SPICY LENTIL SUMMER ROLLS + TRAVEL SNACKS

From our door to Paris with one layover, we had about 14 hours of travel time. I'm a multiple mini-meals lady, so one cardboard box of vegetarian mush on the flight over wasn't going to cut it for the whole stretch. Per request, I wanted to share a typical travel snack pack. I keep a few things in mind when packing food for the road/air. Bear with the stream of consciousness.

First off, food will likely be at room temperature for a few hours so choose items that are alright to be out awhile. This covers most vegetarian options, but worth saying. Those foods should have a good constitution - greens that hold up dressed, like kale or a broccoli salad, rice or noodle bowls packed with vegetables and sauce, wraps or sandwiches with lots of crunchy items inside. I try to keep the choices lower in salt (planes keep you puffy as is). While I am all about reusuable containers on a normal basis, storing food in plastic bags or disposable containers (I steal these from salad bars and tuck them away for circumstances like this) are easiest here. Something you don't mind throwing away or recycling. Lastly, bring an empty reusable water bottle and fill it up past the security check. Sure you get water on the plane, but I like to drink more than that wimpy cupfull once or twice a flight. It's nice to have throughout the trip as well. I loved Sarah of My New Roots recent post about travel foods too. It reminded me that I forgot to make these peanut butter bites.

This likely sounds high maintenance to a few of you, but it is totally worth the few moments of planning ahead to have fresh, light food while traveling. I went to bed at 2am the night prior but at least I had good snacks! Hugh would never take the time to pack food, but appreciates it greatly when the pretzels and peanuts have worn their welcome. Minimal bit of time invested, big reward.

sprouted kitchen

My backpack full of snacks:

kale salad: chopped lacinato kale, hard boiled eggs, parmesan, thinly sliced celery and lemon vinaigrette (extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, white of a scallion, honey, salt and pepper)

summer rolls: recipe to follow

"favorite things" trail mix: roasted/salted pistachios, montmorency dried cherries, dark chocolate chips, toasted coconut flakes

maple chocolate chip cookies: I'll post this recipe eventually, good heavens. A version of these.

good greens bars: these are the emergency snack. Most "energy bars" are full of lots of soy and crap. These have the most virtuous list I've seen. Not my first choice of whole foods focused snacks, but they don't take up a lot of space and plug up hunger when you've gone through your fresh items.

sturdy fruit: apples, bananas, oranges

SPICY LENTIL SUMMER ROLLS // Makes 6

I made these the late afternoon before leaving, and everything held up fine a full day later. I did not pack a dipping sauce. As you can see my snack bag was quite full as it was, and I have had sauce taken by security (what is my life?) but a peanut sauce would be so tasty if you aren't dining on an airplane.

I made used the end of my homemade sriracha, but the bottled sort works great too. Carrots and beets were the last vegetables in my fridge, a combination of sprouts, cucumber, lettuce or sweet peppers would be great here depending what you have.

sprouted kitchen

• 6 rice paper wraps (you can typically find these in the asian section of well stocked markets)
• 1/2 cup cilantro sprigs
• 1 1/4 cup grated carrots
• 1 1/4 cup grated beets
• 1 large avocado
• 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils
• 1-2 Tbsp. sriracha (see note above)
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
• pinch of salt

sprouted kitchen

Set up your roll workspace. You need a large bowl of warm water and a damp dish towel to work on. Set out your cilantro, carrots, beets, avocado and in a small mixing bowl, combine the cooked lentils with siracha, sesame oil and pinch of salt. Taste and adjust heat as desired. Remember this is what flavors the entire roll.

Working one roll at a time. Put the wrap flat into the large bowl of warm water, being careful to not let it curl up, until soft, about one minute. Lay the wrap down on the dish towel. Down the center, like a burrito, layer the cilantro, small handful of the carrots and beets, a few slices of avocado and a modest 1/4 cup of the lentils. Fold over the top and bottom ends over the filling, tuck the right flap over and then roll to close. Repeat with remaining wraps.

Enjoy or if traveling, store in plastic wrap for easy transport.

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.

DARK CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER CUPS

George is like a character you'd find in a fiction novel. He has the quirks of someone made up, except I work with him at Trader Joes demo station in my non-fiction life. He has a curly ponytail, thick glasses, wears shorts year-round, loves beer, does not own a car, cell phone or computer, speaks of the internet like it's something from space. He prefers people at work (both customers and employees) to call him "The Sheriff" and when the song Wild Wild West comes on in the store, he does a little dance complete with his fingers shaped like guns drawn from his make believe holsters, and boogies around the sample station. I can't make this stuff up. If you're not familiar, Trader Joes has a sample station where people come to try a product, and I work the morning shifts after George has worked there the night before. He likes to chat, and to encourage the company of other employees to come talk, he always opens a box of the dark chocolate peanut butter cups. It's like pigeons and breadcrumbs - he opens those up and people flock. When I follow his shift the next morning, there are usually a couple left for me. I've gotten so used to it now that I get sad when there aren't any left under the table. The more people catch on to his secret stash, the less there are to feed my habit at 7 a.m. This is probably a good problem, but I set out to make my own anyway. As far as candy goes, I knew I could make them a little more virtuous at home.

Hugh and I are coming out of a hot cocoa and whipping cream phase and now these almond butter cups are the treat of choice. They are the perfect amount of sweet and rich with the dark chocolate, while the salt on top brightens up the morsel just right. If you're still looking for a Valentine's Day gift or treat to share, these honestly could not be simpler to make and they taste charmingly homemade.

DARK CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER CUPS // Makes 12-14 minis or 6 full sized cups

I fiddled around with this recipe based on a current affinity for the dark chocolate PB cups at Trader Joes and applied some tips from Alana Chernila of The Homemade Pantry. You could use any nut butter you choose, but note that the amount of natural oil will vary by type and brand. The honey and powdered sugar help the nut butter sieze up, so use your judgement and add a bit more if needed. It should be firm enough to roll in a ball, press down and easily hold that shape. Because I know someone will ask, I suppose you could use all honey and no powdered sugar, just expect a more tender center.I use these muffin liners. They look nice and peel away beautifully from the candy.

• 7 oz. dark chocolate (not to exceed 70%)
• 1/2 cup natural almond butter
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. fine grain salt
• sea salt flakes for topping

Break up the chocolate and melt in a double boiler (a pot of simmering water with a bowl resting on top). Stir to make sure it is perfectly smooth.

Set out the liners in a mini muffin tin, this helps them hold shape. Spoon about a teaspoon of the chocolate into the bottom. Tilt and twist it around so the chocolate coats the side of the liner and rest it back in the tin. Repeat with remaining papers. Mix the almond butter, honey, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt together until smooth to make the filling. Scoop out a tsp. of the almond butter filling and gently roll it into a ball between your palms. Give it a press down and center it on top of the thin chocolate puddle. Repeat. Spoon chocolate, about another tsp., on top of each almond butter ball to cover completely. You may need to add a few drops more to get the chocolate to level above the bump of the almond butter. Sprinkle a teensy pinch of flaked sea salt on each one and chill in the fridge to set.

They can be kept in a covered container at room temperature or fridge.