Beet Chips & Kale Chips and Gun Control

These are so good ... better than potato chips. They really have to be sliced extra thin to get them crunchy, so a mandoline slicer is a must. Two beets will make enough chips for two people.

Beet Chips

2 medium-sized beets (golden beets are a good choice, but red is fine too)
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.

Chop off the greenery, leaving enough stem so you can use it as a handle while slicing on the mandoline, then peel the beets. Using the thinnest setting on the mandoline, slice the beets. Toss the beet slices in a bowl with the olive oil and salt & pepper (to taste). Place the slices in a single layer on the sheets. Bake until most of the slices have dark browning (see photo above). This will probably take 30 minutes or more.

Kale Chips

bunch of kale
extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
garam masala or other spices (garlic powder, cumin, etc.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the kale into bite-size pieces (keep in mind they will shrink a bit), leaving the stems on the chopping block. Toss in a bowl with the olive oil and salt & pepper (to taste) and garam masala (or other spice). Spread leaves onto the sheet and bake for about 10 minutes.

Sensible Gun Control

Everyone should read Henry Porter's opinion piece, "American gun use is out of control. Shouldn't the world intervene?", which appeared September 21 in The Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/21/american-gun-out-control-porter


A piece written by David Byrne (of Talking Heads fame), "If the 1% stifles New York's creative talent, I'm out of here", is also very good:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/07/new-york-1percent-stifles-creative-talent

Healthier Brownies

After finding a recipe (Dark Chocolate Whole-Wheat Brownies) on the 100 Days of Real Food blog, I wanted to try applying some of those ingredients into my Coconut Oil Brownies of the August 24, 2012, post. So I substituted maple syrup for the brown sugar and natural cane sugar, and whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour.

Although it looks cake-like in the photo above, the brownies actually are more fudge-like. They also turned out thinner; and they shrank a bit, pulling away from the sides of the pan, as they cooled. 

I liked the results though, flavor-wise. I think they're more subtlety sweet, if that makes sense. Less over-the-top, decadent sweetness, but dark chocolaty just the same.

A Healthier Coconut Oil Brownie

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup (I used Grade B)
1 tsp espresso powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup bittersweet chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square pan (I used coconut oil).

Sift the cocoa powder into a medium bowl, then add the coconut oil and stir until completely smooth. Add the maple syrup, espresso powder, vanilla, salt, and eggs. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Lastly, fold in the chips.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 14 minutes.

Optional: Sprinkle some fleur de sel on top before devouring.

Chickpea Burgers

There are veggie burgers made with black beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), kidney beans, pinto beans, ... OK, just about any kind of bean. Then there are burgs made with tofu, rice and other grains, quinoa (technically a seed, not a grain), lentils, and/or mushrooms and other veggies (beets, sweet potatoes, etc.).

Here's one I put together using whatever I could find in the pantry and frig. Sorry for the lack of exact measurements, but for a lot of the ingredients I just used up what little I had left and didn't bother to measure. I used whole grain rolled oats (Bob's Red Mill) instead of bread crumbs, and I really liked how that worked out.

I used just a little bit of coconut oil for searing/frying. Olive oil was my second choice, but any oil will do. Other ingredients I would consider using with this:  garlic, Dijon mustard, fresh herbs, mushrooms, other spices.

Chickpea Burgs

1 15-oz. can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
2 tbsp almond butter
diced onion
diced roasted squash (leftovers from the freezer)
rolled oats
sunflower seeds
Garam Masala
soft goat cheese
salt & pepper
oil for frying

Rinse and drain the beans, then toss in a medium bowl with the nut butter and combine (I used a potato masher; this could also been done in a food processor). Add the other ingredients and mix well. Using your hands, form into patties (size is up to you; I made 5 + 1 mini). Fry over medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side until browned, using a cover for the pan.