leftover grain veggie burgers

Right about now, I'm probably cruising down one of the picturesque side highways in New Brunswick or I've set up camp around the Bay of Fundy and dipping my toes into its muddy banks. Or maybe I'm sucking face with a lobster in Maine. Who knows, but whatever it is that I'm doing, I'm sure that I've got a huge grin on my face. I'm sure my face had a similarly stupid grin when I ate this sandwich. This is one of those stupid simple recipes. Correct that, it's not even a recipe. Rather it's a list of ingredients that is more of an idea than a step-by-step process. I think a lot of people use recipes as a guideline rather than following things to a tee...it's what I've been doing since I was a kid. If you like to follow things to the letter of the law, then shake things up! Play with your food!

So often I have leftovers in the fridge....small amounts of grains, leftover veg and bits and bobs hiding in corners. I hate wasting food, so I try to use up as much as I can without anything going into the trash. This veggie burger was a result of thinking I had nothing in the fridge for our meal. So wrong! When I looked closer at our fridge fixin's, I found that I could try making some veggie burgers. Into a bowl went the Trader Joe's mixed grains that I had cooked up for a soup the day before. I also threw in some leftover chopped vegetables and a few squares of forlorn tofu. Heck, I didn't even have buns, so I just used whole wheat toast but upped the ante with a slice or two of brie. What started out as nothing, turned into something pretty dang tasty.

leftover grain veggie burgers
1 egg, beaten
cooked grains
cooked vegetables
tofu cubes
salt, pepper & whatever spices look appealing
ground almond meal
dijon mustard

Add in your leftovers and spices to a bowl, toss with a beaten egg, a plop of dijon, and add in some almond meal to help bind the mixture. Too dry? Add in another egg or some broth or milk. Too wet? Add in some more almond meal. The mixture should start clumping well and holding together. Make patties and put in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to let things meld. Fry in a little olive oil until both sides are golden. Serve in buns or on toast with your favorite condiments.

c'mon spring, let's get on with it! chicken pot pie with cheddar-biscuit topping

April has been turning out to be a pretty crazy month. Not only are taxes due at the end of the month, but the weather which should be by all accounts spring-like and warm, is too damn chilly for my liking. On Friday evening it snowed (luckily it didn't stick) and there's a snow warning for tonight as well. Great. At least it's sunny which is about the only nice thing I can muster about the weather here in the mixed up Pacific Northwest.


So while I should be eating spring salads and going for bike rides in skirts, instead, I'm holed up in front of my computer catching up on work and trying to steer clear of the cold weather that will be with us for the next week. At least we have found a dream accountant, so that's one less April worry to have nagging at my tail. Another comfort is making a warm and hearty meal, which not only warms the kitchen but also the spirit. A pot-pie filled with chicken and vegetables and topped with flaky biscuits in April? Sign me up.


This would be really simple to make vegetarian or vegan by stripping out the chicken and cheese and using a non-dairy milk and margarine instead. Throw in some more vegetables or substitute for what you've got lagging about in your fridge. This is a really easy recipe to play around with and if you find that you need more liquid, add it! Not thick enough? Whisk in some more flour or make a slurry with cornstarch and dump it in. Despite it's humble beginnings, it's really an impressive dish. If the weather isn't giving you any love, let this pot pie do all the work.

chicken pot pie with cheddar-biscuit topping
1 small rutabaga, peeled & diced
2 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
1/4 t red chili flakes
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried oregano
2 c mushrooms, halved or quartered
3 T flour
1 c mushroom broth
1/2 c milk
1 c frozen corn
2 c leftover chicken, chopped
salt & pepper

for biscuit topping:
2 c flour, plus more for work surface
2 1/4 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
salt & pepper
6 T cold butter, cut into small chunks
1/2 c yogurt
1/4 c milk
3/4 c shredded old cheddar cheese

1. In a medium sized saucepan, boil rutabaga until tender. Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, add oil to heavy cast iron pot and saute onion, garlic and chili over medium heat until shiny. Add celery, thyme, oregano and mushrooms and saute until soft. Sprinkle vegetables with flour and stir until flour cooks, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth, add corn, rutabaga and chicken and simmer until broth thickens, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.

3. Preheat oven to 450°. Make topping by whisking together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper. Cut in butter with a pastry knife until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized lumps. Add yogurt, milk and cheese and stir until just combined. With floured hands, knead dough against the side of the bowl until the mixture holds together. If it's sticky, knead in up to 1/4 cup more flour.

4. Drop small mounds of topping over chicken mixture and bake until brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

a twist on morning oats: pan fried oatmeal

Cold mornings loves a hot breakfast and oatmeal is pretty much our mainstay for the winter months. I make it straight up but will often bake it (two different ways), or mix things up a bit with steel cut oats or scottish oats. Yesterday I made oatmeal in my usual way. Cornelius topped his with bananas, almonds and brown sugar, while I added a dollop of sour cherry jam. It's hearty, filling and perfect. But after making a potful of oats, I always seem to have some leftover. Usually, the next morning the leftovers go into the microwave and get rehydrated with a bit of milk. But not today.


I wanted to try something different. When I was in Vilnius, we ate breakfast at a little place called Cozy. I ordered oatmeal and it was served not only with a dollop of sour cherry jam, but with a sumptious pool of melting butter. It was utterly delicious. While I have yet to add butter to my oatmeal at home, I decided that maybe butter was the key to a new breakfast discovery. And that's how this butter pan fried oatmeal was born.


pan-fried oatmeal
The key to this "recipe" is using leftover oatmeal that still retains that leftover flattened slab-ish quality that results from leaving the oatmeal in the pot overnight (kept in the fridge, of course). Then, you can slice it up, melt up some butter, add the slab to the bubbling butter, flip it when it gets golden on both sides and serve. It's really delicious topped with yogurt and maple syrup. It takes leftovers to a whole new level of goodness.