Super Burger-y Bean Burgers

As you  may remember, sometimes, I cook! And right now, I’m pretty obsessed with

Portobello Mushrooms with Pasta

My version of a recipe from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. This is a great main course after Challison Salad, is incredibly easy and looks beautiful.

• 8 oz pasta of your choice (I went with farfalle, because it’s sassy)
• 1lb portobello mushrooms
• 2 tbsp olive oil (or more, depending on how much onion/mushroom you use)
• 1 small to medium onion, finely diced (I like onion. Use a big ol’ onion.)
• Salt and freshly milled pepper to taste
• 2 (or more) cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed (Come on. Use more.)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Alamos Chardonnay)
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 tsp minced rosemary
• 2 tbsp toasted bread crumbs
• Freshly grated Parmesan

Remove the stems and gills from the portobellos and slice the caps into 1/2-inch strips. Cut the larger pieces in half.

Heat the oil in a large skillet, add the onion, and cook over medium heat until lightly colored. Raise the heat, add the mushrooms, and saute until they begin to brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add half the garlic. Mix the tomato paste and win and add it to the mushrooms. Lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes more.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, then drain and add it to the mushrooms along with the cream, herbs, and remaining garlic. Toss, correct the seasonings, and divide among warm serving plates. Scatter the bread crumbs and a very light dusting of freshly grated cheese over each serving.

Challison Salad

The long-awaited peach & blueberry salad recipe. Use your best judgement on how much salad to make. First, the dressing.

Lime-Mint-Chili Vinaigrette
(I doubled this for when we had company for dinner and made it the day before–if the olive oil solidifies, just let it sit out and warm up a little while before you need to use it. This is a modified version of Deborah Madison’s lime and fresh mint vinaigrette recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone)

• 1 tsp grated/minced lime zest
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 5 to 6 tbsp olive oil (I wouldn’t use anything heavier than that; if you want less flavor, use light olive oil or sunflower oil)
• 2 green onions, including an inch of the greens, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 of a Serrano chili, sliced into thin rounds, including seeds (you want it hot! Also, don’t hesitate to add more if you want it zingier)

Combine the lime zest and the juice with the salt, then whisk in the oil. Stir in the onions, mint, and chili.

Challison Salad

• Greens (we used spinach and romaine; arugula would be perfect but we couldn’t find it readily)
• 1 medium peach, diced (or more, depending on how much salad you’re making)
• Handful of blueberries (try to be even about the peach to blueberry ratio)
• Lime-mint-chili vinaigrette to taste
• 1/4 to a 1/3 o f a cup sliced almonds
• Crumbled fresh goat cheese to taste

Chop or tear the desired amount of greens to serve everybody. Dice the peach(es) and add to the salad, along with the blueberries. Pour lime-mint-chili vinaigrette over salad and toss in order to coat everything. Add almonds and goat cheese, then serve.

Simple sweet French toast

I’ve got some ideas for other spice combos, but here’s what I made for brunch for my parents today since we all had the day off.

Basic sweet-but-not-too-sweet French toast

• Bread of your choice (I had French bread that I purposely let get a little stale–makes for chewier, less soggy toast)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk (dairy, non-dairy, whatever)
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon (you  may  need a little more)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Butter/oil for your cooking pan

1. Throw all your ingredients that are not bread in a decent-sized bowl (one that’s big enough to let your bread slices lay flat and soak). Whisk them together.
2. Melt your butter over medium heat (on a stove scale of 10, I was at about 6.5), until it starts to bubble.
3. Soak your bread slices to desired level of batter saturation and toss them in the pan, cooking both sides until they are lightly browned. Since the cinnamon will not dissolve in the batter, you may need to add a little bit more periodically since it will mostly cling to the first slice of bread you soak after adding it.
4. Serve however you like–with jam, honey, maple syrup, powdered sugar, the sky’s the limit. I sliced fresh strawberries over mine, dusted them with a little bit of extra cinnamon, and drizzled a little bit of maple syrup on top.

Change up the flavor profile of these however you want–don’t want them to be sweet on their own at all? Leave out the sugar and vanilla, and consider serving with fresh fruit or just jam. Go the complete opposite direction and make them savory–add a little bit of salt, black pepper, paprika, and cumin to your batter and cook. WHATEVER YOU WANT, BRO.

Ugly and delicious scrambled eggs

The title says it all–these guys turn out a crazy color combo, but they taste amazing (and would be perfect for egg sandwiches). I just sent this recipe to a friend, so I thought I should probably share with the rest of the class. This is verbatim, so forgive me (or totally love me) for playing it fast and loose with formatting, POV, tense, profanity, blah blah blah.

Awesome (and Ugly) Scrambled Eggs with Veggies

• 2 – 3 eggs
• Clove(s) of garlic (I use one for 2 eggs, 1 + a small one for 3), minced
• Ground cumin
• Turmeric
• Red chili powder
• Kosher/sea salt (tastes better in my opinion)
• Half of a small red/orange bell pepper, diced
• Generous handful of chopped spinach (adult spinach, not that baby spinach shit. GROWN-ASS SPINACH)
• Oil/butter/vegan butter/whatever

1. Put a somewhat generous amount of oil/butter/vegan butter in your pan (I use vegan butter, not because I am vegan but because it is tasty and I like buttery eggs) and turn your stove to med-high. Melt and swirl until the bottom of your pan is coated. Throw in your minced garlic and sautee for about 30-45 seconds, until fragrant.
2. This next part is specific to me, it’s just how I scramble eggs. I don’t like to add salt/seasonings into my eggs after cracking them into a bowl and beating them because the salt can dry the eggs out at that point. You can do this however you like, but here’s how I do it: turn the heat down to medium and take your pan off the burner. Crack your eggs into the pan, and season as desired–I add a very, very light amount of salt, and then generous amounts of cumin, turmeric, and chili powder. Using a spatula or your utensil of choice, break the egg yolks and stir everything around in the pan. Put the pan back on the heat.
3. Cook the eggs until they’re starting to solidify at the edges of the pan. Cut ‘em up with your spatula and flip ‘em around, you don’t need to be precise. They’ll still be gooey. Add your bell pepper and mix everything around.
4. Wait until the eggs are almost entirely set before adding the spinach so as not to overcook it. Cook the eggs the remainder of the way, as long as you like–still slightly moist or scrambled hard, until they’ve got some brown spots and are more dry.
5. Throw ‘em on a plate and eat ‘em!

Cucumber & Egg Sandwich

Made this up tonight post-workout and trying to use some of the leftover cucumber from vegetable trays people brought over last weekend. I am a firm believer in the usage of hummus on sandwiches; I think particularly in veggie sandwiches, it helps bring everything together–it’s versatile and can be seasoned all kinds of ways, and is way better for you than something like mayo (I hate most condiments).

Stupidly Easy Cucumber & Egg Sandwich

• As much sliced cucumber as you freaking want, whatever
• As much hummus as you want, man (I used jalapeño hummus, but other kinds would work too–I just found this spicy and light)
• 1 egg
• 2 slices of bread, unless you plan on making a halfwich, which would be very difficult with the given ingredients
• Paprika to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• Salt to taste
• Little bit of butter or oil

1. Spread as much hummus as desired on one or both slices of bread (I just do one). Slap as many slices of cucumber on your sandwich as you feel like.
2. Break the egg into a small bowl. Add some  paprika and fresh ground black pepper and beat the egg lightly, mixing everything together.
3. Heat a pan on medium with a little bit of butter (or oil; I just like the way slightly buttery eggs taste). Gently pour your egg into the pan and sprinkle some salt on it. When it’s solid enough to get a spatula under the side, flip or fold the egg however you need to in order for it to fit on your sandwich well. Scramble that sucker as little or much as you like it, then scoop it up and put it on your sandwich. Fin.