February 14, 2010

serves 2 ~  $.88 per serving

ingredients

1/2 cup buckwheat groats, soaked ($.35)

1 ripe banana ($.15)

dash salt

2 apple, chopped ($1.00)

a few walnuts, chopped ($.10)

1 tablespoon agave ($.10)

sprinkle of cinnamon

I was looking for something a little bit heavy and warm this morning, and this is what I had. The buckwheat is filling and I wasn’t hungry all morning.

To make this, soak the buckwheat for 1-2 hours. Rinse well, being sure to remove any of the slippery residue. In the food processor, using the “S” blade, puree a ripe banana. The banana going to sweeten the porridge, so the riper the better. Once the banana is basically liquid, add in the soaked and rinsed buckwheat and a dash of salt and process minimally, just until porridge like … leaving it a bit chunky.

Garnish with chopped apple and walnuts, a drizzle of agave, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

serves 2 ~  $2.06 per serving

ingredients

2 pears ($1.40)

1 head romaine ($1.89)

3 ribs celery ($.30)

1/2 red onion ($.25)

1/4 medium onion ($.08)

1 tablespoon olive oil ($.10)

1 tablespoon agave ($.10)

salt and pepper

This is light and sweet. It reminds me a bit of spring. 

In a blender, puree one pear, a quarter of a white onion, the olive oil and agave. Because this is a small amount, it can be easier to use a bullet type blender, if possible. I use a pint canning jar, which fits my blender blade assembly perfectly. Allow to process long enough to become nice and creamy.

 Chop the romaine and toss with chopped celery and red onion. Top with the pear dressing and add salt and pepper to taste.

serves 2 ~ $2.40 per serving

ingredients

1/2 red pepper ($.45)

1/4 cup ground flax seeds ($.10)

10 oz mushrooms ($2.49)

1/3 cup walnuts ($.50)

1/2 white onion, chopped ($.13)

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped ($.05)

1 rib celery, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil ($.20)

1 ripe avocado ($.78)

1 teaspoon agave ($.10)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon vinegar

This is more preparation than I usually do, but it still took less than a half hour of actual work. Mostly, it’s planning ahead. To make the burgers, wash the mushrooms well. Then, to enhance the flavor slightly and remove any excess water from washing, dehydrate the mushrooms for an hour or two.

In a blender, puree the red pepper until liquefied, adding water as needed for blending. Stir together with the ground flax seeds and let the flax seeds soak in this for 15 minutes or so, until the flax seeds have become gooey. This is what will hold the burgers together.

Reserve about 1/4 of the dehydrated mushrooms and set aside. In a food processor fitted with an “S” blade, pulse the mushrooms, walnuts, jalapeno, onion, and celery until chopped finely. Stir in the red pepper and flax mixture and two tablespoons olive oil.

 

Form burgers and place on a teflex or plastic sheet. I spread a bit of olive oil on my sheets so the burgers will flip easily. Dehydrate for about 2 hours then flip onto a regular dehydrator screen and let finish dehydrating, which takes about another 2 hours.

The avocado mayo is simple. Just blend the avocado, agave, vinegar and spices until creamy. I used the blender and think this probably needs it to be creamy enough, although mashing with a fork would probably suffice.

Serve the burgers on a bed of lettuce leaves, with a dollop of avocado mayo, some chopped red onion, chopped jalapenos, and the slightly dehydrated mushrooms that were set aside earlier.

I was getting impatient, and hungry, and took my photos below before these were fully dehydrated. They will get a bit darker than is shown here. With the oil in the mix as well as on the sheets, they are as much like a burger as just about anything I’ve seen.

serves 4 ~ $.96 per serving

ingredients

1/3 cup walnuts ($.50)

1/3 cup raisins ($.50)

2 tablespoons cocoa or cacao powder ($.20)

pinch salt

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted ($.20)

2 tablespoons agave ($.10)

1 tablespoon cocoa or cacao powder ($.10)

6 bananas, sliced and frozen ($1.20)

1 cup almond milk ($.40)

1 teaspoon vanilla ($.20)

3 tablespoons cacao or cocoa powder ($.30)

pinch salt

This isn’t quite as complicated as it seems, and boy does it hit the chocolate spot. 

Make the ice cream first. In a blender, puree all the ice cream ingredients until smooth and creamy. This will be like soft serve ice cream and is wonderful as is, but for this recipe pour into a container and freeze, stirring every 20 minutes or so until stiff. This can also be processed in an ice cream maker.

Make the brownie bits in the food processor, using the “S” blade. Process all the brownie bit ingredients until the mix starts sticking and clumping and can be pressed into a ball. Spread out on wax paper, about 1/4 inch thick, and refrigerate for at least a half hour to harden.

For the chocolate chunks, stir together all the chocolate chunk ingredients until smooth and creamy and well incorporated. Spread out on wax paper and refrigerate until hard.

To assemble, just break the brownie into bits and the chocolate into chunks and stir into the chocolate ice cream.

Store any leftovers in a covered container in the freezer and allow to soften slightly before serving.