Chipotle Sweet Potato and Quinoa Cakes

The last post of the year is taking a bit of a different approach. You see, my feeds from various social media sites are clogged with sweets and indulgent foods galore. The problem is I'm full. Honest to goodness full. I don't want to see another cookie until next fall...or at least next Wednesday. I decided to end the year with a healthy post because I know y'all will come scrambling, looking for something healthy to start your year off with. My simple sweet potato and quinoa cakes are a great base for anything: eggs Benedict, a burger, eaten plain, etc. They also help you get all sorts of protein, fiber and vitamins, which, given how you partied on NYE, you will probably need to restore as soon as possible. 

All you need is a medium cooked sweet potato, a 1/2-2/3 cup of cooked quinoa (I like Trader Joe's tri color), a teaspoon of garlic powder and 1/2 a teaspoon of chipotle powder. Mash everything together in a bowl like so,

Shape them into patties and place them on a lightly oiled tray

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Dunzo.

Of course I made an eggs Benedict out of mine. If you back up a couple of steps and add in some cooked onions and peppers you could probably call this a burger. Well, a vegan burger.

The greens you see happen to be the Kale and Broccoli Slaw Salad from Trader Joe's. It's got sunflower seeds, dried blueberries and a light buttermilk type dressing that doesn't strip the salad of all its benefits. Told you this was a healthy post.

Wishing you all the best for a happy, healthy, and of course tasty New Year! Until the next dish, ciao!

Bagels in the 'Burbs

Maine has lobster. Chicago has deep dish. New York has bagels.  Being a New Yorker means bagels are in your blood. You scoff at pale imitations you find in other states and can school people on what a schmear is. Between the city and the suburbs I've tried enough bagels to know what I like. Westchester has quite the range of bagel shops but five years ago I was introduced to Hand Rolled Bagels in Rye and never looked back. 

At my old place of employ each grade level took turns to host our bi-weekly breakfasts. During my first year, a group of specials teachers hosted the St. Patrick's Day breakfast and the bagels seemed a bit different. They were textured. They were chewy.  They were delicious WITHOUT being toasted. That, friends, is the mark of a truly good bagel. 

I tracked down said specials teachers and demanded to know where these fresh, chewy, gluteny, perfectly seasoned everything bagels came from. The woman who purchased them said the shop was called Hand Rolled and it was her usual spot on the way to work. Consider me converted!

The small shop is so very 90's and has at least a dozen varieties (permanent and rotating) of plump, flavorful bagels. The Spinach was new, blueberry was seasonal but I can't seem to break from everything or, if I'm in a mood, the intense cinnamon raisin. I've only been for breakfast but I've seen many a sandwich come over the counter that look equally as good.

Hand Rolled Bagels gets a lot of local, and not so local, love. I've met like minded individuals who will drive thirty minutes out of the way (and some over state lines) for these bagels. New York is the home of the bagel and Rye is the home of Hand Rolled; I was never very good at math but somewhere there is a Venn Diagram that has those two overlapping meaning bagels don't get any better than Hand Rolled. Until the next dish, ciao!