The Whole Wheat

Yesterday was July 4th. The official day of BBQs and hot dogs. Unless you are doing the Plant Month gig. Then your menu may consist of seitan “ribz” – which Brad will quickly assure are not at all related to any type of animal rib.

First off though, we went to Whole Foods to grab a few items I needed for the “ribz” and decided to just each lunch there. After carefully identifying what had animal products and didn’t, I settled on a pasta with fresh basil and garlic. Along with green beans and a carrot side dish. Delicious! Only the pasta had cheese in it – which I realized after the first bite. Doh. So there went half my lunch into the “cannot eat” category. However at least the green bean & carrot dishes were fantastic.

We headed to a movie that afternoon and I carefully packed up some cherries and sesame snacks which I munched on when I got hungry. They weren’t quite satisfying though. When we got home I started working on dinner. The seitan “ribz” as well my all time favorite Fennel & Avocado Salad. The salad was delicious as alway, and the “ribz” were just “ehh.”

The next problem arose when I woke up around 3a starving. And I couldn’t bother to get out of bed and eat anything so I struggled back to sleep for the night.

Big lessons learned:

• Read the ingredients more carefully!
• Be sure to eat enough that you aren’t hungry in the middle of the night.

Note: the seitan “ribz” recipe can be found on Fat Free Vegan. I do not think I will post my version since I didn’t love it, but its an interesting dish to try if you are looking for something different.

Once again in lieu of a hamburger presentation, we ate these in olive oil tortillas from Trader Joes. Those are some great tortillas! I really liked that these were broiled – very easy to clean up. These are rich in flavor and very satisfying.

Salsa:

• 2/3 c. cucumber, coarsely chopped
• 2 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 c. red pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 c. red onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 T. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 t. dried dill
• pinch of salt & pepper
• pinch of red pepper flakes

Combine ingredients in a small food processor and pulse a few times until salsa consistency achieved. Refrigerate.

Black Bean Patties:

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 c. dried breadcrumbs
• 1/4 c. minced red onion
• 1/2 t. dried oregano
• 1/4 t. cumin
• 1/4 t. black pepper
• 2 T. silken tofu combined with 1 T. flour (or 1 egg)

1. Place beans in large bowl, mash partially with a fork.
2. Stir in all remaining ingredients.
3. Divide mixture into 4 parts and shape patties.
4. Turn broiler on high and place rack near flame.
5. Prepare baking sheet by spraying with cooking spray (I also like to line with foil first). Place patties on sheet and spray tops with cooking spray.
6. Broil in oven for about 5 minutes per side or until nicely browned.
7. Serve with cucumber salsa & tortillas. Enjoy!

Based on a recipe from Cooking Light: Black Bean Burgers