Recipe Review 9/14/09

It must be Fall, the cooking is picking up again and I have one notable recipe to share this week and one so-so beverage.

If you recall from last weeks post with the brown and wild rice, I was left with some leftover rice. This next recipe caught my eye and was a great way to use it while it was still fresh.

Autumn Wild Rice Patties (Vegetarian Times, Oct 2009, pg 32) 4.5
The flavor of this was that of my favorite Thanksgiving Day stuffing! Now I will add that they turned out nothing like the picture the recipe gave, I didn't have enough binder to make the little patties work so I just plopped everything in a pan and cooked it up that way. Seemed to work fine - tasted fantastic. I also made my own cranberry sauce. I think there are a lot of things a person could do with these, such as use it as a stuffing for pork chops or stuffed peppers.

Autumn Wild Rice Patties
1 cup cooked wild rice
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup finely chopped small red onion
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup finely chopped, marinated and drained, artichoke hearts
1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh sage (1 tsp dried)
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (1/4 tsp dried)
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (1/4 tsp dried)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup crushed saltine or rice crackers
1/4 cup chunky cranberry sauce

1) stir together wild rice, brown rice, onion, dried cranberries, artichoke hearts, pecans, oil, and herbs in a large bowl. Fold in eggs and then cracker crumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Shape into 12 1/4 cup patties. (At this point, patties can be chilled for up to 24 hours.)

2) Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 4 patties to hot skillet and cook 3-4 minutes, or until browned and crispy. Flip and repeat until browned and crispy on opposite side. Repeat with remaining patties. Serve with chunky cranberry sauce.


This recipe came from a different source, my Yoga Journal magazine. Jury's still out on this beverage. It wasn't bad, but it didn't leap out and say "drink me again!"

Breakfast Tea (Yoga Journal Sept/Oct 09)

1 cup water
1/2 tsp fresh ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch ground cardamom
dash of milk for those of you with a "pitta" constitution (a yogic thing)

Bring water to a boil. Add spices, cover and let stand 5 minutes or so. Drink.


That's it. I didn't think the ginger flavor was all that prevalent, and the Cinnamon smelled fantastic but there again, no taste. It was rather like this fantastic smelling beverage that simple didn't taste like anything. I can get that with warm water and save my spices. I think the preparation for this needs to be a bit more like making homemade chai, where the spices are simmered for a while to release the essential oils and flavors. A 5 min soak just doesn't cut it.