Tahini Edamame Burger

“There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Todd and I had a wonderful time last weekend visiting family that was up from the states. It's always such a pleasure to have little kids around. I don't have any nieces or nephews, and rarely get to interact with children or babies...unless I am doing their radiology exam, which, is not so fun for either me or the child. Super sick children = super sad face. 

One of my cousins and her two little girls were up and as you can see we were greeted by a most darling little one who very formally welcomed us to "The Game Party". Where we of course played games together and ate lunch, as you can see below. 

This little munchkin is my particularly favorite munchkin in the entire world. She was also our flower girl and is one of the most exceptionally well-mannered persons (young or old) I've ever met. When asked if she was excited at the prospect of "throwing the flower petals" at our wedding, she responded that she would not throw them but infact "lightly toss them", no joke. She was like, four years old at the time. I'm absolutely confident that at that age I was picking my nose and playing naked in the dirt under the porch, painting rocks and making mud cakes. 

Below, for your viewing pleasure, is THE most adorable photo of Todd and his enchanting little playpal. She's so cute I can hardly stand it!

OMG, look at that face. Just look! Hehehe. That is the face of utter delight.

Interestingly, that was also my face when I ate these burgers I made a few days ago. These are the fruition of an abundance of edamame that I purchased, trying to pump my wee body full of iron. 

This is a flavorful veggie burger with fresh edamame and greens, rolled oats, tender sweet potato, and creamy tahini for a unique dish. I love to freeze the leftovers for a quick and effortless meal.

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Tahini Edamame Burger

by Katie @ Produce on Parade July-3-2014

A flavorful veggie burger with fresh edamame and greens, rolled oats, tender sweet potato, and creamy tahini for a unique dish.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, rough chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, whole
• 1 small sweet potato, rough chopped
• 2 cups fresh edamame, shelled and steamed in the microwave
• 6 cups packed mixed greens (spinach, baby kale), torn
• 1 heaping cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup liquid amino acids or soy sauce
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. fresh chili paste

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large rimmed frying pan over medium. In a food processor, pulse the onion and garlic until finely diced. Add the mixture to the pan and saute for about 5 minutes.Meanwhile, pulse the sweet potato in the food processor until finely diced. Add to the frying pan.Pulse the shelled edamame in the processor until finely diced. Add to the frying pan. Saute the vegetable mixture for about 10-15 minutes, over medium-high heat, until all the water is evaporated and the sweet potato is tender. You want the mixture to start sticking to the bottom. Now, pulse the oats in the food processor until roughly ground. Add to the vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Stir into the vegetable mixture until very well combined and remove from heat. Heat a cast iron skillet with a dash of olive oil over medium-high heat. Form 1/4 cup of the burger mixture into a patty and brown on each side for a couple minutes. Repeat with remaining burger mixture.Serve hot. I like mine with BBQ sauce! Freeze any remaining patties for use later.

Details

Yield: 12 Burgers

German Word of The Day

Veggie Burger --> Gemüseburger (geh-museah-burgah)

Good Deed of The Day

How many wolves died for your beef hamburger? Find out in this article from The Huffington Post. Animal agriculture fosters brutality and death against more than just the cattle victims. The more you know...

Copycat Campbell's Tomato Soup

“A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite.”

— Leo Tolstoy

He got me lavender kombucha! The boy knows me...

True dat, Tolstoy.

For our wedding anniversary, I asked Todd to pick out absolutely whatever he wanted to have for dinner and I would make it or buy it. Do you know what he chose? Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup! I wasn't really that surprised...

So I ask, "What kind of tomato soup?" And he tells me, "The canned Campbell's kind." Oh that crazy boy, for the love of Buddah!  

Clearly, there was no, nooo way I was going to buy a couple cans of tomato soup for our anniversary dinner. I just couldn't. So, I knew I had to try to replicate it instead. I intended to find a copycat recipe online and follow it precisely. There was actually supposed to be no post today at all.

However, much to my dismay, I couldn't find one! Sure, there were a few but none of them seemed very accurate. Have you looked at the back of a Campbell's tomato soup can?

No, probably not. Well, there was no choice but to make a copycat recipe entirely myself and to be perfectly frank I had pretty low expectations. Did you know there's xanthan gum in Campbell's tomato soup? Who knew?! And high fructose corn syrup, of course, but I opted for brown sugar instead. Also, their soup is primarily made with tomato paste....erm....okay, so obviously some ingredients had to change.

Imagine me serving Todd a bowl of reconstituted tomato paste, hahaha. "Here you go, Honey!" Don't worry, that didn't happen.

This soup is spot-on, you guys. It's pretty shocking really. So, if you have a weird obsession with the taste of Campbell's canned tomato soup (like someone I know) this is your recipe. You're going to love it!

Copycat Campbell's Tomato Soup

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

An incredibly accurate copycat of Campbell's Tomato Soup. You'll never need to buy another can again!

Ingredients

• 2 28 oz. cans of whole peeled tomatoes
• ½ cup water
• heaping ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. seasoning salt (I use Johnny's) or table salt
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 2 dried bay leaves
• dash ground black pepper

Ingredients

1. In a blender, combine all ingredients except for the bay leaves. Blend on high for several minutes, until very smooth and creamy.
2. The xanthan gum will make the soup sort of frothy. Never fear though, it will clear when heated.
3. Transfer to a medium saucepan, add the bay leaves, and heat over medium-low for about 10 minutes, until the soup turns a dark red and the froth goes away.
4. Serve hot!

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 00:10
Total time: 00:15
Yield: 4-6 servings

More Delicious Soup Recipes

German Word of The Day

Tomato Soup --> Tomatensuppe (two-mahten-zoopah)

Good Deed of The Day

Stop what you're doing and listen to this podcast episode that a reader directed me to. It will BLOW. YOUR. MIND. Fo' real. yo. 

A Special Day and DeVita Cosmetics Review

“Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own.”

— H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

In my very humble opinion, that is the truthest of truths when it comes to partnership and guess what? Today is a very special day. Two years ago today, my true love and I were married. Yep, pretty exciting huh? A lot has changed since then, and Todd and I are happier and healthier than ever before.

Happy Anniversary to the light in my life, the cheer in my heart, and the aura of love that keeps my soul afire with an immense depth of blissfulness. 

Thank you for celebrating with us. And now, a special review!

A particularly large overhaul I made since implementing a cruelty-free life was adopting new, vegan beauty products. Indeed, as I could no longer in good conscious ingest the body parts of dead animals, no longer could I put animal products on my face either. Eww, right? Yes, and deeply saddening. Animal testing is now proving utterly unwarranted, especially with the emergence of new technologies and is absolutely horrific when you really read up on it. It's wholly monstrous and the brutality is not just committed against mice and primates, but rabbits are a huge part of testing and even beagles too!  

Did you see this article the New York Times released just today on how China Ends Animal Testing Rule for Some Cosmetics. Awesome! It's a start for China, right? 

I admit, I knew animal testing was implemented in the products I was using, but I looked the other way. It's so prevalent and besides, I had my favorites and I didn't want to seek out cruelty-free brands and alternatives to what I had come to use regularly. Can you imagine in inconvenience!? Oh the humanity!! Um...wrong. I finally opened my eyes to the world of animal testing and was truly heart-broken. It didn't take long to cast aside those brands and take joy in knowing the products I now use don't contain any animal bits and are not tested, most viciously, on my furry friends either. They're so many great alternatives out there that no one needs to buy cruel cosmetics!

One of the great products I stumbled up is DeVita and I've been using their BB cream and blush for several months now. DeVita is a vegan cosmeceutical skin care company that is a certified woman-owned business, by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), which is pretty cool. I take assurance in knowing that the products I use are actually developed and produced by women themselves.

Their products are all-natural, 100% paraben-free, and PETA Certified. I think it's completely fantastic that you can go on their site and read about each ingredient that they put in their products. What other beauty companies are doing that? None I know of. They even have a page on their policy against animal testing. In addition that, DeVita actually states what it means to have 100% vegan products. I seriously cannot find enough good things to say about DeVita. They also use renewed and recycled/recyclable packaging. 

I initially discovered them because I had a BB cream that I, unfortunately, discerned was not cruelty-free. As I researched more, I came to uncover that most of my cosmetics were not cruelty-free and were actually filled with poisons and toxic preservatives to boot! Lovely. Ignorance really is bliss! I clearly needed a new cream and after much scrutinizing, all I could find was rave reviews on DeVita! 

I looove their Moisture Tints Multi-Benefit Beauty Balm (BB Cream). It has SPF 15 which is great to help keep my skin safe from the sun. It's paraben-free, 100% vegan, and there's no controversial ingredients. 

I chose the Light tint and admittedly when I first squeezed a smidgen onto my fingers I thought it might not be a good match for my skin coloring. However, after I smoothed it over my face and allowed it to sit a minute the coverage and color was just perfect. As with all BB creams, they're certainly different from a foundation. This one leaves me with a dewy complexion, but not too wet looking like my previous BB cream. It's also a bit lighter feeling and more natural looking, which I really favor. 

This is my ultimate, everyday all-in-one moisturizer/sunscreen/foundation that leaves my skin looking radiant and flawless! I will absolutely continue to purchase it. 

I've had my NARS Orgasm blush for a long time now. So long, it even broken apart inside and I had to repair it. It's the stuff of legends, that NARS blush, which is why I bought it. Yet NARS, unfortunately, is no longer cruelty-free. I was pretty sure I wouldn't find a blush that I liked as much, but I had come to terms with that.

Incredibly, I was so wrong. This Absolutely Blushed Mineral Blush is such a better fit for me and I like how it's not as shimmery (high-school, anyone?) as the Orgasm. It's not a completely matte blush though, as it has the just-right amount of sheen. I was a bit unsure of the loose form it came in, as I've always only had the pressed blush. Although it may take a little more effort to apply (maybe if you have steady hands it's easier), it's completely worth it. This is such a natural-looking blush, I just adore it. My color is Pink Opal and it matches my naturally flushed cheeks wonderfully. 

I could not believe how shockingly difficult it was to find a natural, cruelty-free blush that didn't contain titanium dioxide, which can be harmful when inhaled...like in a blush powder. Yikes! That's how I found DeVita's blush.

DeVita cosmetics might be a little more costly than your average drugstore beauty products. However, even someone as frugal as myself takes no issue with this due to the knowledge of their products being paraben-free, 100% vegan, cruelty-free, all-natural, and contain controversy-free ingredients. Not to mention they are some of the best cosmetics I've ever used! 

So, if you're looking for new vegan products or just in need of some replacement, all-natural, vegan, and eco-friendly cosmetics that are of incredibly quality, I've done the work for you. I'll definitely be buying from DeVita in the future. In fact, I plan to buy their mascara! 

Please hit me up with any questions you may have. Also, share your favorite vegan beauty products with me! 

If you'd like to educate yourself or your friends/family on animal testing, you can learn more about it here.

Website

http://www.devitaskincare.com/store/

Where to Buy

On their website or their store locator.

*DISCLAIMER*  PRODUCE ON PARADE IS A PERSONAL BLOG WRITTEN AND EDITED BY MYSELF ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. MY REVIEWS ARE COMPLETELY BASED ON MY OWN OPINION OF THE PRODUCT REVIEWED. I AM NOT PAID TO WRITE POSTS. THESE PRODUCTS WERE SUPPLIED TO ME AS GIFTS FROM THE COMPANY TO TEST AND REVIEW. OTHERWISE, IF I MENTION A COMPANY BY NAME AND THERE IS NO DISCLAIMER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST, I AM MERELY WRITING ABOUT SOMETHING I LIKE, PURCHASE AND/OR USE. THE FACT THAT I DO RECEIVE A PRODUCT AS A GIFT TO TEST AND REVIEW, WILL NEVER POSITIVELY INFLUENCE THE CONTENT MADE IN THIS POST.