Friday, December 3, 2010

Giveaway Winner and Other Random Stuff

I'm sorry I haven't announced the Candle Cafe Cookbook giveaway winner. I'm surrounded in my post-vacation MESS that's put me into some sort of funky denial. I don't want to come to terms with the mile long list of things I have to do right now. I have no idea how a Christmas tree or our many tubs of decorations would even fit into my home right now.

So, instead I turned off those thoughts and turned on my DVRed episodes of Life Unexpected and Guliana and Bill, etc. that I missed while I was gone. I have no choice now but to get back to real life.

The winner is: Seglare. The cookbook is going to be making its way to Copenhagen! Enjoy, Seglare.

One nagging concern of mine right now is my camera battery charger that I left plugged into the outlet at my apartment in NYC. Sigh. I haven't been able to use my camera since we left Hardy, Virginia...I have only my phone to use, therefore I have been taking my plates of food outside for pictures. I have to decide whether to wait any longer to see if the apartment people will actually mail it to me (they haven't returned my email) - or shell out $40 for a new charger.

Anyway, I made a batch of White Bean & Sweet Potato Burgers like I wrote about a few posts ago. This time I paid attention to quantities, and this is how it played out:

1 cup of white beans (this time they were canned cannelini)
1 cup of microwaved sweet potato (about a half of a large one)
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup organic wheat Panko crumbs

This mix definitely needs spices of some sort, but I'll let you spice experts figure that one out. It held up again really well. I overcooked it a bit as I was trying to do 5 things at once, as usual.

Here is the prettier picture from the other day.

I also tried making Sweet Potato Bites because my friend Lori had made them for my kids recently. I thought they were so cute, different than sweet potato fries. AND my 5 year old, who "doesn't like" sweet potatoes liked them!

I thought mine were good, and he did eat them with the promise of dessert. (Yes, I bribe my children.) However, he informed me that they were "too soft," and I realized I didn't chop them into tiny enough pieces like she had. And maybe I didn't turn the oven up high enough. I'll try again later.


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Here is a random, funny story you may appreciate. My sister Cary, who lives in St. Louis, recently drove by a "restaurant" called Village Vegetarian. Well, I can imagine MY excitement over finding such a place, and she was equally intrigued. She was headed to a get-together with her friends one night, and she decided to go early to grab a bite at Village Vegetarian. She has two small kids (who were at home with their dad); this would be a rare type of indulgence for most moms. She pulls into Village Vegetarian all excited about the vegetarian treats of which she was about to partake...and realized it actually said Village Veterinarian....hahaha...I'm chuckling again as I type this. Poor sister.

17 comments:

  1. I bribe myself with dessert too!!!!

    (and I responded to your comment!) :)

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  2. ha ha, I love the vegetarian veterinarian mix up. Hee hee. sounds like something I would do. Congrats to Seglare! :)

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  3. LOL - that story is great! Poor sis. I guess she was just hoping and dreaming like we do here ;-)

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  4. That is a crazy mix up that your sister had. I bet she was really hungry at the get-together, I hope she found some good food!

    I am going to try the sweet potato patties. I just finished my T'giving leftover taters and I still have more uncooked ones I need to use soon.

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  5. I always get the post-vacation blues pretty harshly. Keeping busy is the only way I've been able to overcome it.

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  6. Have you checked eBay for camera chargers?

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  7. Haha! That's totally something I would do! I love that story! And the burgers look fantastic. I also recently got back from vacation and it took me a ridiculously long time to "recover" and get back to real life.

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  8. So excited I won! :) Thank you!

    The story of your sister made me laugh here by myself - poor her. I could easily imagine this happening to myself, though...

    Last but not least, your White Bean - Sweet Potato Burgers look absolutely delicious. I wish I had checked your blog earlier today, when I was wondering what to do with a big sweet potato I had in the fridge (I ended up making boring, old - though always good - sweet potato fries, after all). ;) I'll save the recipe for next time.

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  9. That's a funny story — but maybe not so funny to your sister and her hungry kids. Too bad about your camera. I hope they send your battery charger back. Someone once mailed my phone back to me, so try to stay positive!

    The burgers sound delish.

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  10. oh man denied! at the vets office, oh my gosh thats funny oh and really sad! i stopped (all excited to get take-out) at a place called "tofu house" that had only three things that could be made vegetarian. that was lame.

    sorry things are so hetic, especilly after such a fun vacation. jsut do partial decorating this year? thats what i might do....and i have 1/10th of all the stuff you have going on!! you HAVE an apartment in the city??!!nice!

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  11. We should open a vegetarian restaurant and call it "Village Veterinarian" I think that would be funny.
    Get excited for some vegan treats coming your way in a few weeks when I come home! I'm making 3 special desserts for us.

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  12. MORE PHOTOS OF YOUR HOT HUSBAND.
    ATTRACTIVE VEGETARIAN MEN ARE LIKE THE HOLY GRAIL OF THE BLOG WORLD.

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  13. Jessica@Veggie Cookie, you're better with spices and such, let me know how you jazzed up the recipe!

    SV, NO! Good idea! I will do that.

    Andrea, I edited my post to say her kids were at home. Which is almost worse than having two hungry kids - it was supposed to be a fun outing without the kids. They said they would mail it, but then I never heard back. The apartment situation was all a little strange so I'm not holding my breath.

    Michelle, NOOO, we do not HAVE an apartment. Good grief, I wish. We rented it while we were there. But maybe I should start saying things like I DO have an apartment in NYC on the side. Because that makes me seem much more important. I think I'm going to take your advice on the partial decorating.

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  14. I like my sweet potato bites nice 'n crispy too. We coat them in oil, toss in a bowl, then bake them on a sheet. If they are still soft, cook them a little longer until they brown a bit.

    Your burgers look good. I think I could easily make them GF with oats instead.

    Sorry bout the charger, it's happened to me a few times and I never get it back unless it was a relative. We have several extra chargers now.

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  15. oh, and dirty duck, I was trying to send positive dirtyduck vibes while I was picking my winner...sigh

    THREE special desserts, Cary? Squeals! That will soothe some of the post vacation sting. In that case, you might even get your picture on my blog...

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  16. Village Veterinarian, LOL that is a riot. Your poor sister. ;-)

    Bummer on the camera cord. I hope they mail it back to you.

    Ali

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  17. LOL...that's too funny about your sister. That actually sounds like something that I would do.
    Those burgers sound awesome...gonna have to try those out!

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