SMOKY BEET BURGERS

We are leaving for our trip in just over a week! I am so pumped. The anticipation is half the fun for me. In the spirit of leaving, I have been trying to use up the food we have so nothing goes to waste. This is a fun game for me, and leads to mostly vegetarian meals for Hugh. I'm priming his tum for all the croissants that are about to be consumed. I have so many suggestions for Paris, but if you have any favorite food/drink/walks/etc. in Antwerp or Amsterdam, I always appreciate tips from people who have been there.

I came across this recipe in an early copy of The New Persian Kitchen than comes out in a few weeks. I am a quick sell on homemade veggie burgers and find they are usually made with pantry staples and a few fresh items. Welcome to my fridge-elimination game, smoky beet burger! I've tried a generous number of veggie burgers now and learn something every time. First off, make more than you need. The leftovers make for an easy lunch, go great with some greens and an egg on top, or smashed and put in a wrap for a portable travel snack. When the recipe doesn't have breadcrumbs, be prepared to pay attention and handle the burgers deliberately. Eggs will bind, but they'll make you work for it. The texture and wetness of your mix should be similar to meat you would use for a regular burger. Even if you don't eat it, you know what it looks like, so at least you have a point of reference. If it looks too wet, flaxmeal, panko or a bit of coconut flour will help dry it. Personally, I like my mixture to have distinguishable chunks of the ingredients - no baby mash - so go easy on the processing. You want it pulsed just enough to stick together but lightly enough to appreciate the texture of say, the walnuts or bits of lentils here. It's unlike me to get persnickety on things like this, but I've made them enough times to have a list of mistakes, so I'm offering my two cents. A sweet and smoky vegetable-based burger is a good idea all notes aside. Congrats on a beautiful book, Louisa!

SMOKY BEET BURGERS // Makes 8

Recipe barely adapted from The New Persian Kitchen by Louisa Shafia

I wanted to provide the recipe as written in the book, but I will make a few notes here as well as in the directions. I made a quick feta spread, which is naturally salty, so I halved the salt called for in the recipe. Add a pinch more with no spread. As it goes with a gluten and dairy free veggie burger, these are VERY delicate. Keep them small and handle them delicately. I ended up adding an extra egg because I got pretty heavy handed with both the beets and the lentils and needed more binding power. If you're a good measurer, you should be fine with the one.

• 3 T. grapeseed/extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, very roughly chopped
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup grated beets
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 tsp. sweet smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 cup cooked green lentils
• 1 egg
• 2 cups cooked short grain brown (or white) rice

• // feta spread //
• 1 cup/ 8 oz. feta cheese
• 1/4 cup whole milk greek yogurt
• squeeze of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• few grinds fresh ground pepper

buns, sliced cucumber, microgreens, tomato for burger building

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Add the onions and cook for about 10 minutes until just golden. Add the walnuts, raisins, beets, garlic and paprika and cook another 10 minutes, stirring often. Let the mix cool slightly. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and pulse a few times until chunky.

Put the mixture in a large bowl and stir in the salt, pepper and half the lentils. Replace the food processor (dirty is fine) and pulse the other half of the lentils, egg and rice together a few times to make a coarse puree. Note: Louisa has you add all the lentils whole to the mixture, I felt like some of them in the rice puree helps it all hold. Add the rice mixture to the onion mixture and mix well.

Make the feta spread by mixing all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Use lightly oiled hands to form 8-10 small patties just under 1'' thick.

Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet or cast iron over medium-high heat and add oil to coat the bottom. Place the burgers in the skillet (doing so in batches if necessary) and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes. GENTLY flip the burgers, turn the heat down, cover and cook for 10 minutes until the burgers have a firm, brown crust.

Serve warm with your favorite condiments.

MUSHROOM, MILLET + LEEK FRITTATAS

It can be tested and approved that a solid majority of our friends are either getting married or having a baby this year. I remember thinking last year that 2013 was going to be quiet on the celebratory front, but it has proven otherwise. Once we get back from our trip in April, every weekend seems to be booked with an event. Which reminds me, I need to keep my eyes peeled for dresses. It is impossible to find a dress when you really need one. It's true. In all the talk of showers, my brain starts piecing menus together. I made frittatas for a brunch shower last month. They are so perfect for feeding a group. They're inexpensive, easy to make, go well with baked goods, maybe a simple salad, fruit and mimosas. Am I selling you my shower menu? Something tells me you are familiar with the goodness that is eggs.

After yet another handful of trail mix yesterday, I huffed that I was bored of my routine foods. I go in phases, tending to burn out on something I really loved at one point. It's nice to have something at the ready for snacks or a quick meal to-go when needed. I find the lentil meatballs are good for this. I don't think I have used millet here yet, but now is as good a time as any to bring it in. It is part of one of my favorite salads from the cookbook. It is gluten free, seeing as it is actually a seed, has protein, B vitamins, fiber and is highly alkaline. You can use it anywhere you would use rice or quinoa as it takes on any flavor you'd like, much like those two will.I cook millet with a simple 2:1 ratio. It cooks quickly by bringing the rinsed grain and liquid to a boil, turn down to a simmer, cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed. Fluff, cover again and let it absorb the steam for optimum puffy texture. All said and done, the millet takes around 15 minutes. So glad to have these ready for early work days or pre-morning workout when I am easily persuaded to stay home and cook breakfast instead... which will very likely still happen.

MUSHROOM, MILLET + LEEK FRITTATAS // Makes 12

I add a bit of grain (seed) here to make them a more filling grab-n-go breakfast or snack. You could use quinoa or even rice as a substitute.

I am a big fan of sheeps feta, the conventional stuff is usually made of cows milk and doesn't hold a candle to the real thing. Yes it's a bit more expensive but a little goes a long way. Trader Joes has an excellent one from Israel in a green/yellow package.

Lastly, I'm not sure I would suggest using muffin liners, but let me know if you try. I find that with items this wet, you loose half the food getting stuck to the paper.

• 9 eggs
• 2/3 cup cooked and cooled millet
• 1/4 cup cream or milk (coconut milk would work too)
• 1 tsp. sea salt, divided
• 1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 8 oz. mushrooms, stems removed, roughly chopped
• 1 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 leeks, cleaned, halved and thinly sliced
• 3 Tbsp. chopped chives, parlsey, thyme or mix of these (plus more for topping)
• 8 oz. sheeps feta

Preheat the oven to 350'. Grease a standard muffin tin.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, 1/2 tsp. salt, pepper and red pepper flakes until well blended. Set aside.

In a pan, preferably non stick, over medium heat, add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Yes, dry pan. You saute them around until they sweat off their excess water. They will release water, dry back up and THEN add 1 tsp. oil and saute another minute. Remove and set aside. Heat another tsp. olive oil in the same pan, saute the leeks with another pinch of salt for 8-10 minutes until just browned. Add the leeks to the bowl of mushrooms, add the herbs and cooked millet and stir to combine. Once the veggie mix is relatively cool, add it to the egg mixture.

Fill the muffin tins a generous 3/4 of the way full, the mixture should last you all dozen tins depending on the size of your eggs. Top each with some crumbled feta and bake on the middle rack for 18-20 minutes. The center should be slightly underdone and will finish cooking as they rest. Garnish with any remaining chopped herbs. Allow them to cool for at least ten minutes before gently twisting them from the tins. Serve with your favorite hot sauce.

KALE + SLIVERED BRUSSELS SPROUT SOBA NOODLES

I typically work on Saturdays, but this past weekend I had the day to myself. The only plan I made was to get up to the farmers market and stop by my grandma's on the way home. I like going to the market alone. I can watch, listen, feel, observe without keeping a conversation or trying to hurry. I collected bags of greens, citrus, deliciously crispy and crazy expensive apples, lots of herbs - my usual loot. Weaving through the people, I swear that every passed mumur was about kale. If that market was any indication, the hype is not passing yet. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the word 'kale', I would have bought more of those apples. So, since I like it, and the general public is still pumped on the dark leafy green, I pulled this recipe from the new Deborah Madison cookbook, Vegetable Literacy, coming out in a few weeks.

The book is serious. It is serious in the beautiful way that the author is comitted to and passionate about her subject. The book is hearty in size (certainly no shortage of information there) and the recipes are quite simple while still offering something unique. The book is divided by broad families of vegetable, and through text and recipes, shows how herbs and complimenting vegetables pair well or can be used interchangably. Heidi wrote a perfect description here. Madison has a long standing reputation in vegetarian cooking, and this book stands as further reference that the woman knows her plant based foods. The front flap says "a masterwork from America's leading authority on vegetarian cooking" - that's really all the introduction it needs.

This recipe comes in two parts in the book. First, I ran across the suggestion in the chapter involving buckwheat, seeing as soba noodles are made of buckwheat flour (at least in part). The recipe suggested tossing the noodles with the kale and slivered brussel sprout salad written in the cabbage family chapter. The thing about me and noodles, is that I like my vegetable:noodle ratio 2:1. I basically like a little bit of noodle in my salad. So when the recipe hinged on the salad recipe that you then toss with noodles, it sounded like I could have exactly what I wanted. The salad on its own is perfect, the addition of noodles classify it as a meal, either way this is a wonderful, quick dish.

KALE + BRUSSELS SPROUT SOBA NOODLES // Serves 4

Recipe adapted from Deborah Madison:Vegetable Literacy

The recipe originally calls for 4 brussels, but I wanted to finish up the bunch I had. I ended up using around 10 and discarding the tough core. There is enough dressing to bulk up the greens here, so the recipe below reflects that change. 

• 1 bunch tuscan kale
• 5 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• 10 brussels sprouts
• 1 plump clove garlic
• 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds (white or black)
• 2 pinches red pepper flakes
• 4-8 oz. soba noodles
• 4 slivered green onions, for garnish

Slice the kale leaves from their stems and discard the stems. Working in batches, stack the leaves, roll them up tightly lengthwise, and then thinly slice them crosswise into narrow ribbons. Put the ribbons in a large bowl with 1 tsp. of the sesame oil and 1/4 tsp. salt. Massage the leaves with your hands until they glisten.

Discard any funky outer leaves from the brussels sprouts. Slice them paper thin (mandoline works best) then toss them with the kale.

Pound the garlic until smooth in a small mortar (I used a bowl and minced the garlic fine). Stir in the vinegar, remaining sesame oil and soy sauce. Pour the dressing over the greens and toss well. This much can be done in advance and kept in the fridge until ready to serve, or enjoyed alone as a salad.

Bring the water to a boil. When starting the noodles, finish the salad with the sesame seeds, pepper flakes and green onions. Cook the noodles according to package instructions and drain well. Toss the noodles with the greens. The noodle salad can be served warm or cold.