Garden Burgers, Family Love and Exhaustion.

My brother and sister-in-law came for a visit this week, and it was fantastic. We enjoyed a meal of miso-ginger-coconut stir fry with a side of teriyaki tofu and cinnamon buns for dessert. I went with the meal because it's a family favourite in this house. Unfortunately, you should never just double the recipe for the stir fry. It wasn't nearly as good as "normal". Oh well, everyone still gobbled it up, so no big deal. :)

Having family or friends out here is always so wonderful, but once they leave we're always left feeling like Canada is just too darn big! We enjoy the company while they're here though. It worked out timing wise because they were able to come to Avery's very last soccer game in his tournament, went to go see Tiernan in Oz at the Empire, and even got to have Rhianna perform her Classic Cruisers dance in our living room. :)

Check out the beautiful double rainbow we spotted one night while the kids were bike riding! ♥

I finally made something new for dinner tonight! This is a huge shocker! We've been surviving on quick foods this week. August is starting to really kick my arse. I'm so very tired. I hate admitting to that, but it's true. I'm only human after all! There has been so much shuffling of kids to and from theatres, dance studios, play dates and soccer games. There have been so many little errands to run to buy things for performances and the beginning of the school year. I think I'm finally finished on both counts! This weekend coming up I work Friday evening, Saturday all day (followed by the closing show for Oz!), all day Sunday, and all day Monday. Not to mention the five more Oz shows and the Classic Cruisers performance in Marmora. Next week I plan to take a day to do nothing. At all. If you stop by, expect pjs. Actually, consider yourself lucky if I even answer the door. Haha!

Anyway, back to tonight's dinner. I made some yummy Garden Burgers from Quinoa 365 The Everyday Superfood (and really didn't change much at all), yam fries, veggies with dip and Rainier cherries (best cherries in the world!). I made the entire dinner while talking to Laura on the phone, too. I've got skillz! ;)

Garden Burgers

1/4 cup quinoa

1/4 cup lentils (I used green)

1 1/2 cups water

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

1/2 - 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

19 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3/4 cup finely diced celery

3/4 cup finely diced onion

1 cup finely diced bell pepper (I used orange)

1/4 tsp black pepper

Put the water, quinoa and lentils in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 20-23 minutes until the lentils and quinoa are tender. Remove from heat.

Mix together the lentils, quinoa, walnuts, bread crumbs, chickpeas, celery, onion, bell pepper and black pepper. Mash lightly. Add more bread crumbs and a bit of water until it becomes easier to form into patties. Put the patties on a plate, and chill for 1/2 hour.

Cook on a pre-heated indoor grill until they start to brown and are heated through.