Earlier in the week, in one of my culinary classes, we were all asked to bring in a dish that represents comfort food for us. We then headed to the kitchen and go to explain the dish we brought, and then share it with the class. One of my favourites was what my Chef brought in. He is from the Middle East, and he made beautiful, soft, homemade pita bread with hummus, a fava bean dish called Fool Meudane, and wonderful falafel. I was so impressed and inspired that I wanted to make the very same meal for my family! I decided to add a cumin-carrot salad to the meal, as well. Something I love about these dishes is that they all happen to be vegetarian- yum!

I’ll be sharing the recipes over the next little while, and I’d like to start with a basic hummus recipe that gets topped with the fool meudane. My chef informed me that this is not a traditional way of serving it, but hey, he did it….and I liked it!

Basic Hummus

• 1 19 fl oz can of chickpeas
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp tahini
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped parsley

Combine all the ingredients, except olive oil in a food processor and blend until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil and blend. Stir in parsley and top with paprika.

Fool Meudane (original recipe can be found here)

• 2 cups frozen fava beans
• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (add tbsp by tbsp, until you get the amount you want- a 1/4 cup may be too much for some people)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
• 1 small tomato, diced

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the garlic, stir until fragrant. Add the fava beans, lemon juice, and salt. Cover and cook for a minute or two. Add the diced tomato, cover and simmer 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat, and mash the ingredients with a fork until chunky. You don’t want this dish to be perfectly smooth. Garnish with parsely and drizzle with olive oil.

To serve these, spread the hummus in a bowl leaving a hole in the middle, add the fool meudane in the centre, sprinkle with smoked paprika, and drizzle with olive oil.

I love veggie burgers because they are so easy to make, healthy, and filling. For a long time I have been wanting to make my own veggie burgers- avoiding soy, preservatives, and unneccessary ingredients. Many people think that when they are buying packaged veggie burgers in the grocery store, that they are ‘veggie, and therefor healthy’, but that’s not true. A lot of brands use nasty ‘improvers’ to help flavour the burger, and they can be really awful for your body. Not to mention extra sugar, and artificial colours.

I based this burger around two kinds of beans- chickpeas, and red kidney beans for healthy fibre and vegetable protein. I added vegetables, spices, and seeds for extra yummy flavour, and used chickpea flour to bind the burger together. I lightly coated the outside of the patties in panko bread crumbs and baked them in the oven with just a small drizzle of olive oil on each one.

I loved these burgers, and my meat-eating family enjoyed them too! I put mine in an wrap with ketchup, mustard, avocado, and lettuce. Yum!

These almost remind me of a burrito in burger form! So without further ado, here is the recipe:

Veggie Bean Burgers

• 2 19 fl oz cans of beans- I used chickpeas and red kidney beans
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 Tbsp ground flaxseeds
• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 2 Tbsp crushed pecans, chopped
• 1/4 tsp each smoked paprika, cumin, coriander
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup oats
• 3 tbsp chickpea flour
• 1 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
• Panko bread crumbs
• olive oil to drizzle

Combine all but the last three ingredients  in a food processer and pulse until a chunky paste is made (ie. a few whole chickpeas should still be visible)

Remove the mixture to a bowl and stir in oats, chickpea flour, and cilantro until mixed. To make the patties, spread panko crumbs onto a plate. Take 1/4 cup of the burger mixture at a time and make into a ball. Press down on the ball to make an even veggie patty. Coat top, bottom, and sides in panko. Place on a parchment-line sheet tray and drizzle a bit of olive oil on top. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and bake for 12 minutes, flipping halfway through. Serve in a bun or tortilla, with all your favourite toppings!

Looks like I have some explaining to do- it’s been a long time since my last post! I’m not even sure why…maybe it’s just that it’s summer. It’s not that I was lacking motivation, perhaps I was too motivated. I think I was trying too hard to make food for the blog. I decided I would stop trying and let the ideas come to me- and they did. I was so excited when I felt like stepping into the kitchen again. I knew I wanted to use the Cookbook of the Month ‘Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day’. I made a Light Whole Wheat dough because it’s very versatile and can be used in many different recipes in the book. I’ve felt like Indian food lately and so I thought to try making naan bread. The process is so easy- just roll out the dough and pop it into a frying pan, wait wait wait, flip, wait wait wait, eat. Almost like making a pancake! I needed something to accompany the naan and I decided to try a hummus that I’ve been wanting to try for a long time now- Dreena Burton’s Curried Chickpea Hummus. This little appetizer or snack tasted AMAZING. My mom and I finished a whole naan in a matter of seconds! With a dash of coarse salt and a big dip of hummus, I would serve this sensation to anyone!

If you are interested in making bread (of any kind), I urge you to pick up Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day for some fabulous recipes like this light whole wheat naan bread! I’ve included my adapted version of the curried hummus for you to try. I do recommend naan with it (store-bought or homemade) or pappadums which are Indian lentil crackers.

Curried Chickpea Hummus (Adapted from Eat, Drink, Be Vegan)

• 2 cups canned chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp honey
• 1 big garlic clove
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/8 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• pepper (to taste)
• 2 tbsp almond butter
• 4-5 tbsp water (for thinning to desired consistancy)
• 3-4 tbsp raisins or currants

Mix all ingredients except water and raisins in a food processor. Add water tablespoon by tablespoon until desired consistancy is reached. Pulse in rasins. Enjoy!

Oh! I almost forgot- I have decided to start cooking school 6 weeks early and my first class is today. I’m super excited but I’m also freaking out, this is definitely something completely new and it’s extra weird because I haven’t been to school in over a year now. My holistic nutrition is taken through correspondance (and is almost complete, I might add!) so it’s time for me to get back the grind and hopefully learn A LOT and have some fun!!

Long time no post! Busy times means less time for pictures- not that I haven’t been cooking or baking, but some days there just isn’t enough time to shoot and blog!

After a few days without taking a look at my garden, I went out today and was totally shocked to see how BIG my swiss chard had grown! To me, swiss chard always looks like rhubarb’s long lost brother or something….. well, anyway, I had to make a dish with it! I picked it and noticed that it came with beautiful pink, orange, and yellow stems. A truly beautiful vegetable!

After a quick search on Tastespotting, I came across a recipe for a Swiss Chard + Chickpea Salad with a miso dressing. Oh how I love cooking with miso!! I adpapted the recipe a little bit, replacing brown rice syrup with a small bit of honey and I simply steamed my chard with a small bit of water. I didn’t cook it with oil. Since the chard and chickpeas are not very powerful flavours, the dressing added a nice ZING to the dish. I liked eating this for dinner- it was quick and simple, very healthy, and light for this warm weather we are having! I hope you try it, as it isn’t a typical swiss chard dish!

It’s been a few days and I have a bit of a backlog to post (all from the cookbook of the month, “Gourmet Vegetarian”). I’ll start off with some Fried Chickpeas. Normally, I roast my chickpeas and I looooove Dreena Burton’s recipe for roasted chickpeas. I decided to give them a try fried, though. I must say that while they were tasty, I still prefer them roasted- but try the recipe and see for yourself!

Fried Chickpeas (adapted from Gourmet Vegetarian)

• 1 can of chickpeas, dried on paper towel
• oil, for deep frying
• 1/2 tsp mild or hot paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt, to taste

Drain your chickpeas and pat dry on a paper towel.

Fill a deep, heavy-based saucepan one-third full of oil and heat to 180 degrees C (350 F), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds.

Deep-fry half of the chickpeas for 3 minutes.

Remove with a slotted spoon.

Drain on a paper towel and repeat with the rest of the chickpeas.

Partially cover the pan as some chickpeas might pop.

Do not leave the oil unattended.

Reheat the oil and dry the chickpeas again in batches for 3 minutes each batch, or until browned. Drain.

Season the paprika with a cayenne pepper and some salt and sprinkle over the hot chickpeas. Leave to cool and serve.

More coming soon!!