Creamy Butternut Chickpea Millet + Cool News

So, I have something pretty cool to share. It's my vegan story! The beautiful Kristy over at Keepin' It Kind is so wonderful to have provided me with the opportunity to share my journey to vegandom. Is that a word? Vegandom. I think it should be. Well, it is now. If you've ever wanted to know more about my little story, now you can! So head on over and check it out. Plus, there's a few pics of me with some pretty sweet pups.  Just about every night I have a pretty intense internal battle about whether to make dessert for dinner or an actual, proper dinner. Last night it was a particularly harrowing spar. However, dinner won. It usually does, but only because I know if I don't make any dinner then I'll have to eat falafel chips and hummus for lunch the next day...which I totally did yesterday. I'm not complaining about such a delicious lunch, but really, it's more of a snack. Then, I'm so hungry by the end of the work day that I come home and binge on a downright shocking amount of Endangered Species chocolate. They have these new ones that are creme filled you guys! And VEGAN! Actually, now that I think about it...maybe I should just do this everyday. 

Completely unrelated to food or being vegan, Todd and I watched Frozen last night. New favorite movie! Well, I dunno. Could I demote Monsters, Inc.? I'm entirely not sure. But, we laughed throughout the entire thing and also Josh Gad is my favorite person to ever walk the Earth so ya' know, pretty much best movie ever. Plus it's all about snow and winter and that's kind of my jam...living in Alaska and all, ya' dig?

Okay, back to this dish.

You know how everyone loves chickpeas and buttersquash? Yes. And you know how everyone's getting on all up on the millet bandwagon? Yes. Well now combine those three luscious ingredients! Bam! Fluffy millet soaks in a warm, herbed butternut squash sauce dotted with protein-packed chickpeas. All ready to go in about 30 minutes. Now that's a dinner worth forgoing dessert for. 

Creamy Butternut Chickpea Millet

Serves 6

• Millet:
• 1 1/2 cups millet, dry
• 3 cups water
• pinch of salt
• Aromatics:
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium carrot, diced small
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced small
• 1 whole dried bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp. whole cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp. ground sage
• 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• grating of nutmeg
• Sustenance:
• 32 oz. butternut squash soup
• 2 15 oz. cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Notes: Quinoa, rice, or couscous can be used in place of the millet if you wish. If you don't have whole cumin seeds, feel free to use about 1/2 tsp. of ground cumin. I used Pacifica brand of butternut squash soup. 

In a medium saucepan, toast the dry millet over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, until fragrant. Stirring occasionally. Then, add the water and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover partially and reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes, then stir and remove from heat. Keep covered and let sit until ready for use, at least 10 minutes. 

While the millet is cooking, in a large soup pot heat the oil over medium then add the aromatic ingredients. Saute for about 10 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the onions are browned. 

Meanwhile, in a blender combine 3/4 cup of the butternut squash soup, 3/4 cup of the chickpeas, as well as the nutritional yeast and the vinegar. Blend on high until smooth. Add this mixture to the sauteed vegetables as well as the remainder of the soup and chickpeas. Stir well to combine, and remove the bay leaf. 

This dish can be served two ways. Either place a scoop of the cooked millet into a shallow soup bowl and a ladle of sauce around it or, combine the millet and sauce and serve that way. Serve hot. 

Come jam with me. Don't deny yourself...

[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/106878552" params="color=88d0ab&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

"He stares so politely I'm best behaving when he's walking with me, walking with me Oh, he likes taking photos in black and white They're upon his walls, on his walls"

German Word of The Day: Millet --> Hirse (pronounced: hillseh)

Good Deed of The Day: For real? Ugh. Sign this petition to tell UK labs to stop puppy and kitten experiments. Only takes 5 seconds, promise. 

Oh and also...

Dang that was a pretty involved post today. Lots of stuff going on, but guess what? It's pretty much Friday, peeps! 

[yumprint-recipe id='96']

Butternut Miso & Quinoa Soup

Are there people out there who're going about not liking miso? I can't imagine it. An absurd notion, for sure. Red miso is my favorite because it's the most misoy of all the misos. Why even bother with mellow yellow or boring white miso when you can have bold and radical red miso? I'm just a miso extremist I guess. 

This is an umami laden soup that's hearty enough for a meal. A miso-tahini broth stocked with butternut squash and yam, that's swimming with red quinoa and spinach. Topped with fresh avocado.

Butternut Miso & Quinoa Soup

Serves 4

• 4 cups water
• 1 4" piece of kombu (optional)
• 1 cup frozen cubed butternut squash
• 1/2 red garnet yam or sweet potato, diced
• 2 cup cooked red quinoa (I make lots and freeze it) 
• handful of spinach, chopped
• 3 Tbsp. red miso 
• 2-4 Tbsp. tahini
• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• fresh basil, for garnish (optional)
• sesame seeds, for garnish

In a medium soup pot, bring the water, kombu, squash, and yam to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes over low, until the squash and sweet potato are tender. 

Add in the quinoa and the spinach. Cook for an additional few minutes, until the spinach has wilted. Remove from heat and allow to cool a minute or two. 

Meanwhile, in a small bowl add about 1/2 cup of the soup water. Whisk in the miso until smooth. Add the thinned miso to the soup pot. 

Repeat with the tahini. 

Add in the vinegar and the avocado. At this point you can remove the kombu and discard it, but better yet mince it up and add it back to the soup!

Serve hot and topped with fresh basil and sesame seeds. 

Listening to: [soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/113364689" params="color=63a88a&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

German Word of The Day: Butternut Squash --> Butternusskürbis (pronounced: booternuss-kurbis)

Good Deed of The Day: Sign this petition to stop the killing of 1,800 whales and dolphins and the deafening of 15,900 more by ceasing the operation of the Navy's underwater sound system in the Hawaiian Islands, the California and Atlantic Coasts, and the Gulf of Mexico.

[yumprint-recipe id='88']

Thai Quinoa Burgers

I'm not really big on vegan burgers. Of any kind. Homemade, store-bought, restaurant. I have nothing against the vegan burger. I'm pretty sure it just has something to do with my disdain for sandwiches. I'll just say it...I don't like sandwiches. I know. Am I even human? I don't know anymore.  Well, these Thai Quinoa Burgers, if only for a moment in time, make me forget how much I don't prefer an entree squished between two wads of bread. These are the freakin' bomb, people. They're just as a vegan burger should be. Delicious, hearty, full of flavor, and they stay together beautifully. There's nothing worse than a crumbling vegan burger patty, truly.  

What I especially love about these burgers is that they are very healthy, super easy to make, hold together well, protein-packed, crispy on the outside, and not at all dry.

What's not to love? You have to try these!

My new favorite vegan burger.

Thai Quinoa Burgers

Makes 6 patties

Notes: You'll have a bit of leftover quinoa. That's a good thing! I put mine in the freezer and then when we need it, you're already good to go!

• Flax egg:
• 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• 2 Tbsp. water
• Quinoa:
• 1 cup quinoa, dry (I used red)
• 2 cups water
• Patty:
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats, dry
• 1 15 oz. can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup fancy snow peas, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. red curry paste
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. agave nectar
• 1/2-1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, chopped
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. fresh chili paste
• Assemble:
• 6 burger buns
• BBQ sauce
• spinach or lettuce
• mung bean sprouts

In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flax and water. Set aside to rest for at least 10 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, bring the rinsed quinoa and water to boil over high heat. Turn down to a simmer, cover and allow to cook for about 15-20 minutes or until tender. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

In a food processor, pulse the oats until they are coarsely ground. Add the remaining patty ingredients, including the flax egg. Process well, until smooth and thick. Once the quinoa is done cooking, measure out 1 cup and process that in as well, until well combined. Freezer or refrigerate the leftover quinoa.

Preheat oven to 350 F and coat a baking sheet with a non-stick cooking spray.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat with a splash of olive oil. Using a 1/3 measuring cup, form the burger mixture into patties and fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, until browned. Repeat until all the mixture is gone. This should make about six patties. 

Once they are browned on both sides, place on the baking sheet and bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes, until golden and crispy. 

Assemble with a bun, and topped with BBQ sauce, spinach or lettuce, and sprouts if you wish.

Or, it's just as fabulous without the bun! They'd be great in a wrap too, I should think!

Bonus points for sprouting your own mung beans, like I did. I'll try not to be too excited or smug about that. In all honesty, I had no choice. Our stores up here in Alaska don't sell them anymore!