Aduki Bean Burgers

I had some leftover aduki beans from my smoothie, so tonight I made Aduki Bean Burgers.  We had enough for dinner and my lunch later on this week.  These vegetarian patties are a combination of a Weight Watchers recipe my Mom gave me years ago and this aduki bean recipe. Makes 4 patties. 

You'll need:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 cloves of garlic, minced 
1/2 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup aduki beans
3" piece of soft tofu
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup tomato sauce
palmful fresh chopped cilantro
palmful fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
cooking spray 

Directions:
1. Over medium heat, add the oil to a sauté pan. Then add the onions, celery, and garlic.  Cook until the veggies are soft and the moisture has evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.

2. In a bowl, mash the tofu.  Blend in the beans, bread crumbs, and tomato sauce.  Add the cooled veggies.  Mix thoroughly.

3. Shape into 4 balls*, cover, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

4. Cook on a George Foreman Grill. Making sure to use cooking spray first so the patties do not stick. 

NOTE - the tofu package stated that one serving of tofu is a 1" piece; I figured a 3" for 4 servings with all the other ingredients seemed accurate.

The veggie balls* will flatten into patties on the Foreman Grill.  The cooked patties are very delicate, not like store-bought veggie burgers, so handle with care.  :)

Sassy Water

My Mom celebrated her birthday this weekend.  Happy Birthday, Mom!  She's not a drinker - never has.  At parties, she'll just have water, tea, or coffee.  Why not jazz things up and add a little sassy water as a refreshing, non-alcoholic drink option at your next birthday party or summer soiree?
 
I've been filling a glass sun tea pitcher at night with: filtered water, half a sliced cucumber, a 1" piece of diced fresh ginger, a palmful of fresh chopped mint, and one sliced lemon.  Then I chill it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, the sassy water is ready to drink up. This magic water as M calls it, is delicious and SASSY, which is helping me to drink more fluid-ounces of H₂O daily. 

 Sto Lat, Mom! Na zdrowie!

 Polish for:

May you live 100 years, Mom!  Drink to your health!

To Boston With Love

The Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild is organizing the "To Boston With Love" flag project. They are encouraging quilters to make a flag, or two, or three - a perfect Saturday afternoon project - which can be completed by a guild, group, with friends, or solo.

The detailed directions and tutorials can be found on their site.  VMQG offers tons of suggestions and pictures for inspiration.  All flags are due in Boston by May 21, 2013 so they can be displayed this summer.

Off to look through my fabric stash.  Happy sewing!

Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp and Sauce

My Dad retired this fall and has been cooking up a storm.  When we were visiting this spring he made many tasty dishes including this one. For my Dad's spaghetti squash with shrimp and homemade sauce you'll need:

1 spaghetti squash
1 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1/2 lb raw shrimp, cleaned and de-veined 
1 clove fresh garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
dash of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon oregano
4 ounces of mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter or oil to sauté mushrooms, onions, and garlic

Serves 4.  

Directions:
1. Cut squash in half and discard seeds.  Cook the squash face down in a 13x9 pan with about 1/4 inch of water. Bake for approximately 45 minutes at 425°F.  ( I have also cooked my squash in vegetable and chicken broth and those both work well.) 
2. Let the cooked squash cool. Then use a fork and scrape the "spaghetti" into a serving dish.
3. In a frying pan, melt the butter or oil.  Add mushrooms and pepper flakes. After about 2-3 minutes add onions, garlic, salt and pepper, and oregano.  
4. When the onions and garlic are translucent, add tomatoes. Simmer for at least 5 minutes. 
5. Add the raw shrimp.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.  Do not overcook the shrimp, or you'll have rubbery shrimp.  
6. Serve on top of squash. Enjoy!

NOTE - I like to use more garlic, like 3-4 cloves, but I wanted to share the recipe my Dad gave me.  Also, M and I usually don't buy raw shrimp.  Instead, we purchase already cooked shrimp from the fish counter, but still only warm up the cooked shrimp in the last few minutes of cooking.  I cannot stress enough NOT to overcook the shrimp.  

What Do You See? Quilt

I purchased this Brown Bear fabric at the Eric Carle Museum.  Then my Mom and I turned this panel into a quilt for my nephew; he enjoys listening to his Eric Carle board books, especially Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? so we knew he'd appreciate this quilt.

We added a green polka-dot border to the four sides of the panel.  Next we attached the three pieces (the front, batting, and a yellow paw-print fabric for the back) by stitching in-the-ditch on all the green inside lines.  It was like sewing the lines for one enormous tic-tac-toe board.  Finally we sewed the edges together. 

Pear and Cucumber Smoothie

Juicing is great! We have had our juicer for years, but you lose all the fiber when you juice....so M and I have been blending.  With a blender, you keep all the ingredients you throw into it and receive all the yummy nutrients and fiber.  

In a blender combine the following ingredients and liquify for a super green pear and cucumber smoothie.  Just another green drink suggestion!

1 pear, cubed
1 cucumber, cubed with skin on
handful of parsley
a few tablespoons of chia seeds
1/4 cup frozen mango
1" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1-2 cups of water, depending on how smooth or thick you want your smoothie 

Serves 2-4 people.

Pysanky Cross Stitch

I cross stitched this pysanky - Polish or Ukrainian Easter egg - for M's Bapchi last Easter.  However, I accidentally erased all my pictures before backing them up or blogging about them. This Easter we visited with Bapchi and I was able to take a new picture.

For decades M's Bapchi cross stitched Ukrainian items, including doilies, table runners, pillows, even veils for brides.  Our house is decorated with all her beautiful Ukrainian cross stitch doilies and pillows.  When M's parents visited us for the first time, they took pictures of all her handiwork to show Bapchi that we really are using her gifts. 

Now she no longer sits and stitches - a craft that both her and I find very meditative - because she has difficulty seeing the small stitches and cloth.  Last year when we visited Bapchi,  she graciously gave me a bagful of her threads and cloths.   As a small token of my appreciation, I stitched this Easter pysanky for her.  This 3" egg took me almost 30 hours, so I now have a better appreciation for all her embroidery. 

The pysanky pattern was from the Cross-Stitch Plus, March 1992.  An oldie, but goodie my Mom let me borrow. 

White Cannellini Bean Soup

This white bean soup was absolutely, positively, M's favorite soup thus far!  I didn't think I could top the mushroom and kale soup, but I did, thanks to Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook: my father's daughter. 

Paltrow suggests making white bean soup two ways: one with kale and the other like French onion soup with a baguette and melted cheese on top.  However, I combined both soups into one. Other than the chicken broth instead of her homemade vegetable stock and a Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago Cheese blend from Trader Joe's, I actually followed this recipe to a T...something I rarely do in the kitchen.

Her recipe can be found here. 

Boston

My ♥ goes out to out to those in Boston. 

Aduki Bean Smoothie with Spinach and Strawberries

I read about azuki beans, also spelled adzuki or aduki beans, a few months ago.  They are small red beans typically used in Japanese cooking.  Yesterday I found canned organic aduki beans at the market and decided to make an aduki bean smoothie thanks to this smoothie recipe.  I pinned a few other aduki bean recipes on Pinterest and will be making them soon.  Check back soon!

Aduki Bean Smoothie:
1 banana
1/2 cup canned aduki beans
handful of spinach
1/2 cup frozen mango
5 strawberries
1 cup strawberry kefir
1 cup milk