Tag: pumpkin seeds

New desktop favorite

I try to play tennis at least twice a week during lunch break, which means then that I need a quick, energetic and easy-to-eat-while-working lunch. So I have developed new sandwiches slightly faster to make than my usual desktop lunches (here and there). Instead of the big slice of bread I now use the bread I was using this summer more often: whole wheat small slices that when cut in two make a perfect size to handle and 3-4 bite. I have moved away from cream cheese for cottage cheese more often even in winter for a good dose of proteins, and in the middle I add whatever I find: mushrooms are still a good choice that goes well with the rest, tomatoes too but it’s not really the top season for that. I just tried cucumber and rucolla, plus a few pumpkin seeds and it was really delicious. And I’m sure I will find other things to try that takes only 3min to prepare. What’s your favorite lunch when short on time?

Vegan burger

A. is always asking for burgers so I prepared him a special vegan burger with homemade vegan patties, avocado spread and plenty of salad, really plenty, as he lives salad a lot. I guess what he really wants when he says burger is a bloody steack and fries… but I tried to be inventivd and to have a very tasty combination and if worked cery very well. Beware, contrarily to most of the recipes I post this one takes a bit more time, but is very simple. I used what I had in the fridge for that so yoocan adjust easily with yours!

For the patties, inspired by Prunellia’s recipe of pancake seeds:

  • 1 cup of quinoa, mind was black, but red or white works well, can be replaced by bulgur, red beans, rice… 
  • a handfull of pumpkin seeds
  • a handfull of sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cup of flax seeds, here I used brown, but blond work too, 
  • 2 large sato/taro imo, can be replaced by boiled chickpeas, boiled red beans… 

For the filling:

  • 1 ripe avocado  
  • lemon juice
  • salt and pepper  
  • green beans sprouts or any other sprouts: brocoli, alfalfa… 
  • a lettuce

First grill the sato/taro imo in the oven with the skin until soft and creamy inside. In the mean time boil the quinoa until slightly softer than usual and drain if needed. Peel the sato/taro imo and cut in pieces, add to the quinoa. Add all the seeds, stir well to obtain a thick paste. In a frypan greased with olive oil make 1-1.5cm thick patties of about 8-10cm diameter and cook them until golden on both side. I prepared 2 per person.  They are good cold or warm. You can rheat them in the oven if needed. Manipulate with care because they can break easily. 

Chop the lettuce, smash the avocado and add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Wash the sprouts. Now you are ready to make the burgers. I used half of the avocado spread per person. I spread a thick layer on on patty, added the sprouts and flipped over the other patty. Served on top of the lettuce, finish with a little of olive oil. Et voila!!!  

The sato/taro imo give a very good texture to the patties and help them to keep their shape, the creamy avocado it perfect with the crunchy patties, and the sprouts add freshness.  I’ll do it again!!!!

My new favorite desktop lunch

After reading that the trend for avocado as an healthy food (like we didn’t know that before, stupid magazines that said for so long it was too fatty… pfiuu) and the resulting worlwide frenzy for avocado toast and other recipe based on avocado  (stupid magazines again), is causing deforestation in Mexico, one of the major producers of avocado, and as caused local avocado prices to skyrocket, I had to change my 7 year long habit of eating a lit of avocados. It is not easy to compete with such ingredient: super easy to find, super easy to prepare, versatile and delicious. But recently with the chilly autumn days I’ve started to use mushrooms quite intensively. Mushrooms are good raw or cooked, they require little preparation and are quite versatile too. Right now my favorite lunch is rice with melted cheese and mushrooms sliced on top, finished with a few pumpkin seeds, salt and pepper. 

To prepare that lunch I usually use leftover rice I’ve cooked for dinner. If I opt for a warm option, to cook the mushrooms I use a microwave (though I hate microwave, that’s the only “cooking” gear I have at work). I wash them and slice them, then cook them for one minute in a plate in the microwave, remove the water (don’t cook them directly while warming the rice, you’ll end with a rather disgusting soup!!!), warm the rice and cheese, add the mushrooms, salt, pepper and pumpkin seeds. It’s ready in less than 5min, warm, melty, crunchy, tasty!!! What is your favorite desktop lunch in autumn???

Little dinner before going on holidays

Et voila! We’re on our way to Sicily, now in transit in Rome, and before we start to cook some Italian anazing food, here’s a last little winter salad recipe with red cabbage, carrots on top of rice. Additional kabocha seeds, sesame seeds and smoked red snapper.  A bit of olive oil as dressing. A colorful and tasty crunchy one plate. 

Red cabbage salad

Nothing here too experimental with this recipe, but I’ve been craving for red cabbage salad. And it makes a perfect Monday fix for dinner when I’m in a rush. 

So I just sliced thinly about 1/4 or less of red cabbage, added some fresh baby leaf salad or just a few leaves of salad and fresh spinach also cut, I added some olive oil, some pumpkin seeds, some walnuts and some okara, a bit of salt and a pepper and finished with a little curcuma. Additional some cubes of gruyere cheese, and a slice of bread.

Potato salad

It’s funny because I like potatoes but I seldom cook some except to make gnocchi and I have no idea why I don’t prepare more potato-base recipes. So I had two potatoes in the fridge that were waiting there, and suddenly I come up with a potato salad idea. Here in Japan usually potato salad (just like macaroni salad) means a lot of mayonnaise and I hate that. My potato salad is completely different: for 2 I used 2 new potatoes (about the size of an egg) boiled with the skin; 2 branches of celory; 1 cucumber (Japanese cucumber, right?); one boiled egg chopped; a few slices of smoke salmon; pumpkin seeds; flax seeds;  olive oil. Et voila! A super delicious salad, but that doesn’t look so on the picture! And many more ideas for potato salads!

Back to the basics

Ballard Sunday farmers market
Ballard Sunday farmers market

After a whole week in Seattle, it’s good to be back home. Though the city has numerous farmers markets, with very attractive food, the hotel life allows only for limited purchases and preparation. There are also a lot of food trucks but honestly the idea of having lunch standing or seated like punks in the street is not very attractive, though the food looks good. As for restaurants, food was ok, fresh but I didn’t find anything outstanding. The best we had was surely grilled salmon or grilled halibut with asparagus. There might be some nice places serving local food (not limited to seafood, which is not what I like best) but we couldn’t find them… It’s really a pity because driving around Seattle one can find  again tones of organic farms selling their products, fruits, veggies, delicious yogurts…

Chimacum local farmers shop
Chimacum local farmers shop

So being back home it is time to go back to the kitchen and improvise some summer recipes with fresh food and light enough to beat the jetlag and the heat. So we’re back to the basics: quinoa and bulgur as a base, baby leaf salad, cherry tomatoes and cucumber, yellow zucchini, ocra, and to finish pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and white chia seeds. Back on the tracks!!

Plate from iittala
Plate from iittala

Sandwich for lunch

Recently a lot of my lunches at work look like this! I really love whole grain bread or bagels, I spread cream cheese or cottage cheese, then top with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, leaf of salad, rucolla, sprouts, and my lunch is ready! When it’s not cream cheese it’s avocado slices. Super simple, tasty, crunchy-creamy and easy to make and eat in a very short time.

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