thyme bean burgers & millet banana bread

this week i've been cooking loads to distract myself from thinking too hard about regular work - i'm co-ordinating a big event on saturday, which is pretty nerve wracking. i got one more of my 2010 recipes done, and made an absolutely awesome millet bread - thank goodness for such an amazing distraction, i love to cook!

♥ flahavans porridge oats with banana, cinnamon and carobio

♥ carobio in porridge was really gorgeous, in fact the perfect 'chocolate' oats i've ever had, smooth and rich, and just right

♥ my lunch wrapped in tin foil - vaguely more eco friendly than cling film i think?

♥ goats cheese, spinach, watercress, rocket, mushroom, bell peppers, organic mayonnaise on wholemeal wraps - good but not great, i'm only just starting out on the wrap thing, and i didn't fill them nearly full enough

♥ buckwheat porridge with soya milk, sliced bananas and sultanas - a favorite of our house, more people should have this every day! plus alpro soya is not genetically modified: i double checked :)

♥ bean burgers with salsa with mayo/mustard dressing. i'd wanted to make bean burgers for the longest time (they were on my 2010 recipes list), and i'm glad i finally got round to it, as they are so easy to make, and you can freeze them too!

beautiful bean burgers

1 tin borlotti beans, 1 tin cannellini beans, 1 egg, 80g whole wheat flour, thyme, salt, pepper, 1 diced clove of garlic, 1 finely diced onion

 - lightly fry the onion and garlic in olive oil until softened
 - mash all the ingredients togther, until smooth, i used a potato masher, which was just perfect for this job
 - heat up a frying pan to a medium high heat, with 1 tbsp olive oil in
 - wet your hands, then shape little patties out of the bean mixture, placing in frying pan as you go
 - let each one cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until firm
 - drain on kitchen paper, and let cool before freezing
 - add to salads, vegetable bakes or eat in the place of regular burgers

♥ herring on toast - a simple pleasure

♥ homemade yogurt, strained through a jam mesh to make it really thick, with comb honey, goji berries and golden linseeds

♥ millet banana bread

millet banana bread

1/2 cup millet grain (soaked overnight in filtered water), 2 eggs, 1tbsp vanilla, 1/2 cup honey, pinch salt, 2 cups flour (buckwheat, wholewheat mix), 2 mashed bananas, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup sultanas, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 3tbsp melted butter

 - rinse the soaked millet grain really well to remove all the salty granules, then place in a blender
 - add the eggs, vanilla, honey and salt and blend for a good few minutes until the granules are completely broken up, check the texture by tasting it
 - then add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and melted butter, and blend again
 - pour this mixture into a mixing bowl, and add the mashed bananas, chopped walnuts and sultanas and stir with a spoon. do a quick taste test to check the flavour, add some more honey for extra sweetness or some cinnamon for a little extra punch
 - pour into a lined loaf tin until 3/4 full - mine was more full than this though, so don't worry about being precise!
 - bake for about 45 minutes, at 180c/350f
 - remove and enjoy hot with organic butter, fruit jam or raw honey, and a cup of tea!

i'll be experimenting more with millet now i know it will bake as long as you don't pre-cook it! bring on some cupcakes, cookies, brownies and scones...anything that you could bake with regular flour, i'm sure you could add millet instead - such a good alkalinizing grain, and hey if it's good enough for the Hunzans, it's good enough for me!