C198: Chickpeas and Cucumbers

I am inspired to attempt a recipe for a burger I found a couple of days ago from an Australian blogger. It was like she was reading my mind, my cravings. The photos and the recipes are lifted from her blog, Down to Earth. Pay her a visit if you haven't before, as it a pleasure to read a happy blogger proud of her life.

Let me point out that I have never been that interested in mock-meat vegetarian cooking or food products. But I saw this chickpea recipe and what appealed to me is the different texture, the solidness of a burger over the vegetable meals that are my norm. I think this really qualifies as a new experience for me, despite chickpeas being a ubiquitous menu item and despite my having fried thousands of burgers in a lifetime of meal preparation.

I’m reducing portions in the recipe as I want to eat all that I fix in a day, even if it is over several meals. Without a refrigerator I just don’t want prepared food sitting around. I only have some Ciabatta bread, no cunning little bun like she shows in her photo. And, the recipe has been modified, go to the source for the original.

I soaked the chickpeas all night per instructions and intend to mix the ingredients in the food processor. They are to look like this photo.

CHICKPEA BURGERS
Bit over 1 cup of pre-soaked chickpeas
½ medium onion
baby carrot
½ cup zucchini
2 eggs
two potatoes
salt and pepper
¼ teaspoon cumin

Here’s the thing. I wont’ be trying this until late this afternoon, so I will update this post. This is merely chapter 1, the plan.

Continuing this *C* theme for this week's food blog, I chose to buy some small cucumbers at the farmer’s market on Sunday. Cucumbers just don’t thrive in our gardens. I guess this on more item that requires some research.

These little cukes I bought made my salads sing. I wish I'd picked up more. I honestly took some from my mouth to be sure it was the cucumber that tasted so great. It was. The difference with the store bought was astounding. It was like another vegetable entirely. The crunchiness was the number one feature that made the cucumber the salad star the last 2 days.

My intent was to put some cucumbers in vinegar, but I just don’t want to waste one. In my mind the vinegar is where you send inferior cucumbers to die. I’m not sure I have the right outlook towards preserving.

Preserving and persevering . . . This is on my mind a lot. The pace is moving too quickly for my wretched skill level, my attitude and energy level. It reminds me so much of growing up feeling too fat, too tall, too ‘fill in the blank’. I wasted years of my life fixating on what I wasn’t rather than what I was. I don’t want to do this when it comes to sustainability and the many skills required of the coming times of change. My gardens suck and I have so many projects to do and skills to learn.

But on Sunday evening I had an invigorating interaction with two young women. I looked out my window and saw two beautiful young women admiring my latest art project – pencil posts. They asked if they could take pictures and also asked me to get the two of them in a shot.

They were awed by the plants in the raised bed garden and raved about my black and white dance floor driveway and mirrored back fence. Since they were interested I gave them a tour of the features dear to my heart in the quest for a lighter footprint; the wormery, trash dummy, solar oven and oil barrels as plant containers.

One woman said my life was exactly what she wanted. I came right back with, “I’m sixty and I got here over a very long time. You will get where you want to be.” Another said, I could never think to do this and I told her she didn’t have to because she could just collect the ideas that appealed to her. She said that is why she takes so many pictures with her phone. They thought my place would make a great movie set. I told them with a smile I would welcome that if there was $3000 in it. (This is what I need to get through to the end of the year). I waved them good-bye saying they could send the scouts to negotiate if they came across any movie directors.

Update: Ok. I couldn't wait. I switched my lunch plan and made the chickpea burger mix and fried 2 patties. I am seriously underwhelmed. The crunchy part, the heavier quality - both were there. It was just too bland and veggy to my burger consciousness. The mixture was way too runny so I added oatmeal. I am letting the rest of the mix sit in a strainer with a weighted bowl on top to get the excess liquid drained. I will try the other two later - and put one in the ciabatta bread. Maybe that will help.