Elle's New England Kitchen

Welcome to installment two in my raw food journey!  We’ve been doing well, considering that we’ve been “cooked food + meat eaters forever.  My husband is doing slightly better than I am.  He’s got the willpower of…I don’t know what, but he’s almost unbending in this raw food journey.  A bull!  He’s stubborn like a bull.

We’re still in the “integrating” stage, where we do a lot of raw, some vegetarian/vegan, and meat once a week.  We had some beef ribs on Memorial Day weekend that we smoked--and oh man, they were delicious and mouthwateringly perfect!  But we both felt sort of sick after eating them.  Not only bothered in our stomachs, but it felt weird not being able to get the taste out of my mouth.  Beef, I’ll miss you.  You were always such a tasty treat…hehe.  But back to the integrating--we still have some baked bread and non-raw stuff, but overall, we’re eating much healthier than we were a month ago. 

Which brings me to these raw burgers, from Ani Phyo.  They were really tasty!  Perhaps need just a bit of playing around with as far as seasonings go--I’d like to add the Weber Burger Seasoning that we always use.  Used, hehe!  And maybe a little Bragg’s Liquid Aminos.  (Which tastes just like soy sauce, only lighter, for those of you who have never tried it.)

Overall, they were really good, and we’ll have them again, for sure.  I loved the flavor that ketchup added, too, surprisingly!  I didn’t make Ani’s raw ketchup, but the one we used was organic.  They definitely need some crunch, so go ahead and pile on your crisp greens and sliced onions. 

I dehydrated the bread and burgers in my oven with the door propped opened, but as we prepare more and more raw foods, I am starting to see the need for and advantages of a dehydrator.  We like to have crackers and chips to snack on--and it would be nice to pop them in there and let them do their thing.  But in a pinch, the oven did the job. 

The recipe for the burgers can be found here, on Ani’s site.   And the bread recipe can be found by clicking here.  My tip--if you’re making this without a dehydrator, make the bread on parchment paper, because when it’s time to flip it, it’ll be much easier.  Then peel the paper off.  And although the bread looks cracker-ish, it’s not.  It’s very pliable.

Raw Burger Porn:

   

All of this healthy stuff…

becomes this super healthy bread:

 

I hope you’ll continue on with me on my raw food journey.  It won’t be all I make and post, for sure.  I love to bake, and we’re still eating meat at least once a week, so there will always be something for everyone.

This dinner was put together one night when looking for a way to use up a package of steamed lentils from Trader Joe’s, a few Portobello mushroom caps, and some quinoa. Yes, I said steamed lentils! It’s a pack of 2 1/2 cups of lentils, vacuum sealed and ready to go. Now, there’s no reason at all why you couldn’t make your own lentils, but I think it would be better if you made them ahead and let them sit in the fridge for a day. Just like you do for fried rice. It lets them separate and firm up, and hold up better to sautéing—so they don’t turn to mush.

The quinoa part of this is done polenta-style, with some fresh grated parmesan, and is from Whole Grains for Busy People, by Lorna Sass. Couldn’t be easier! I’ve made this quite a few times already, even adding an extra bit of half and half at the end for a little more creaminess. Delicious!

Lorna’s book is loaded with great recipes—I have a ton marked to try. And it’s not a vegetarian book, by any means. There’s plenty of meaty recipes in there, but whole grains are included. And they’re all quick, weeknight meals, with grains that cook quickly. But don’t feel the need to limit them to just weeknights!

So get your quinoa polenta going in one pot, and start the lentils in another pan. If you like, you can do the mushrooms in a third pan, but I just transfer the lentils to a bowl when they’re done, then do the portobellos in the same pan. They’re very quick to cook up, so your other stuff isn’t going to get cold.

Don’t look at the three elements and think it’s too complicated, please. Each one is extremely quick and easy, I promise!

Quinoa-Style Polenta
From Whole Grains for Busy People, and slightly changed

1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken broth (or use vegetable broth if you prefer)
1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp of your favorite fresh herbs, minced (or about 1 tsp dried)
salt and fresh cracked black pepper

In a saucepan, bring broth and quinoa to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook about 12-15 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Stir in the remaining ingredients and set aside.

Sautéed Lentils

2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups cooked lentils
1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable if you prefer)
2 tbsp of your favorite fresh herbs, minced (or about 2 tsp dried)
fresh cracked black pepper

In a skillet over medium low heat, heat some olive oil, then add the garlic and saute for a few minutes, being
careful not to burn it.
Increase the heat to medium high, and add the onions--cook for a few minutes.
Add the lentils and broth, and simmer for about 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
You want to cook off most of the liquid.
Add the herbs and pepper.
Set aside, or remove from pan--then wipe it clean and slowly heat a little olive oil to get ready for the mushrooms...

Sautéed Portobellos

2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 large Portobello mushroom caps, stems removed and sliced, gills removed, and rinsed
your favorite herbs
fresh cracked black pepper and a little salt

Slice the mushrooms into pieces about 3/4 inch thick. Use the sliced stems, too, if you like!
Heat a bit of oil in a pan over medium low heat, then add the garlic.
Saute, being careful not to burn it.
Add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes on each side.
Add herbs, salt and pepper.

Layer the quinoa, lentils, then mushrooms in your bowl, and top with extra grated parmesan.

Serves 3 people

My meat-eating husband absolutely loves this one! And see how it serves three people? That means the two of us for dinner, and he gets the leftovers for lunch the next day. That’s how much he loves this dish.