Lunch ~ Chick Pea & Brown Rice Veggie Burger

Time to start cooking on the barbecue again!  You can buy pre-made veggie burgers or easily make your own. I start by looking in my refrigerator to see food combinations can be easily made into homemade burgers. On this particular day, chick peas and brown rice would be the main ingredients. I placed them into a food processor and blended. I then took a look in the veggie drawer and put zucchini, celery root, carrots, corn, onion and spices into a food processor. Truly, the combinations are endless.  I forego the burger bun and served on a bed of arugula, topped with lemon tahini dressing, and garnished with sunflower greens. 

Lunch: Grilled chick pea and brown rice burger made with zucchini, celery root, carrots, corn, onion, mustard seed, oregano, sea salt, and garlic on a bed of arugula with lemon tahini dressing and topped with sunflower greens. Garlic dill pickle, wasabi almonds, strawberries and oranges. 

Lunch ~ Spaghetti Squash, Dandelion Greens & Mashed Turnip

The sun is shining! We're well into spring and those pesky dandelions have been populating our lawn. While I love their yellow blossoms, it's their leafy greens that are particularly tasty. If you don't use pesticides on your lawn, forage away. Otherwise, look for organic dandelion greens in your supermarket. While late spring and summer dandelion greens tend to be more bitter, braised with garlic and sweet red onion tempers the bitterness. For this particular meal I add sweet turnip and corn with a little steamed spaghetti squash and broccoli. Keeping with the "yellow theme", I add Bartlett pear slices for dessert. 

Lunch: Steamed broccoli, spaghetti squash with celery, braised dandelion greens and red onion, mashed turnip, corn, and sliced yellow Bartlett pear.