We are slowly coming to the end of week 5 in quarantine. Thankfully no one close to me has come down with the dreaded COVID-19. We have been able to limit the grocery visits to once a week, no small feat for this gal, I usually make small dashes once a day or every other day. The grocery is a daunting expedition in itself. Masks and gloves have become essential attire. Wearing a mask means the long overdue for a haircut hair needs to be in a ponytail. No jewelry on the hands so as not to rip the gloves, putting them on or carefully taking them off. Lysol to spray the cart down in the parking lot, no I am not the only one. The once cheerful midwest grocery store, where everyone smiles. When I first moved here I found it odd that strangers greeted one another and even talked in the grocery. Today that is gone, we are all hidden behind masks. There are no friendly greetings, we are too concerned with getting our stuff, keeping our space, getting out, and not bringing home any virus. It is an odd feeling to come upon an aisle totally cleared out except for what I’m looking for. No greens to be found….except for baby kale. No bread, except for my frozen Ezekial and woo hoo they have the yellow flax seed kind. Meat department is empty, but there is still plenty of tofu!! Straight home, after dropping off groceries to grandma and grandpa. Now for the daunting 16 hour sanitization of everything. Just kidding not really 16 hours, but it feels like it sometimes. What was so exhausting about the grocery before COVID-19 that I needed to get take out on grocery day?
Anyway, everyone still needs to eat and these Savory Lentil-Mushroom Burgers are the best. I currently have 3 additional adults working from home here so I doubled this recipe. It says it makes 6 burgers and when I doubled it I somehow came out with 14. We had enough for two meals, these photos are from the second time around. The burgers are really easy to make, everything literally pops into the food processor. The only pre-work is cooking the lentils.
I toasted the buns for the burgers in my regular toaster. Usually, I like them toasted on the grill but alas winter has reared its snowy head again so no one wants to go outside and start up the grill. Quarantine for 5 weeks and snow…its time this strange vortex moved on. Our burger toppings were Tofurky smoked turkey slices, Daiya provolone style slices, baby spinach, sautéed red onions and dijon mustard
The layered salad consists of mixed greens, topped with thin sliced red onion, then a layer of frozen peas, and a layer of sliced water-chestnuts. Next, I spread vegan mayo over the top. Sometimes I make my own mayo and sometimes I use store bought, this time I had Hellmans Vegan Mayo. Then I sprinkle just a little bit of sugar over the top of the mayo, and it goes into the refrigerator over night or a least for a couple of hours. When I’m ready to serve it I slice cherry tomatoes in half and sprinkle them all over the top.
The asparagus is sprinkled with a no salt seasoning blend and then steamed in a microwave steamer bowl. I just use my fingers to snap the ends off the asparagus before I steam them.
Finding corn on the cob at my grocery yesterday was like finding a special treat. I don’t do anything special except clean all the silk off. Toss them in some boiling water for 12 minutes and they are ready to go. We enjoyed them with Miyokos Cultured Vegan Butter.
Just another day of vegan eating in quarantine! 🌱 💪
The Heartie Kitchen 