Zucchini Chickpea Burgers

A few weeks ago I was browsing the blogs in my gReader, like any other day, when something extra delicious caught my eye – something that combined two of my favorite things…

zucchini fritters + chickpea balls = Zucchini Chickpea Burgers, courtesy of the other Christina at Hungry Meets Healthy.

Here’s my ingredients with a couple tiny differences from the original.

Ingredients
1 can chickpea’s – “diced” by processing in a food processor, you want small pieces – not a puree
2 zucchini’s – grated
1 cup panko (3/4 cup in the original recipe)
3 eggs/egg substitute (I used chia eggs and the original recipe called for egg whites)
1 small onion – grated or finely diced

Seasoning
1 TBSP Cayenne
2 TBSP Garlic Powder
1 TSP sea salt
1 TSP Chili Flakes

Combine all ingredients in a big mixing bowl until well combined. Form into patties and sauté in a frying pan on medium until cooked, about 3-4 minutes per side.

The patties will get a nice crispy exterior like the zucchini pancakes and the chickpea’s add a firmer texture than other bean burgers… ahem, if you’ve experimented with bean burgers in the past you know exactly what I’m talking about and there’s none of ‘that’ here!

Serve it up on a bun or on its own and top it with tangy Lemonaise (or minted yogurt sauce from the original recipe). 

Side note: Keep in mind that leftovers won’t have a crispy exterior when reheated. It doesn’t bother me but if you’re not a fan then try halving the recipe to avoid waste.

Sweet Potato Falafel? That’s Pinteresting

Actually making a recipe I’ve pinned on pinterest doesn’t happen often but here’s one I recently tried out and enjoyed;  Sweet Potato Falafels.

I love falafel so I was game to try a twist on them that I could make at home. Obviously, with the addition of the sweet potato, these are far from traditional but they were better than I was expecting! If that’s not a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is. But seriously, I wouldn’t be blogging about it if I didn’t enjoy it.

This was one of the few times actually followed a recipe fairly closely. The only thing I didn’t do was roast the sweet potato’s, who has time for that? Though that surely sounds better than – “I nuked ‘em in the micro” which is exactly what I did. Sorry I’m not sorry.

Le voila, sweet potato balls!

I was worried the sweet potato would make the finished product mushy but they weren’t at all, probably thanks to the chickpea flour.

I see lots of veggie-balls and burgers made with chickpea flour in my future. Let’s be honest, it’s about time I put a dent into the bag of chickpea flour I bought months ago for soca I never made. Who knows, maybe I’ll get crazy and finally make my own socca too!

If you made this recipe too let me know what you think!

Birthday day #29

After a fantastic pre-birthday weekend the actual day was bound to be appear low-key in comparison. In fact, my birthday turned out nothing like I’d planned, but it didn’t pass without some delicious highlights.

Birthday breakfast – just a few of my favorite treats.

“Golden ticket”

A free frapp, a patio and a good eBook.

The day before – Birthday Froyo from Menchies… (Menchies is great but I miss pinkberry #firstworldproblem)

Birthday cupcakes – not actually eaten on my birthday because I’m lame and old and needed a sugar break.

Caramel Chocolate Chip, Chocolate/Chocolate Mousse and Red Velvet.

There are few things I love more than getting flowers…

except maybe good quality, all you can eat sushi. Since sushi and flowers are completely different things I’m going to call it a tie. I’ve got the flowers, time to bring on the salmon sashimi because the celebration continues tonight! #ohhhyeah

Softball Season–in swing!

Our first softball game of the season was last week! After a weekend of beautiful weather it was grey and stormy-looking all day. Luckily the rain held off and we were warm as long as we kept moving.

The only mishap was when I tried to stop a ball with my face. Oops. My chin and teeth hurt a bit but it was mostly my pride that took a beating. I blame the mishap on being asked if I’ve ever been hit during a game while we were warming up. The answer is now yes.

Luckily the rest of my fielding and hitting = redemption, as my teammates put it, and I only have a little goose egg and a couple scratches – no bruise! This is miles better than the time I got smoked on the side of my eye and bled through a beach towel.

My legs on the other hand? They felt like lead and I’m so slow now that I haven’t run since last summer. Le sigh. Stupid hip flexor.

The weather turned on us at our next game two days later. The fields were soaked and muddy from monsoon-like rain we had all afternoon and then we were blasted with freezing cold rain intermittently while we played. That was thrilling and it’s pretty certain the socks from that game are going in the trash, when I can bare to pick the out of the trunk.

We had fantastic weather for this weeks game, though 2 hours of the sun in my eyes wasn’t my favorite thing (do I sound like goldilocks yet?). I zumba-ed before the game and my knee didn’t feel right. I thought I’d bruised it the week before but jumping around in class made me realize this was more than a bruise, my knee was swollen and there was no cushion for my kneecap. Um. F*ck. I played the game alright, though I was relived when I smoked the ball in the last inning and the right fielder jumped and managed to catch it so I didn’t have to run the bases.

Anyway, I’m now resting and icing what is my “good” knee and hoping for the best. This means no softball tournament this weekend, which is so disappointing, but hopefully my knee will miraculously heal and my head can remain in the sand.

^ This is what it looks like when your head’s in the sand. What injury?

Happy weekend everyone!

Dear Twenty Nine

Growing up I always made sure to write in my journal the night before my birthday. It was like my own personal new year and I wanted to capture everything about myself at that moment, before one year turned into the next and I changed, however imperceptibly.

Now, I don’t necessarily write a letter to myself but I like to freeze the day for the same reason I carry a camera in my purse 24/7; I don’t want to miss a thing.

What did I look like when I turned 19…21…27… how did 25 year old me want to celebrate her birthday? (sunset dinner at the top of the CN Tower and diamonds).

You always think you’ll remember these significant (at the time) rites of passage but, like anything, the memories fade with time.

Do you hear that 5-year-old Christina, writing in your pink room, on the wide lines of your red ramona quimby journal? At the time you couldn’t imagine how you’d forget what it’s like to be a kid, or the exciting things that happened every day, but you wrote in that journal anyway, posterity – eh!

It’s funny what you think you’ve forgotten and then out of nowhere it hits you…

Swinging so high you ‘bumped’ at the top.
Landing your first waltz jump or double flip-double loop.

The fresh smell of summer nights as your mom gardens and you help by pulling weeds that are really carrots.

Playing cards with your grandma at the dining room table, feet up, while you’re grandma peels you grapes and feeds you slices of apples and oranges.

How your grandma uses a plate to flip the calamari.

The giddy excitement of your first trip to the movies without a parent.
Shock from crashing you bike.

Driving a car for the first time and “stopping” by slamming on the brakes.

What it felt like to graduate high school, then university.

The pride of your first real paycheck.
How euphoric it was to finish your first triathlon.

A lot has happened in the past year but one Sunday night in November was definitely etched into memory list. I hope one day I pay forward, with the same generosity, sincerity and emotion, how that night raised me up when I needed it most.

For some reason I’ve always looked forward to 29, and maybe it’s just a state of mind helped along by that night in November, but the fabulosity of 29 arrived a few weeks early.

I feel like I’ve come into my own more than ever. This is going to me the year of me; using and getting to know my own voice better.

I also hope I’ve learned enough to be appreciative and compassionate because, if nothing else, the last 28 years have gifted me perspective. In the next 28 I hope I continue to stop and appreciate the little moments. The unexpected moment you laugh so hard you can’t breathe, the simple moment that leaves a mark, the hard moments that make you stronger. Those things are what life is about.

Forrest got it wrong, life is like a bowl of cherries – it’s sweet but there’s always a pit. Pits are annoying and scary but don’t ever miss the sweet for the pits; grab life by the handful. (what can I say…old age is making me corny)

On the eve of your 29th birthday, I (28 year old you) leave you with this:

“Life is an obstacle course. You succeed at one thing and then you move on to the next. When an obstacle is tough, you try harder. When an obstacle is insurmountable, you change course. But you never sit down and refuse to finish.” – Bethenny Frankel

And yes, nearly 28-year-old you just quoted a reality TV show star (yes, you watch reality TV, no shame) but it fits you, no? Don’t ever change.

(pre)Birthday weekend!

(pre)Birthday weekend actually kicked off last Thursday when The Girlssss arrived at my place after a stormy drive. Not only did they show up with cupcakes but also with my favorite pear cider (Sir Perry’s), super thoughtful birthday gifts and a bunch of my favorite goodies from Trader Joe’s.

The most hilarious part of the gifts was this matryshka doll oven mitt. Years ago I came up with a ridiculous matryshka doll dance move, and by dance move I mean like the water sprinkler is a dance move, they’ve been a joke ever since.

The celebration continued the next day when my department celebrated the 3 birthdays occuring in the next week with decorated desks and a pizza lunch. That afternoon, in honour of May the 4th, we had a rip-off of a comic-con costume contest as a floor activity. The idea was to have the best worst costume and our group rocked it, dressing up as characters/things from Super Mario. I was the gold coins and my costume consisted of circles of sparkly gold paper taped to a black scarf, a gold headband and Werther’s candy to throw to the crowd. And this is why I work in marketing.

Friday we had dinner at an irish pub on the waterfront, I had the lobster club and some Strongbow. I wouldn’t order the club again but the fries and Strongbow were delish!

After dinner we walked up to the arena for Stars on Ice. They made a lot of changes to the show this year and put Kurt in charge of choreography for the first time. They should have done this years ago because he knocked it out of the park, the show was the best it’s been in years. It’s been a while since I’ve gone to a skating competition or show and enjoyed myself like that, it took us all back to the “good old days” of skating.

‘Twas a fun night.

Canadian $ has always been colourful, now it’s also see-through (and amusing).

The next morning it *only* took us two and a half hours to get going and hit the road for my hometown.

Along the way we stopped for some of the best cupcakes in the Toronto area (breakfast of champions) from The Social Cupcake in Port Credit.

Red Velvet, Guiness Baileys, Strawberry Banana (AMAZING) and Cookies and Cream.

Lunch was courtesy of one of my fave vegan restaurants/bakeries, Kind Food in Burlington.

(we saved the cupcakes for the next day)

Once we got into Hamilton we did some local shopping, including stores co-owned by friends from school. How am I old enough to have friends who are local business owners? WEIRD! At one of the stores I bought myself an awesome scarf made of fabric from dress shirts, sounds weird but it’s awesome. James st North is not to be missed!

We also did some light hiking to visit waterfalls and ruins in the area. It was hilarious trying to remember where to find all these places, I only got us a little lost.

Tiffany Falls

Ancaster – heritage house on the Bruce Trail, The Hermitage ruins and Tews Falls

Overlooking the city at sunset and a monster super moon.

Dinner was at another one of my favourite places, the Earth to Table Bread Bar! We had smoked salmon, mushrooms and brie pizzas (3 different ones) and they were all to die for. Seriously, some of the best pizza’s I’ve ever had.

We lucked out with more great weather on Sunday and walked around the shops in Yorkville. I ended up with an awesome shirt from Anthropologie, i hope the pic shows up – I got mine in white though I was tempted to buy it in a few colours.

I also finally tried on a pair of Toms ballet flats, they were so comfy but showed toe cleave so I didn’t get them. Guess I’ll stick to regular Toms, my fave ugly but comfy shoes.

We brunched at Sassafraz, a local institution, known for attracting famous people and delicious food. I ordered my usual brunch fair, zee poached egg, though I usually order them with smoked salmon but it wasn’t on the menu this time. Turns out I should have asked because I later saw someone with my usual.

The food was top notch but the guy at the table next to us was so obnoxious I felt bad for our server. Among other thing, he wanted “fresh ground pepper” for every single thing that came to their table, I wanted to grind the pepper into his eyeballs by the end of brunch.

We did more shopping in Kensington, one of the funkier areas of the city, and then grab slices of pie at Wanda’s Pie in the Sky before the girls had to vamanos.

I’m always sad to see them go but it was an awesome weekend! Love you Girls!

I did something right – quinoa balls ‘o yum!

Stepping into the kitchen last Sunday morning I felt hungover, despite not drinking the night before. I only had a small window to prep food for the week so I scarfed blue corn chip crumbs and got to work. Quinoa balls were on the menu and I had better wake up if I was going to wing the recipe.

There’s a plethora of quinoa ball recipes on  pinterest but I only ever liked bits and pieces of recipes. Ergo it was time to put my twist on things.

Into my blue bowl (heh, don’t read that too quickly) went the following goodies:

• ½ cup carrots – chopped
• ½ cup  green peppers – chopped
• 2 handfuls spinach
• 1 zucchini – grated and squeezed dry
• 3 green onions
• 1 chia egg (I was out of real eggs but feel free to use one or a flax egg)
• ¼ cup cheese (I used daiya mozz.)
• 1 TBSP chickpea flour (feel free to substitute)
• 1 TBSP oil
• 2  ¼ cup of quinoa – cooked & warm/cooled – just not hot
• Seasoning – use what you love. I added 1 TBSP cayenne, 1 TBSP chili powder, 2 TBSP garlic powder and a sprinkle of salt.

Mix well then use a large mellon baller or ice cream scoop to put into muffin trays. Make sure you press the ingredients firmly into the scoop before transferring so the balls keep their shape. Makes 22-24 balls, depending on your scoop size ;-)

Bake at 350* for 15 minutes then broil on hi for 1 minute and voila!

I figured these would be decent but they were even more delicious than I imagined, must of done something right!

I am definitely adding these into the regular rotation. WIN!

All good things must come to an end–NYC Day 2

The original plan for my 8^th day on the road was to get up semi-early and do brunch. I woke up at 6, bumped into mama D in the hall and was told to go back to sleep until at least 10. D, you’ve got the lovingly, stern, mom-voice down. A few more hours of sleep was just what I needed and I woke up raring to go.

Heellloooo New York!

We loaded the girls in the stroller and went directly to The Museum of Modern Art, the only thing I told D I’d like to do while in the city.

Our visit was extra special because it was the girls first gallery. My little partners in crime were just as fascinated as I was, they’d squeal if we pushed the stroller away from something before they were done. So cute!

Wandering around MOMA was fantastic. I enjoyed everything but my very favourite parts were the sculpture garden and the Monet’s.

The sculpture garden was so serene, such a contrast to the city just over the wall.

The Monet’s

These were captivating. Until I saw them in person I couldn’t understand just how grand and large they were. WOW.

Just a few of the other fantastic pieces…

We squeezed in a little shopping on 5^th Ave and at the Anthropologie in Rockefeller Plaza (their friendliest location!) before lunching at Wichcraft.

Last summer Jules and I passed a million Wichcraft’s and then couldn’t find one when we wanted to eat there so I was excited to try it out. And boy, was it worth the wait.

I had the turkey sammie that comes with bacon, avocado, onion relish and aoli and it heated to perfection. This was easily one of the best sandwiches I’d ever had. The simple, high quality, ingredients created the most amazing flavor combination, it was like a little pillow of heaven. Of course the fantastic conversation with D and the twins silly hijinks made it that much better!

And then things got more delicious.

Did you know they have Blue Bottle Coffee in NYC because I had no clue! I assumed they were exclusive to SanFran. Nope.

Not only was the staff amazingly friendly but they prepared me one of the top 3 latte’s I’ve ever had. I’m starting to drool just thinking about it. Oh lordy

.

The espresso was so rich and creamy and the crema, oh the crema. Sweet little baby jesus the crema was amazing.

If you’re curious the foam was able to pass the authenticity test and supported a teaspoon of sugar I sprinkled on top. Have I mentioned the latte was fantastic? Because I’m currently in withdrawal, I tried to pack the store in my carry on but it didn’t quite fit…

My NYC adventures came to an end on that delicious note. Thank you for a fantastic time D, I’m so glad I got to meet your little ladies, they’re brilliant!

Until next time NYC!

xo

C

Good Friends Reunited–NYC Day 1

When we booked our DC trip it never occurred to me just how close I’d be to NYC. Thankfully my fantastic friends alerted me I would be in the area and suggested I come visit. After verifying they weren’t off their rockers and that NYC really was nearby the pilgrimage to the city was as good as done.

NYC is one of my favourite place to visit, for any reason, but this trip was extra awesome because I was staying with my friend DD. She’s one of the most amazing people I know; totally brilliant and endlessly kind. In short, I want to be her when I grow up.

We didn’t meet up on my trips to NYC last summer because she was on bed rest at their vacation home (incubating adorable twin girls) so I was ecstatic to see her smiling face when I exited the train. The irony is that I got off the train slightly disheveled, after an early wake-up call, and D was perfectly put together despite her young twinadoes. #unsurprising #newyorker

We cuddled the kidlets, I freshened up and then it was time to shop, destination: SOHO.

DD indulged me and let me navigate us around the city, which I managed to do without a map or getting lost. HOLLER where’s my prize? Oh noes, no prize for my ridonkulous pride? Oh well, so not sorry.

I love being in NYC! Original, I know.

I tried but didn’t find anything to blow $$$ on in SOHO, though wandering through C Wonder is always a treat. No matter, I knew I’d find plenty at the Trader Joes in Union Square. What I didn’t know was just how packed grocery stores are on Sunday nights. The line literally snaked around the entire store and two employees were holding signs to indicate the end of the line. Um, what?! D assured me the line moved quickly and to get my shop on. She was right and I did. Ohhh sunbutter, I love you.

We tried Whole Foods next but I couldn’t stomach more line-ups so we left (you’re welcome bank account) and went directly to cocktail time with other local friends. After a few round we stepped out to pick-up Lombardi’s pizza for dinner and found ourselves in the middle of a monsoon. Talk about rain on my parade.

Before declaring defeat we grabbed an assortment of Baked by Melissa cupcake bites then retreated home.

We arrived completely soaked to find pizza and cannoli’s waiting for us, D’s husband is the best!! Also, pizza places deliver CANNOLI’s too? Why don’t they do that in Toronto?!!

We stayed up late into the night cuddling the kidlets and drinking skinnygirl margarita’s while we watched Storage Wars and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. #bliss

Oh and the mini cupcakes were pretty excellent too.

Their small size means you can try a few flavours. Love it.

Next up, NYC day 2!

Yummy but not so sweet – DC Day 4 part 2

After our supremely delicious lunch at Zatynia we had a few more sights we wanted to check off the list. We managed to fit in the Vietnam memorial, National Library, Supreme Court and Capitol before the sun set.

Go team hardcore. When can we be in the Amazing Race?

Surrounded by cherry blossoms, with 2.5 rows of columns in front, the Supreme Court is my favourite building in DC.

The rows of steps invite you to sit and overlook the Capital but they’re also duplicitous – seeming to make you work hard just to reach the door, and justice, if you can make it to the top. Clever.

On our last night in DC we decided to return to Sweet Greens for a light dinner. On the way we stopped into Sweet Lobby, in the Eastern Market area. A winner of Cupcake Wars on the Food Network, with a solid 4.5 stars on yelp, we were excited to feast our tastebuds on their cupcakes and macarons. We took our beautifully boxed selections with us to Sweet Greens to eat later.

On this visit to Sweet Greens I tried the guacamole greens; mesclun with roasted chicken, avocado, grape tomatoes, red onion, crushed tortilla chips; topped with a lime cilantro jalapeno vinaigrette & a fresh lime squeeze (description from their menu).

I was impressed again, their salads are irresistible! So good, so fresh, so yummy, so jealous Toronto doesn’t have one.

And then came time for dessert.

The cupcakes were like muffins with bad icing which would be fine if I wanted a muffin with icing.

We were hoping for redemption with the unique macarons flavours unfortunately the flavours were barely there. The PB&J and Salted Caramel were the best of the bunch but otherwise I could have easily whipped up unflavored meringues at home.

I hate giving bad reviews, usually I just don’t blog about something I disliked, but we were really disappointed in Sweet Lobby. Maybe they were having an off day but I likely won’t go back to find out. Click over to read about the DC cupcakes we did like!

With that our DC escapades came to an end. We returned to our rental house to chat with the owner and pack for the next day. Jules was going home but I was off to one of my favourite cities, NYC! Stay tuned.