Summer Bean Medley Salad

      Grasshopper enjoys conserving energy, both personally and environmentally. On hot summer days the last thing anyone would ever want to do is heat the living space up by putting the oven on, or cooking  beans for hours! Grasshopper saves these tasks for those fall or spring days when it's too early to put the heat on, but the mornings are quite cold from the evening's temperature drop. then a cooking spree happens!
    The bean medley for this favourite summer staple is a variation on Grasshopper's earlier post from December 2012, Lentil Mung Bean (LMB) Perfect Combo with the addition of adzuki beans for more colour and variety. Soak for a good 24 hours for best results, then please refer to the cooking method described in the 12/03/12 post, regarding changing the cooking water. It's that white frothy stuff you want to get out of your cooking water, so you can digest these beans easier. Cooking time must be very slow, never a rolling boil,  and will be done anywhere between 15-35 minutes depending on the age of the beans that you've used. Don't take your eyes off of these tiny morsels, or you'll have floating skins and mush! Try to mash an adzuki to see if it's done. It'll take the longest.
    Soaking pumpkin or sunflower seeds in water in the morning is enough to prepare them for a lunch or evening salad. The salad improves in flavour as it marinates. Grasshopper makes it in the morning, and by evening the flavours have infused.
    Summer brings us so many shades of colour and taste in our herb and vegetable gardens. There is not a real recipe to this salad, as Grasshopper creates a new salad depending on what the season and gardens bring to us. This bean medley provides a base to your taste. Make your vinaigrette as you prefer and add vegetables that you enjoy that are in season. Let it all marinate until you are ready to eat. These are suggestions that have worked for Grasshopper and guests. The salad denies a 'crunchy chewy' factor  (without hard, raw veg ) so you and your guests can enjoy large helpings of this wonderful vegan protein.

Summer Bean Medley Salad 
   cooked french lentils, mung beans and adzuki beans - enough to feed you and your guests
  a handful of raw, pre-soaked pumpkin and sunflower seeds (about 5 hours)
  sliced red onion
 toss with any chopped garden herbs - thyme (definitely)
                                                     fennel, parsley, cilantro, coriander, basil
vinegar or lemon juice (suggestions are coconut, balsamic,  apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice )
organic olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
vegetables (suggestions are  cooked diced string beans, sliced raw mini zucchini, roasted                   red pepper)

Love Grasshopper  

Winter's Beanloaf

Grasshopper woke one morning with a strong craving for winter comfort food. A hearty baked loaf reminiscent of a traditional meatloaf with ketchup. Mmmm. Tomato is generally avoided by grasshopper, as it is an inflammatory food, but some believe that baking it won't create as much inflammation. Purchasing an organic ketchup will do the trick, or just leave it out of the recipe.

The base requires a 12 hour pre-soak of navy bean and whole peas then cooked till the navy beans are soft, adding fennel seed and bay leaf while cooking . The whole peas will split, but won't be mushy, adding a nice chewy texture to the beanloaf.
A traditional loaf will often include a grain as a binder, but grasshopper chose to keep it simple, and used presoaked flax seed which takes 6 hours. The flax seed makes the loaf rise slightly and creates a soft, fluffy texture. Slices can be frozen for later use, if there's any leftover?? oh so good!!

Winter's Beanloaf
     a combo of navy bean and whole dried peas (enough to fill a loaf pan) - presoaked, rinsed and cooked with one tbs fennel seed and 3 bay leaves, and drained
     1Tbs flax seed presoaked in 1 Tbs of water for 5-6 hours
     1 portabello mushroom sliced
     2 celery stalks sliced
     2 garlic cloves grated
     1 Tbs chopped onion
     a thumbnail of fresh ginger root grated
     a dash of balsamic vinegar
     spice combo- 1 tsp himalayan salt 
                          1 tsp black pepper
                          1 tsp fennel seed
                          3 tsp herbes de provence
                          1 tsp dried thyme or 1 Tbs fresh
     1/4 c organic ketchup

Using a food container with a lid, add the balsamic vinegar and sliced mushrooms, secure the lid, and give a good shake to coat the shrooms. In a small frying pan, sautee the sliced portabello in a dab of olive oil until cooked.  In a food processor, grind legume mix  (remove bay leaves first) till navy beans are pureed. Add chopped celery, garlic, ginger root, onion, spices, and flax seed. Blend well. Add the shrooms and pulse till partially chopped.

Spoon mixture into a well-oiled loafpan (glass works great), drizzle ketchup on the top to cover mixture. Bake at 350* for 40 minutes, or until brown and smelling divine.

The Flax Connection Patty

Summer time just says 'burger' time for Grasshopper and kids, so kitchen experiments are taking place, to discover a variety of ways to make easy, delicious, protein-rich vegan burgers.
This is grasshopper's burger recipe #2. View the first recipe with this link: http://grasshopperkitchen.blogspot.ca/2012_07_01_archive.html
                  One definition of the 'patty' is:
      a small rounded, flattened cake of food, made from ingredients that have been previously          ground, chopped, or minced
      A 'cake of food' could be made out of any leftover grain, veg, or legume depending on your diet restrictions or what is available in your home. But what is that perfect ingredient in commercial veggie burgers that binds it all together?-meat eaters would give a shudder! Egg eaters just toss one in, problem solved. Aha!! the vegan substitute for an egg, flax seed!! This wonder seed in its soaked gel metamorphosis turns mashed yellow peas and kamut grains into a fluffy, yet chewy cake-like texture when simply fried in a stove-top pan.
     Grasshopper regularly soaks a combination of 3 tbs each of flax and chia seeds in 3/4 cups of water, and stores it in the fridge for daily use of 1 tbs/day. It is ready in 24 hours. Creative use of your own ingredients in vegan burger making is easy with the help of this wonderful vegan burger binder!! Use this guideline to what could be the perfect burger for your family's palette.

The Flax Connection Patty
makes 4 small patties
     1 tbs flax seed, or combination of flax and chia seed
     2 tbs water
    1/2 cup cooked legumes (yellow pea is great)
    1/2 cup cooked grain (kamut is easy to chew when ground)
     cooked veg (optional-chopped or minced)
     spices - (yellow pea tastes great with lemon, fresh minced ginger or parsley, cumin, ground   fennel, salt)

     Prep:make the seed gel the day before
Presoak an equal portion of flax and chia seeds in water for 24 hours in the fridge.   
     Grind all ingredients except the gel, together in a food processor, until you are pleased with the texture. A dry mixture is fine at this point.
     Stir in the seed gel. The mixture should be able to stick together. Add water if too dry to form into patties. Shape into 4 small, or 2 large patties.
      Heat 1 tbs of oil in a fying pan on medium heat. Fry patties, turning till golden brown.

Love Grasshopper

Ginger Adzuki Bean Spread

  Ah, the comfort of ginger... taste sublime, and digestive heaven for our organs. Grasshopper simply loves adzuki beans for their ease in digestibility, size and colour, and ease in cooking. Use pre-cooked beans or soak dry beans the night before, drain old water and use new water, then cook gently for 30-60 min over med-low heat. This spread/dip was a delightful surprise accident in the kitchen, as spinach curry was the start, then came the adzucs. Any bean will do!! Any soft veg will do! Consistency and flavour are the true essentials to this taste experience, so use organic whenever possible. Use this great spread on your favourite whole grain cracker, chip, chapati, taco, tortilla etc. for a complete protein.

Ginger Adzuki Bean Spread
   1 c pre-cooked drained adzuki beans
   1c washed drained spinach
   2 tbs olive oil
   2 tbs  fresh ginger slivered lengthwise
   2 garlic cloves, slivered lengthwise
   1 1/2 tsp garam masala
   7 whole cloves
   salt to taste
    juice of 1 lemon
    3 tsp coconut oil
      In a large covered skillet heat oil on low with garlic, ginger, garam masala, salt and cloves. Simmer slowly until flavours have 'softened', about 3 minutes. Add lemon juice, stir, then slowly simmer for 2 more minutes. Remove whole cloves, add cooked adzukis, and simmer for one minute. Maintaining a low, covered skillet will retain moisture in this recipe.
  Place spinach on top of this mixture, then cover to steam on low for one minute. Turn off heat.
  Melt 3 tsp of coconut oil onto spinach. Slightly mash with a potato masher. Spread warm or cold onto your favourite bread, cracker etc. Add a bit of water if mixture gets too dry.
Love Grasshopper