Veggie Cakes : Carrot And Radish

I love veggie cakes.  Of course, potato latkes are one of the world's best food creations ever.  But really, mush anything into a little cake and I will probably love it.  Zucchini is another summer winner. 

They are so easy, relatively healthy and so versatile.  Really, what's not to love?!

I had a few radishes left in a bag that needed to be used or tossed.  Being one who dislikes throwing away good food, I came up with this little ditty.  Oh it's so yummy, y'all!  Don't be afraid...trust me. 

Carrot and Radish Cakes

Ingredients:
* Veggies (in this case half a bag of small radishes and a few handfuls of baby carrots)
* Flour (I use Better Batter but any flour will do)
* Seasoning (I used salt, pepper, onion power, garlic powder and freshly grated nutmeg)
* Salt
* Splash or two of water
* Oil

Directions:
* Grate veggies in food processor.  Don't they look so pretty!

* Place grated veggies in colander and toss with a bit of Kosher salt.  Let sit a while to drain excess water.  If you are in a hurry like I usually am, after a few minutes, squeeze water out of veggies with hands.  Discard the liquid as it is very salty.

* In a bowl, mix a few tablespoons of flour (The amount will depend on how much of the veggie mush you are making into cakes.  Just eyeball it.) and seasonings.  Season VERY well or the cakes will taste too bland. 
* Add drained veggies.  Mix well. 
* Add a splash or two of water to get the mixture to stick together.  Again...eyeball it. 
* Form patties.
* Place a few tablespoons of plain flour on a plate.  Coat each little cake in flour.
* Heat veggie or olive oil in a pan.  I just used a few tablespoons- just enough to coat the bottom of cakes.  But I imagine if you like to fry things, it would be delish that way too. 

* Cook cakes on medium until golden on both sides.
* Enjoy plain or with sour cream or apple sauce.

Roasted Chick Peas

Three words I never thought I would use in the same sentence!  I didn't eat chick peas (also called garbanzo beans) until fairly recently.  It was a purely texture issue, as I LOVE hummus.  And I make hummus frequently.  Because really, it tastes just so much better and is a fraction of the price when you just make it at home.

But today, I have to tell you about another fairly new snacky obsession of mine.  I ripped a similar recipe out of a magazine two years ago.  But as is frequently the case when I tear little bits out of magazines, it got lost in the great abyss of my "to be filed" pile of papers sitting on top of the filing cabinet.  So I googled and found gazillions of other similar recipes.  You can really add any flavoring to these.  But this time I stuck to my favorite savory flavor.  Old Bay!

No one can claim to be an east coast girl (or guy) if they are not a lover of the famous yellow tin.  It's not just for crab.  I use it on everything.  Eggs, potatoes, seafood, chicken and of course, roasted chick peas.

This recipe is crazy simple.  It's also dirt cheap.  A can of chick peas at my grocery store runs under a buck.  Actually I probably got these cans for nearly free with coupons.  I tend to do things like that.  Very healthful.  And you can use any flavor combination.  My only warning is to remember that they are also known as garbanzo beans.  And in they are, in actuality, a BEAN.  That's my hint hint to not eat the entire tray by yourself the first day.  No lady wants to say excuse me because she ate an entire can of beans in one sitting.  Catch my drift?  (I swear this blog is reaching new lows each year.) 

Roasted Chick Peas
Ingredients:
* 1 can of chickpeas
* 1 1/2 tablespoons EVOO, divided
* Kosher salt
* 1/2 tsp. Old Bay (or seasoning of choice)
* 2 tbls. brown sugar (optional)

Directions:
* Drain and rinse chick peas in cold water to remove the slimy water.  Dry well on paper towels or clean kitchen towel.  Gently dry on top with second towel- taking care not to crush the beans. 

* While drying, the outer skin might come off.  Just pick the skins out and discard.  It is not necessary to remove the skins but I go ahead and discard those that come lose while rubbing dry.  They look sort of gross...just fair warning.

* Once completely dry, place beans on cookie sheet.  Add 1 tbls. EVOO and toss well with hands to ensure even coverage.

* Place in middle of oven preheated to 400 for @40 mins.

* While baking, mix seasonings and 1/2 tbls. EVOO in bowl.

* Pour hot peas into seasoning mix and toss gently to coat well.  Then transfer them back to the cookie sheet to cool off.  Once completely cool, store in air tight container for up to one week.  I use a slotted spoon to dust off the excess seasoning mixture.

* Double and triple as desired.

Once finished roasting, you can taste for seasoning and add more if desired.  They make the best little snack.  Very crunchy and yummy!  Enjoy.

Muscles Fried Rice....Ish

So this isn't exactly a true fried rice recipe.  More like a gentle nod in that direction.  With strange elements. Whatever, give me the benefit of doubt here.  Have I ever lied about a recipe?

OK so confession, it was an experiment.  And before I took a bite, I said out loud that it might be really weird.  But it was actually delicious.  Like I hate half the pan, delicious. 


Muscles Fried Rice

Ingredients:
* 3 eggs
* dash of milk
* 1/2 bag frozen spinach
* 1/2 bag frozen sugar snap peas  (or whatever green veggies you have on hand)
* rice
* frozen muscles (or another protein that you have on hand), defrosted
* EVOO
* Salt and Pepper to taste
* Seasoning to taste (I added a dash of both onion and garlic powder)

Directions:
* Whisk eggs and dash of milk in bowl.  Add to hot pan and make soft scrambled eggs.  Remove from pan while still very soft- as in they are just barely cooked.

See...veggies are still frozen.

* Add a bit of EVOO to pan and then add your frozen veggies. 
* After everything comes to temperature, add muscles and rice. Add egg.  Mix well to make sure everything is incorporated.  This is why you wanted to take the eggs out while soft- they will cook a bit more at this point in the process.
* Add salt, pepper and any desired seasoning to taste.

I know it doesn't look like much and it is certainly not company worthy.  But it's really really tasty, fully of veggies, and super quick. 

Yup, that whole spend time making chicken and rice to use later business is really panning out!

So I made my Best Banana Bread Recipe the other night and simply used gluten free flour instead.  Changed nothing else- no measurements were changed.  I typically use Better Batter but decided to use up the bag of Bob's Red Mill lingering in my pantry.  But truly, whatever flour you chose, gluten full or gluten free, this is such a fabulous recipe. 

This is proof that you can still eat so many of your favorite gluten filled yummies when gluten free because you can't even taste the difference with the GF flour.  Soooo yum-o!