Sunday Therapy

Sunday afternoon I found myself all alone, and in the kitchen, which is one of my favorite places to be. I didn't put on the TV, or music, but instead enjoyed the sound of no sound! Other than when driving, it seems like there is always noise, so this was nice.

I decided to make veggie burgers and bean burgers that could be stored in the freezer. I had read several things on-line that gave me this idea, but I could not find a recipe that moved me. So I just made up my own. That took a little time!

My plug of the day goes to my Nutribullet. I absolutely love this little gem. I bought one for myself, then my Mom, and even one for work. It makes smoothies comparable to my Blendtec! My Mom was amazed at the difference in the smoothness of her smoothies after using a regular blender all this time.

Today I used it to make oat flour.

In a matter of seconds, powdery soft oat flour!! I also have used it to grind flax seed, and that works great too! I think it is just incredible how it works!

So, back to the burgers. This is the veggie burger batter. It is so full of good stuff, and will not be a processed burger . . . alas, the reason for this burger making afternoon!

The batch made 14 veggie burgers! I put them on parchment paper on cookie sheets and froze them. 

Then I packed them after they were frozen in zip lock bags. I read somewhere to use a straw to suck out the air, and then zip the bag shut really fast. It worked pretty good. Like a vacuum sealed bag. Hopefully this will help prevent freezer frost!

Now for the bean burger. I put some of the ingredients for this one in the blender and then added the blended portion to the dry ingredients, corn and beans. It worked out pretty good. I also made flax "eggs" for both of these recipes. Read that on-line somewhere too. It is just ground flax and warm water mixed together, wait 10 minutes, and then you have the consistency of eggs that have been whisked. It even was somewhat slimy like beaten eggs! When I added the flax "eggs," I had a flashback to making meat loaf!

Again, like the veggie burgers, I made the patties on parchment paper and then put them in the freezer. 

The bean burger batter made 12 burgers.

So now my freezer is full of burgers. The test will be how they come out when they are cooked. I plan to bake them in the oven. I like mine just on a dish with a salad and/or vegetables, and my husband will probably have his in a roll. I hope they have a little crisp edge to them from the oven, that they stay together, and of course taste good! If all of those things happen, I will post my recipe for each.

I am also pretty happy with my first batch of corn chips. I did more wrong things when making these chips than I did right, but by some stroke of luck, they are coming out great. Tomorrow they will be ready. Ready to dip in salsa or guacamole or . . . just eat them naked! (The chip would be naked, not me! What were you thinking!!!)

This is how they looked after dropping spoonfuls of batter on the dehydrator tray.

After a series of "slamming" the tray on the counter, they thin out and get "round." They almost look like little pancakes.

The recipe filled my dehydrator. It hummed all through the night. Early in the morning, after the top of the chip had dried, I flipped them over on to the screen.

By noon they were beginning to look like chips. Look how those edges are curling up. They remind me of the chips that come in a tube at the store . . . pringles?

  

I have my friend Denise, owner of the Raw Intentions Kitchen, and an amazing raw chef, to thank for the chips. I used her recipe to make these, and her how to instructions. However, I must admit, I didn't follow her directions like I was suppose to. But, miracles do happen, and it worked out!

This last week was too busy, too stressful, and too long, so this nice quiet afternoon of playing in the kitchen was just what I needed. I love working in the kitchen. It is very therapeutic for me. Plus it feels good to be organized when it comes to meal planning. The mountain of dishes, utensils, and appliances that have to get washed is the down side of all of this, but a small price to pay for therapy!!

Can you guess what we will be having for dinner tomorrow night???