Lentil Black Bean Burger

Maybe because I am bored and I need a challenge, I’ve decided to become vegetarian as long as I possibly can stand it. Many people have their own ideas of what vegetarianism is, since all I’ve been hearing is “You put egg in that? That’s not vegetarian!” or, “That has cheese in it? That’s not vegetarian” Well, to me it is because I’ve been a meat junkie all my life I know that egg taste does not = meat taste, therefore, it’s not meat. So, I sadly bought up the entire produce store with various veggies and beans I never used before and went to the internet to search for how to incorporate these into meals I think i would enjoy and ran across a recipe for a lentil black bean burger.

I’m not going to go into detail of what is in this because i sorta dont remember but the main ingredients consist of black lentils, 1 can black beans drained, cilantro, salt & pepper, chopped onion, and a 1lb of tofu breakfast sausage (forget the brand name), and bread crumbs. Boiled the lentils until soft but not splitting apart. Drained them. Processed them in processor along w/ some bbq sauce (your choice) and water until it was the consistency of refried beans.Mixed it in a bowl with all the other ingredients, formed patties, and proceeded to grill on my stovetop one i always use. One day I will have a real one (housewarming hint hint). Most difficult part of this was determining when the burger was “done” because I supposed it is already done from the start, since there was no meat in it, but i kept it on the grill until i felt it was firm enough to where i could eat it at about 5 minutes per side.

In the end, I didn’t die. It was actually very tasty and filling. I was so very full after 1 burger. It has encouraged me to make more food and come up with more ideas I will hopefully share soon in Kitchenrendezvous.


On a Roll

With the recent visit from a dear friend from Japan, I got inspired to learn how to roll sushi. She herself rolled for the first time (which was a treat) and left me items that i never used before, like seaweed paper. So I figured, “Might as well use it”. Also, I almost never waste food; it has just been a part of my upbringing. So on with the roll…

I found the bamboo roller, a very interesting little tool. It is very easy to use and to clean. For the Shrimp roll (right) I had the rice on the outside. In order to do this I lay the seaweed paper shiny side down on top of the bamboo and placed a thin layer of sticky rice on top of the seaweed paper. I then placed a layer of saran wrap on top of the rice and flipped it over on top of bamboo in prep for rolling. Next, placed ingredients, shrimp, carrot, cucumber,cream cheese, and a lil special sauce (rooster sauce & mayo mix) and then proceed to roll, squeezing as you roll to ensure the items stay together. Remove from bamboo and slice w/ a sharp knife, wiping the knife after each slice to have a clean cut.

For the crab roll, it was much simpler. Same concept, minus the saran wrap flip. Place a thin layer of rice on the seaweed paper leaving about 1 inch uncovered at the top (to seal). Fill with ingredients to roll, in this case: crab, cucumber, carrot, cream cheese, avacado, & rooster sauce (better known as sriracha sauce). Roll and squeeze, remove bamboo at the upper end to seal to the uncovered seaweed paper and finish the roll. Cut in the same manner – slice and wipe. Serve with favored sauces and garnishes and enjoy!

For the “special sauce” on the shrimp roll : just combined 1 part mayo to 1 part sriracha sauce and also sprinkled w/ chili powder for presentation.


Gourmet Tacos

You ever come home from a very intense work out and you are just MAD hungry, but don’t want to blow all the activity you just did? Well, this is what happened to me last night. As I scrambled through my fridge fighting to find something edible, I ran across some corn tortillas, ground turkey, lettuce, cilantro, tomato…and – What?, NO CHEESE???  Well, i had tomato basil feta, but not sure how that would go w/ the taco. But I am not picky and was extremely hungry so here I go – browning my meat with garlic and creole seasoning. I also brushed a little vegetable oil on the corn tortillas and placed them on the stovetop grill to warm them up. I place the meat, cilantro, tomato, feta cheese, and lettuce on the taco- in that order. It looked pretty so I took a picture of course 🙂 The flavors were great together and they were gone in a matter of seconds. Some may not like this, but because i like heat – I also added a few pickled jalepenos – my preference. Who knew eating a lil healthy could be spur of the moment?


Grilled Talapia w/ Mango Salsa


Turkey Spaghetti

I put together a leaner version of a classic family favorite!
(Serves 4, or 1 very hungry individual)
Ingredients:
1 package of spaghetti
1 lb ground turkey
1 large can of spaghetti sauce (chunky)
1 package of cheap spaghetti sauce seasoning
1/2 can of water

Brown ground turkey in medium saucepan until thoroughly cooked over medium heat. Strain meat if needed. Add seasoning, can of sauce, and water. Stir, cover, simmer 15min.

Cook spaghetti according to packaged instructions. Strain.

Combine and top with choice cheese (optional). Enjoy!