HOMEY HUMMUS, BLACK BEAUTY BEAN BURGERS & A CURRIED BROCCOLI SOUP - BRING ON NOVEMBER!

Hello everyone....
Here are a couple/three easy, super delicious recipes to get your vegan on as the clocks fall back and the temps fall down.  The three are versatile and comfort food, and freeze well, too (I always freeze the burgers in particular and then just pop them out of the freeze an hour or so before supper.  A little square of waxed paper between them ensures they don't stick to one another after the big chill).


HOMEY HUMMUS

1 c precooked chick peas, set aside to cool or a large tin, rinsed and drained
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c lemon juice
3 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp fresh garlic all minced up
1 tsp sea salt (taste and add a dash more at the end if you feel it needs it. Keep in mind tinned chick peas have a higher sodium cotent)
1/3 c minced black or black and green olives, chopped, or some scallions, chives, cilantro etc - all optional

1. Blend all but the chopped olives together in a food processor until nice and creamy smooth
2.  Mixed in the optional olives, greens etc
3.  Cover and refrigerate until served

TIP:  To get your hummus to the consistency you like you may have to add a tbsp or two of water while blending.  This recipe works when doubled, too!  Of course it's fab on crackers, pita, carrot sticks etc, but the bean burgers that are next up are yummy with this as well.  I often spread this hummus on nori and add some shallots, greens, avocado, grated carrot etc and then roll the nori up into a delish snack!  Hummus is even wonderful by the spoonful dropped into a steaming hot bowl of soup, like lentil.  Versatile and loaded with protein, this is a staple comfort food that I keep in my fridge all the time.



BLACK BEAUTY BEAN BURGERS

1 pkg (I like Rooster brand) extra firm tofu
1 tin Eden black beans, drained and rinsed
2 chopped garlic cloves
1 tbsp flax mixed with a little water (replaces an egg)
1/2 c packed fresh cilantro
1/2 c quick oats
1/4 catsup (sugar free and organic is widely available now and your best bet)
sea salt and black pepper to taste

1.  Mix all the ingredients but your tofu in a blender, pulse to mix but not too fine, add the tofu by crumbling it into the mixture through your hands and give the mixture another whirl 
2.  Use your (well-scrubbed! ;-) ) hands to form into patties
3  Grill on a barbeque or in your oven (lower cal), or fry up in a saucepan on top.  Serve on a good rustic bread or roll  - we have Breadworks in Charlottetown now and couldn't be happier! - a local baker is soo civilized! - with mini-cukes, avocado slices, cilantro sprigs, red onion rounds, sliced tomatoes, your favourite condiments (including some of that fabulous hummus you just made!), etc

TIP:  These freeze very well uncooked for a super fast weekend or busy week night meal!



CURRIED BROCCOLI & POTATO SOUP


Super fast and super easy, soups are a mainstay of being a happy, healthy (and slim) single girl!  A quick walk around downtown Toronto at lunchtime shows you that soup is the new cool food for urbanites with not a lot of time for thinking about nutrition but the definite need to get all those great vitamins and greens into a the diet!  I make soups at least weekly and all year 'round.  They freeze well and make perfect last minute feasts when friends come by and I know when I tuck into a bowl of steaming (or chilled in summertime) soup I am getting all the nutrients I need without any fuss.  Great for breakfast, too, if you're trying to lose a pound or two mysteriously picked up in the last year, soups are a fast and friendly way to lose that weight without even trying.  This soup - like many of the best I make - is based on cleaning out my refrigerator on Saturday evening.  Don't be afraid to do that to use up extra veg and to discover great substitutions.  Soup, more than perhaps any other cooking, is like making a painting.  Be creative!

2 bouquets of broccoli, washed and chopped and tough outer stem peeled away
1 large white (cooking) onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4-5 medium size potatoes
8 c water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp sea salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp curry powder

Saute your onion and garlic in the olive oil in a heavy bottomed soup pot.  If you're counting calories add a little water rather than more oil as you cook till the onions and garlic are fragrant and translucent.  Add all your spices.  Cook on medium, stirring till spices are infusing steam from pot. Add the water, stir, and add the broccoli and potatoes.  Raise heat to bring just to a bowl and then turn down and simmer on low for about 45 minutes, until the potatoes and broccoli are soft.  Using a immersion blender (or a potato masher) 'cream' the soup to desired consistency.  Serve piping hot with a rustic, organic bread, perhaps toasted with olive oil and herbs under your broiler.  This soup is good topped with roasted pumpkin seeds or shredded nori, too.

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