.

On a second rimmed baking sheet, toss beans and grated beet with 1 tablespoon oil and salt and pepper, then spread the mixture into one layer.

3.

Transfer both baking sheets to the oven. Roast bean-beet mixture, tossing occasionally, until beans begin to split and beets are tender and golden, about 15 minutes. Roast mushrooms and tofu until golden and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 25 minutes. Let everything cool.

4.

Place nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Add cooled bean-beet mixture, mushrooms, tofu, panko, cheese, eggs, mayonnaise, scallion, garlic, pimentón and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Pulse until ingredients are just combined. Pulse in tempeh and rice but do not overprocess. You want small chunks, not a smooth mixture. Scrape mixture into a bowl and chill at least 2 hours or up to 5 days (you can also freeze the burger mix).

5.

When you are ready to make the burgers, divide mixture into 6 equal portions and form each portion into a patty about 1 inch thick. Return to the fridge until just before grilling. They grill better when they start out cold.

6.

Heat the grill. Cook the burgers over a low fire until they are charred on both sides and firm when you press on them, 4 to 6 minutes per side. If they start to burn before they firm up, move them to the sides of the grill to finish cooking over indirect heat. Alternatively, you can cook these on a grill pan or in a skillet over low heat.

My Notes:
1. I pretty much followed this recipe to the T. I pressed the tofu overnight, I bought green onions, and I measured and weighed and roasted everything. I did use regular breadcrumbs instead of panko breadcrumbs because I doubted it would make a difference. I also added a finely chopped green chile because it just didn't seem spiced enough.
2. I didn't have tamari almonds so I made my own (only the 3/4 cup I needed) using the recipe from thenakedkitchen blog:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups raw almonds
• 1/3 cup low sodium tamari (if you follow a gluten free diet be sure to use a gluten free sauce)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up.
2. Spread the raw almonds in a single layer on the baking sheet.
3. Bake approximately 10 minutes stirring occasionally or until you smell a nice nutty aroma but not browning the nuts.
4. Remove to a heat proof bowl and pour the tamari over the nuts. Stir to coat.
5. Let sit 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Transfer the nuts back to the baking sheet with a slotted spoon. Spread in an even layer.
7. Place the baking sheet back in the oven and bake, stirring occasionally for 15-18 minutes or until dry and nicely browned.
8. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

3. I did not grill these, but 5 minutes on each side on a cast iron pan seemed to do the trick.
4. Verdict. It was work, and procuring some of the ingredients was complicated (e.g., getting the DH to bring home mayonnaise from the food court of his office) but in the end it was a delicious burger that skirted every veggie burger pitfall-- mushiness, crumbliness, blandness, dryness-- and stuck the landing. Would definitely make again, if ever the stars were to align this way in the future.

Buttermilk Pancakes with Quinoa

So these I made last weekend because of the extra buttermilk we had on hand from the biscuit experiment. I saved them from the NYTimes series written by Martha Rose Shulman. I liked them, and I'd agree that the quinoa adds height to the pancake nicely. However I don't think I'd necessarily go out of my way to make quinoa just for this recipe. Also, they are quite whole-wheaty, and that's not a bad thing, but it's a hard sell for the DH. The picture below is not mine. I wish it were. I have forgotten the photographer's name-- perhaps Andrew Scrivani? Not sure.

Quinoa Pancakes

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

The addition of cooked quinoa to my regular buttermilk pancake batter results in a thick, moist pancake that’s hefty but not heavy.

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup cooked quinoa (any type)

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries or other fruit, like sliced bananas, strawberries or raisins (optional)

1. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.

2. In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the buttermilk and whisk together, then whisk in the vanilla extract and the oil.

3. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and quickly whisk together. Do not overbeat; a few lumps are fine. Fold in the quinoa.

4. Heat a griddle over medium-hot heat. If necessary, brush with butter or oil. Drop 3 to 4 tablespoons onto the hot griddle. Place six to eight blueberries (or several slices of banana or strawberries) on each pancake. Cook until bubbles begin to break through, two to three minutes. Turn and cook on the other side for about a minute or until nicely browned. Remove from the heat, and continue cooking until all of the batter is used up.

5. Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.

Yield: 15 pancakes (five servings).

Advance preparation: These pancakes freeze well and can be made a day ahead, refrigerated and reheated.

Nutritional information per pancake: 105 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 26 milligrams cholesterol; 14 gramscarbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 192 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of "The Very Best of Recipes for Health."

Pecan, Oat, and Dark Chocolate-Chunk Cookies

So I have a friend and a co-worker who is gluten-free and dairy-free, which sometimes inspires me to save recipes that I would normally overlook, and make things that I usually wouldn't make. Like these cookies, which I ripped out of a Martha Stewart Living magazine thinking, "Meh. Olive oil? Hmm... Maybe I'll try it." And so when it was time to make something for a pool party, I thought, why not?

Pecan, Oat, and Dark Chocolate-Chunk Cookies

Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Makes: 20

4 cups pecans, chopped
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (1 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Working in batches, pulse pecans in a food processor just until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl; stir in oats, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch. Make a well in center of mixture; add oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Fold in chocolate.
2. Scoop quarter-cups of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten each slightly with palm of your hand to 1/2 inch thick.
3. Bake, rotating sheets once, until cookies are light golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

My Notes:

1. I didn't work in batches. I didn't pre-chop the pecan halves. I just dumped it all in to the food processor and let it rip. I probably could have let the pecans grind down a little finer, but oh well.

2. I used a mix of pure maple syrup and agave because I didn't have enough of the maple syrup. Worked out fine.

3. These were very crumbly before baking. I found the best way to get them onto the cookie pan was to fill a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pack it in there with the spatula, overturn it onto the baking sheet, then flatten the mound slightly with the back of the measuring cup.

4. After baking, you really have to let them cool before picking them up because otherwise they crumble. They do hold together once cool, but they are pretty fragile and will crumble if you are too rough when you handle it.

5. Overall, my impression of this recipe is that's it's really a recipe for granola, but the recipe creator decided to throw in a little extra cornstarch and call them cookies. Because they are definitely a mouthful and very chewy-- soft granola is the best way I can think to describe it. I love that-- others, perhaps expecting a more "melt in your mouth" cookie experience, would be disappointed.

Chocolate Pecan "Cake"

Over the years I've saved many recipes in emails. They have accumulated over the years, and now the time has come to start actually cooking some of them and deleting the ones that I don't think I'll ever want to make again. And unfortunately, this recipe falls into that category. I don't remember where I found this online so no link to the original site.

The impetus for making this recipe was that we accidentally left chocolate chips in the car in 100+ degree heat on a road trip, and when we reached home we had a bag of chocolate goo.

Nana José’s Chocolate Pecan Cake

Adapted from Patricia Jinich

Time: 50 minutes

FOR THE CAKE:

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or pareve margarine

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 cup pecans

6 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

Dash of salt

FOR THE GARNISH:

3 tablespoons grated piloncillo sugar or brown sugar

Finely grated zest of 1 lime

Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup juice)

1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled and halved

1 pint blackberries, washed

Lightly sweetened whipped cream, optional.

1. For cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease with 1 tablespoon butter.

2. Using a double boiler or pan over simmering water, melt together chocolate and remaining 1/4 cup butter. Set aside to cool.

3. Using a blender, chop pecans finely. Add eggs, vanilla, sugar, salt and melted chocolate mixture, blending until smooth. Pour batter into pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes; cake should be moist but not wet. Allow to cool completely.

4. For the garnish: In a large mixing bowl, combine piloncillo or brown sugar, lime zest and lime juice. Add strawberries and blackberries, and toss gently. Just before serving, toss again and spoon on top of cake. If desired, serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

My notes:
1. I followed the recipe for the most part. The only difference was the chocolate that had melted was semisweet, not bittersweet, so I reduced the amount of sugar. I did not opt to garnish this, but I don't think it would have changed my opinion of the recipe.

2. The resulting "cake" is not a cake. It is perhaps cake-like when it is first removed from the oven, but after it has been chilled, it is more "brownie" like-- but not really. It doesn't have the same smoothness as a brownie (understandably, as there's only 1 stick of butter). It's flourless, but not the best flourless cake I have had. Still, the DH, has made his way through it :)


Some photos:

Fudgy looking right?

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

So the hubby brought home fresh eggs. Goodness knows how he got them-- he gave me some story of his mentor's assistant raises chickens and brings raw, unpasteurized eggs to hospital to either give away or sell, and somehow he managed to acquire a half dozen. Which he of course forgot in the fridge of the hospital and so they came home several days later, and we finally got around to fussing with them a few days after that. So we had a half dozen not-so-fresh fresh eggs, and we (or I) decided to poach them. Of course. Because I love brunch, and I love eggs benedict and poaching an egg is something that would help me enjoy both of those things.

The DH was in charge of the poaching process which he did pretty well for his first attempt.

I was in charge of the biscuits. However, it was a Monday night, and though I knew I was going to be making biscuits, I hadn't really given it much thought. But in Google I trust, and so when I came across this Cheddar Bay biscuit copycat recipe, I decided to go for it. Nevermind that I've never been to Red Lobster and therefore I've never actually had the thing that this recipe promises to deliver, but I mean, come on-- Cheddar Bay? Where is that and what's the rent like there?

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits
http://damndelicious.net/2014/02/03/red-lobster-cheddar-bay-biscuits/

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
FOR THE TOPPING
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper, if using.
• In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together buttermilk and butter. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist. Gently fold in cheese.
• Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup, scoop the batter evenly onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.
• For the topping, whisk together butter, parsley and garlic powder in a small bowl. Working one at a time, brush the tops of the biscuits with the butter mixture.
• Serve immediately.

My Notes:

1. I may have used slightly more cheese than the recipe called for. The resulting biscuit was delicious, but it perhaps didn't rise as well as it might have had I not burdened the dough with extra weight

2. Not sure if my oven actually reached 450 degrees (my oven is finicky and unreliable and I hate it. I loathe it.) and THAT's why the biscuits didn't rise so beautifully.

3. Or perhaps I should've shaped them better-- I sort of scooped and dumped the dough because these were drop biscuits and I wasn't feeling energetic enough to round them out.

4. So either because of the extra cheese or the oven, these were very undercooked. Delicious but undercooked-- they never developed that hard shell outside that biscuits should get. And so the melted butter topping just made things more soft. Delicious, but soft.

5. Great on the toaster oven reheat!

Whole Wheat Focaccia

So this weekend was rather lazy one for both of us. I worked on Saturday, and the DH has been studying all weekend for some professional exams. But nevertheless we managed to find time to cook up some delicious things-- mini quiches, veggie loaffins, channa masala, imitation spicy lentil wraps, and some focaccia bread

Here's the recipe, from Martha Rose Shulman's "Recipes for Health" column in the NYTimes:

Whole-Wheat Focaccia
This is a very easy bread and welcomes any number of toppings or fillings. Three variations on the flour mix follow the recipe; you can use more whole-wheat flour or less than is called for in this recipe, which uses half whole-wheat and half all-purpose. When I use Community Grains whole-wheat flour, a California flour made from ancient strains of wheat that is milled in such a way that it is very fine but retains all of its nutrients, I can get away with using a lot. Coarser whole-wheat flours are best used in combination with all-purpose.
2 teaspoons (8 grams) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon (5 grams) sugar
1 1/2 cups (340 grams) lukewarm water
2 tablespoons (25 grams) olive oil, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons (25 grams) for drizzling
250 grams (approximately 2 cups) whole-wheat flour
200 to 220 grams (approximately 1 2/3 to 1 3/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour, plus additional as needed for kneading
1 3/4 teaspoons (13 grams) salt
1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water. Add 2 tablespoons (25 grams) olive oil, the whole-wheat flour, 200 grams of the all-purpose flour and salt and mix together briefly using the paddle attachment. Change to the dough hook and beat for 8 to 10 minutes at medium speed, adding flour as necessary. The dough should eventually form a ball around the dough hook and slap against the sides of the bowl as the mixer turns; it will be sticky. Remove from the bowl, flour your hands and knead the dough for a minute on a lightly floured surface, and shape it into a ball.
2. If kneading the dough by hand, dissolve the yeast in the water with the sugar as directed. Stir in the olive oil, whole-wheat flour, salt and all-purpose flour by the half-cup, until the dough can be scraped out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, for 10 minutes, until the dough is elastic and smooth. Shape into a ball.
3. Clean and dry your bowl and oil lightly with olive oil. Place the dough in it, rounded side down first, then rounded side up. Cover tightly with plastic and let rise in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or in the refrigerator for 4 to 8 hours, until doubled.
4. Punch down the dough. Cover with lightly oiled plastic and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, preferably with a baking stone in it. Line a sheet pan with parchment and oil generously. Roll or press out the dough into a rectangle the size of the sheet pan. To do this efficiently, roll or press out the dough, stop and wait 5 minutes for the gluten to relax, then roll or press out again, and repeat until the dough reaches the right size. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes. Just before baking, use your fingertips to dimple the dough all over, and drizzle on a tablespoon or two of olive oil.
6. Bake, setting the pan on top of the baking stone (if using), for 20 to 25 minutes, until deep golden brown. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving, or allow to cool completely.
Note: You can divide the dough in half and make 2 smaller focacce that would fit 14-inch pizza pans.
Yield: 1 large focaccia or 2 smaller focacce, 12 to 15 pieces.









My Notes:


1. I used 350 grams of KAF Whole Wheat Flour and used 100 grams of All purpose flour. I accidentally drizzled in 6 extra grams of olive oil so I ended up using up more whole wheat flour because the dough was pretty sticky.

2. I definitely kneaded the dough for the full 10 minutes. I normally skimp on kneading time when in comes to dough, but I set a timer for this one, and I think as a result the bread was very even and consistently airy throughout.

3. I used a full packet of Active Dry Yeast (I didn't measure out the grams) and it was fine.

4. We ended up slicing the focaccia lengthwise and stuffing it with olives, artichokes (we'd steamed them the previous weekend), feta, and roasted garlic. Delicious.

5. It went down pretty easily, for a healthy, whole-wheat recipe.

Apricot Quick Bread

So the in-laws visited this past weekend, and with them they brought pounds and pounds of fruit. Cherries (5 lbs), plums (1 lb), cherry plums (3 lbs),  kumquats (1 lb), tangerines (3 lbs), pineapple (2 lbs), angelcots ( 2lbs), and apricots (3 lbs). We already had our own fruit-- mangoes, necarines, apples, and bananas, so it suffices to say we are overwhelmed and the threat of rotting fruit and flies is weighing heavily on us. When I opened the bag of apricots, some of them were already starting to go. What to do? I'd already made an apricot cherry crumble just a few weeks ago, and I didn't want to go that route again. I was already plotting a pie with the cherries, so I didn't want another pie. I wanted something quick too, something I could whip up for brunch on a Sunday morning before the in-laws left. After much searching, I found this, from the Sun Sentinel website:

Easy Apricot Bread

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 / 2 cup firm-packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 / 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 pounds fresh apricots, peeled, pitted and pureed*

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 / 4 cup vegetable oil (we use canola)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour well a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and cinnamon.

In another smaller bowl, combine the apricot puree, eggs, oil and vanilla; mix well.

Add the apricot mixture to the dry ingredients, mixing just until blended. Do not over mix. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven 55 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan 8 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate overnight for easy slicing. Makes 16 servings.

Per serving: 143 calories, 29 percent calories from fat, 5 grams total fat, .5 grams saturated fat, 27 milligrams cholesterol, 23 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total fiber, 11 grams total sugars, 20 grams net carbs, 4 grams protein, 168 milligrams sodium.

*Use a food processor fitted with the metal blade or a good blender to puree the apricots.

My thoughts:

1. First off adjustments. I put in a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon, and I used half a teaspoon of almond extract and one and a half teaspoons of vanilla extract. I also baked the bread in two loaves because it did NOT fit in a 9" by 5" loaf pan. It needed the full hour. I left about a half an inch of space for the bread to rise, and that was fine.

2. Overall taste? Nothing exciting. The apricot flavor was really overwhelmed by the bitterness of the whole wheat flour and then extracts. But it was soft and not very sweet, which apparently pleased the in-laws

3. It basically reminds me of a pumpkin bread-- the fruit puree is providing the moisture in the place of more oil or butter. 

4. It may be better with white flour, and perhaps with a cream cheese glaze or something to add a little more flavor or tartness.