Owwie

Ouchie!  I definitely paid for Saturday's run - I got up out of bed Sunday morning and could barely walk for the first bit until I loosened up a bit.  I'm pretty sore and stiff even after repeated stretching and my feet are really aching...and it looks like my second toenails on both feet are going to give up the ghost soon - they're definitely hurting and turning blacker and blacker each time.  Oh well, at least they grow back! 

I sooo didn't feel like standing yesterday for hours and cooking - first cuz of my achy legs, and second cuz it was smoking hot in the house.  But I had to, otherwise there'd be no food in the house for this week and we'd end up eating chips for dinner or something similar.  I'm still on a Rebar cookbook kick, and made four more dishes from them - the mushroom pecan burgers, the african yam and peanut soup, spinach linguine with artichoke hearts and sundried tomato salsa and the bhangra curry burritos.  So far, I've tasted all four and they all get the Foodie seal of approval!  Deeeelicious.  I'm not going to lie though - the recipes from the Rebar cookbook are a bit of work and require a lot of ingredients, but the results are excellent and packed full of veggies, beans, whole grains and all sorts of good stuff so I'm all good with it.  And Hubs is really liking the food too...I was kind of thinking that maybe this whole Cholesterol Challenge thing was a blessing in disguise because it's really expanded my cooking horizons to try different things - for instance, I never would have tried the mushroom pecan burger but this burger is incredible....it tastes like so much more than it's parts! 

Mushroom Pecan Burger - from the Rebar Modern Food cookbook

Makes 10 - 12 burgers

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red onion, sliced
1 tsp salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp thyme leaves
1/2 tsp red chile flakes
6 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups grated carrot
1 cup pecans, roasted and finely ground
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and saute onion.  Turn up the heat and add the garlic, mushrooms, salt, thyme and chile flakes.  Stir and saute until the mushrooms have released all their juices and the pan begins to dry out.  Deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar.  Let the liquid evaporate, turn the mushrooms out into a large bowl and cool.

Add the brown rice and grated carrot to the mushrooms.  In a food processor, pulse the mixture in two or more batches until well combined but still coarse in texture.  Return to the bowl and add all of the remaining ingredients.  Mix thoroughly and season to taste.  Refrigerate for an hour or overnight.  Shape into patties and saute until golden brown on both sides.  Serve with grilled onions, lettuce, sprouts, sliced tomato, pickle, dijon mustard, ketchup or BBQ sauce.

Hint - pack these puppies tight when you form them into patties - two of mine fell apart in the pan, arghh!  And when I was frying them, I painted the top side with a bit of olive oil so both sides got nice and brown.  This burger goes a bit crispy too on the outside.

Afterthought...maybe me discussing losing my toenails followed by a recipe maybe wasn't the most appealing thing.  Whoops...sorry guys!