Food, glorious food! at Pumpjack & Piddlewick

I have been inspired by my garden and the glorious food it is providing. Time to try new things. New recipes, of course, to include the veggies coming into fruition. This moved me on to learning about meal planning and how not to waste what we have. A sort of circle of life, but one that I want to stretch into more of an oval.

Uses for Vegetables

The garden is growing well and we are starting to get some veg already. I struggle though with radishes and what more to do with them, so this inspired me to look at new recipes.

Like strawberries, the humble and oh so easy to grow radish, is a simple pick and eat food. But strawberries also can be made into jams, cakes, smoothies, etc. Radishes…ummm? See, that’s why I went on the search for new recipes. Carpaccio anyone?

Glorious Food Prep

As we move into summer, I am hoping to be inundated with fresh food. In preparation, my end of day entertainment has been lots of YouTube videos on canning, storing and meal prep.

I had recently discovered a gorgeous recipe for no garlic hummus. Then, even better, was meal prepping the accompanying carrot sticks. I am enamoured! Prep lots once. Store in jars of water in the fridge and I have a fresh go to snack ready already for days on end.

Leftovers

And then there’s leftovers. I am a great fan of leftovers and using them up. Thursday used to be leftover night in my family’s home, so I guess I have become my Mum.

I love being tested by the ingredients left in my fridge and pantry. Trying to figure out what to make from them. This past week was veggie burgers made from leftover lentils, mushrooms, ½ an onion and the dregs from an oatmeal packet. Even my sighing, truly not a vegetarian, partner loved them.

Best Vegetarian Burger

How to (roughly – measurements are vague in my kitchen):

Chop 1/2 an onion and a clove of garlic in to small pieces. Sauté in oil until golden. Add a large handful of mushrooms, chopped into pieces. Cover the frying pan and let the mixture sweat. Once the mushrooms look cooked, drain the juice from the pan. (I saved the juice and added it to my slow cooked mustard chicken thighs that we are having tonight.)

Add the mushroom mixture to a mixer. Add in a cup (a tea cup size will do) of cooked lentils and whizz. You just want it roughly cut up and mixed. Move this to a bowl and add – a cup of cooked quinoa and 1/3 cup oats.

I added in our leftover parmesan, about 1 Tbs, and an egg, but either could be left out if you wish to go vegan. It was just that I had them to use up. A sprinkle of paprika, a sprinkle of something smokey. I used Sumac, but you can use what ever, if anything, you have in your cupboard. 2 Tbs tomato puree. (If you had left over salsa or sauce you could add this in instead). Salt and Pepper. Stir it all together.

Make into patties about 1/2 inch (2 cm) thick and put in a preheated oven at 425 F / 210 C. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn over (carefully) and bake a further 10 minutes. You are done!

We ended up with 6 very large burgers, which we ate wrapped in lettuce (as we didn’t have any bread). You could also easily chop up and add to a salad. However you serve it, just enjoy!