My Foodie Call

It’s-a-slim-pickings-salad-kind-of-night.

I have been on a slight grocery boycott lately because I am trying to “use what we have”. I put that in quotes because my kids hear me say it so much that I am sure I sound like a robot by now.

But seriously, our country wastes so much food that I do not want to add to the problem by continuing to buy foods when we have more than enough. If our cupboards look understocked, so be it.

Although that said, probably by tomorrow I’ll be sick of the kids complaining there is no food and I’ll go buy out the snack aisles of Target.

Sigh.

For now as a result of my grocery shopping hiatus, our cupboards were looking EMPTY.

Time for dinner.

After sneaking a peek in the cupboard, I found two workable ingredients.

A can of chick peas (yes, garbanzo beans, same thing) and some brown rice.

Add a little seasoning.

Veggie burgers, done.

Pile in your ingredients.

Process.

Mini burgers. AKA “sliders”.

Cook ’em up.

Except we are out of rolls….

Chick pea slider salad?

Sometimes the meals take on a non-traditional presentation. Yes, this is why the above veggie burger is on a bed of spinach instead of in between 2 buns and slathered with ketchup and mustard.

Here is the basic veggie burger recipe that really can be extremely versatile. These became “sliders” because I wanted to make them small and have more than 4 large patties.

Chickpea sliders

makes 7

Ingredients

• 1 can drained chickpeas
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in the food processor. Pulse until it forms a chunky paste .
2. Use a large ice cream scoop to scoop paste into your palms. Shape into patties and place on a large plate.
3. Put in fridge for 10-20 minutes to help “set”.
4. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliders and cook until golden brown, about 6-8 minutes per side.

Because these wound up being “non-traditional” in that I knew we were not putting traditional condiments on them, I decided to make a nice sauce for it.

Miso-Ginger Sauce

(modified from Eat Spin Run Repeat)

• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp white miso
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1-2 tbsp honey
• 2-3 tablespoons each water and Extra virgin olive oil

Whisk it up.

Now off to the grocery store….