Tuesday, December 12, 2006

It's Been Too Long Since This Blog Has Seen A Recipe!

My oh my it is good to be home. Brad and I returned late yesterday afternoon to our little apartment in Brooklyn, and it sure does feel big. Eight days in a little hotel room with nothing but restaurant food and home feels like a palace. We had a good time in Miami, saw lots of art, furniture design and more art. We attended the occasional party, drank a few cocktails, had a day on the beach, some time by the pool and watched plenty of bad TV.

Brad did a bit of shopping while we were there. He couldn't help himself in the presence of fashionable men's boutiques and brought home a few great new wardrobe items. I on the other hand brought home a nasty case of strep throat. After fighting it for the last few days of our trip, the plane ride did me in. Brad returned to work today and I happily spent the day in bed hoping to sleep off the last of it. So, despite my complete and total exhaustion with mediocre restaurant food, I am not so inspired to cook tonight and thought to fall back on one of our very favorite frozen meals, yummy homemade veggie burgers.

Veggie Burgers

*One of the great things about this recipe is that there is lots of room for experimentation (or error).

4 carrots, grated
4 parsnips, grated
1 large or two small sweet potatoes, grated
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4-6 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg
1/2C bread crumbs
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 handful parley, chopped
1 handful cilantro, chopped

whole wheat English muffins
good cheese and Dijon mustard for serving

Combine all veggies in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. In batches, pulse in a food processor adding oil as needed to process until coarsely chopped and moist. Return mixture to large bowl.

Mix in 1 egg, breadcrumbs, seeds, chopped herbs, salt and pepper. Use your hands like you would with any burgers to mix until well combined. If the mixture is too moist, add more breadcrumbs.

Form the mixture into balls, and place on a non-stick backing sheet. Press flat with the palm of your hand to form patties. The mixture should yield approximately 8 burgers.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the patties are soft and golden brown. Serve on a toasted English muffin topped with some good cheese, like goat or sharp cheddar, and Dijon mustard if you'd like. Goes great with a big mixed green salad.

Layer any uneaten burgers is a flat container with wax paper between them and freeze. To cook, simply place the frozen burgers in a 375˚ oven until warmed through, about 20 minutes.

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