Vegetarian

Sweet potato burgers (Hilary Makes: creating burger patties out of everything since 2010)

~ Hilary ~ 4 Comments

I think I actually like vegetarian burgers more than real meat burgers themselves (except for that time I bought that bison burger from Aubrey’s Meats..that was really freakin’ good).

Since I began Hilary Makes almost two years ago (!!), I’ve made several alternatives to the traditional beef-lovers burger. It’s not that I don’t like the succulent meatiness of the original, it’s more that I’m not not fond of the lengthy “buy the ground beef, freeze it because you’re too busy with school to use it at the moment, defrost it for a whole day (who can wait that long?!), and cook it in a pan for 20 minutes until it’s not pink anymore” process.

And so, because I really just want to take a stroll down memory lane, here are all the non-meat burgers that I’ve made over time…

1. Black bean burger (my personal favourite so far)
2. Portobello mushroom burgers with provolone cheese and red pepper mayonnaise
3. Gluten-free quinoa burger
4. Chick pea burger 

Last week I decided to go one step forward and turn what is traditionally a burger side into a burger itself. The birth of the sweet potato burger hath cometh!

And, because I am of the firm belief that you can never eat too many potatoes (must be the Irish gene in me), I made a simple side of red potatoes fried in…wait for it…duck fat! Don’t worry, I’m not turning into  Paula Deen or anything, I just heard that this was a killer combination, and needed to try it out for myself. Sure enough, my house spelled like roasted duck (and more importantly, my potatoes tasted like it). Deliciousness that was off the hizzle.

PS: I realize that you are all going to think I’m addicted to avocado. This is an accurate diagnoses  and, though I see no reason to try and justify my love in any way, I do apologize for the non-creative dish toppings. I just think they’re fantastic (and were on sale this week!).

Run out of proper forks. Use a knork instead (there’s also a spoon at the base of the handle…now that’s practical!)

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Mushroom and barley risotto (a craving cured)

~ Hilary ~ Leave a comment

In past posts, I’ve admitted to several food cravings that I’m not so proud of. Be it five-minute cupcakes, half a bowl of unused cream cheese icing, or cold Kraft Dinner eaten straight from the fridge, these are the cravings that make me wonder how it is that I’m supposed to be a 20-something-year-old.

Then there’s the weird, but positive cravings. Like how I lose my mind for Magic Bullet smoothies after I go for a run. Or like how sometimes I cannot stop eating raspberries. You get the point.

This week’s bizarre and healthy choice came in the form of barley, that delicious grain that resembles the cutest of tiny beads. Barley is just the latest of the super grain family to catch my attention (its extended family tree includes my beloved quinoa and the elusive wheat berry). You can only imagine how thrilled I was when I received my latest issue of Canadian Living, flipped straight to the food section and discovered – low and behold – a brilliant series on Super Grains.

I did a flailing, happy food dance in my dining room.

My favourite of the recipes was one for mushroom and barley risotto. Mushrooms! Barley! Easily two of the best things in the universe. I set out to make this my Thursday night mission. I have a long day of classes on Friday, and said day is severely improved upon if I bring a delicious lunch of leftovers.

Since I didn’t have all the same ingredients as the recipe requested and since I am more frequently throwing caution to the wind and experimenting, my creation turned out a little differently than what you’ll see in the glossy pages of CL. Still, they get 100 per cent of the inspiration credit for this meal.

I added frozen peas and used fresh mushrooms rather than dry. I also made some other minor tweaks. This was yummy and reminded me of the rice risotto that Gord and I once made in Amsterdam.

Finally, winter photo season isn’t working out half as badly as I thought it would! I am totally digging these photos, and have fully delved into the wonderful world of Photoshop in order to make any lighting/colour adjustments that may be necessary. I may have gone a little overboard with the pine cones and oven rack props (fact: the latter was picked up off the side of the road, washed promptly and is now a multi-function house piece!), but hey, for someone who is used to standing on a chair on her outdoor patio to get a good shot, this is nothing. UPDATE: Okay, I just realized that you can’t see the pine cones in the photos I picked, but I promise you that they’re there. I’ll just have to include them in future photos. Aside: isn’t this bowl perfect for these photos?!

PPS: I imagine that this could easily be made vegetarian, should you choose to substitute the chicken stock with veggie stock.

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The best black bean burgers

~ Hilary ~ 6 Comments

Try saying that 10 times fast.

Okay, so technically I haven’t tried that many black bean burgers in my life, so to call these “the best” may be a minor exaggeration. Regardless, tonight – a mild Wednesday evening in January – they were all I wanted.

I’ve been wanting to make black bean burgers for awhile, and, as a result, have been trolling food blog after food blog, continuously bookmarking recipes that I’d like to try. The irony here is that I ended up not using any of these recipes. In fact, I used no recipe at all.

What up, improvisation?

But okay, I’ll admit that I cheated slightly in my creation, since reading so many other black bean burger recipes gave me a pretty good grasp of what had to go into my own. Still, I was pleased when the mixture I created actually managed to form a patty and actually managed to taste delicious. I am so proud.

Our Magic Bullet – bless its little mechanized heart – was an integral part of the burger making process, and was the perfect device the mash and blend the black beans, corn, cilantro and egg whites. Everything else just kind of worked out after that lucky streak, and the result was a filling, high-in-protein meal that even the most ardent of carnivores wouldn’t turn down.

And I have leftovers for in between class on Thursday. #blackbeanburgerhappydance

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Ratatouille with Pesto Crumble

~ Hilary ~ Leave a comment

I’m baaaaaaaaaack!  Two week hiatus?  Officially over.

This ratatouille was good enough to almost convert me to vegetarianism.  Get this: the only thing in this dish was zucchini, tomatoes, red pepper, eggplant, onion, and feta cheese (Mmmmm).  I hope you’re impressed mom.  Considering I haven’t had time to really eat anything in the past week, this ratatouille was a wonderful vacation away from the occasional bowl of Cheerios and leftovers to which I have lately become accustomed.  For anyone wanting a cheap and easy winter meal, this is the recipe for you.

Ahh, but of course there is an inspiration behind this meal…

I’ve been wanting to make this recipe ever since watching the animated movie Ratatouille a few weeks ago.  For anyone who hasn’t seen the film, it is the adorable tale of Remy the rat, a culinary connoisseur living in Paris.  Throughout the movie Remy, and his helpless-in-the-kitchen human friend Alfredo, dazzle the kitchen of a French restaurant.  At the end of the movie, Remy and Alfredo make ratatouille and melt the heart of a stone cold food critic.  Probably my favourite animated movie ever.  The clip below is from when Ego (the appropriately named food critic) is served Remy’s final dish.  Also, don’t you just love how perfect everything looks in Pixar movies?  Vegetables without a single blemish, the cutest little people, and bubbling soups that look like lava.

Also notable: this is my first time EVER trying eggplant.  Prior to this meal, I only knew it as that fairly attractive purple squash-shaped thing that sat atop the zucchini section.  Now I know it as a spongy piece of heaven with a chewy consistency.  Quite a wonderful discovery if I do say so myself.

PS: Feta is the most delicious thing in the universe.
PPS: I wasn’t sure how this pesto crumble thing would turn out, but the basil complimented the flavours of the vegetables and added a nice texture to the whole thing.  Good call Canadian Living.

Chunky Rice and Bean Soup

~ Hilary ~ Leave a comment

This day shall be known from here on in as “Soupy Saturday.”  The reason?  I made the most amazing soup in the universe!  Unlike my past soups which have focused on some sort of vegetable (pea soup, carrot soup) or on recreating a fiesta-in-a-bowl, I wanted to make a soup that just had EVERYTHING.  This Canadian Living soup recipe was perfect to achieve said goal  Also, since our house is absolutely freezing (we are students who are way too cheap to turn on the heat until snow hits the ground), I needed something other than my Snuggie to keep me warm.

This soup was soup-er (HA, get it?) easy to make, and took less than an hour in total to cook.  The only difficulty occurred when I decided to scoff at Canadian Living’s “tested till perfect” mantra, and add three times the amount of rice that the recipe called for.  This was a major mistake, and I had to add about a cup more water to compensate for my ingredient adding through over-excitement.  Due to this extra H2O, I now have enough soup to probably last me until the end of the winter season.  I’ll be keeping a large tupperware of it out (wish me luck trying to fit it in our fridge!) and packaging the leftover soup in cute little single-serving Ziploc bag packages to be eaten on overly lazy days.  Also, I need a thermos to bring things to school, anyone want to buy me one (preferably this or this). :)

Oh wait, one more thing.  I bought this new app for my iPhone (yes, I paid a whole 99 cents for it) that turns my phone into a pinhole camera.  Isn’t that the most wonderful thing you’ve ever heard?!  I took a few pictures of my lunch using that camera as well, and loved the result so much I thought it needed to be shared with you…