Thursday, June 14, 2012

The Kind Diet, Recipe 21- Black-Eyed Pea Croquettes with Dijon Glaze

It's good to be back!  Trying to get back into the swing of things after sickness is NOT easy!  I'm trying though and last night I finally got around to making this recipe.  I was VERY excited to try out this recipe.  First of all, croquettes are SO yummy- who doesn't like something that is fried?  They are shallow fried, but still- you get the brown, crispy crust on the outside and the creamy, savory filling on the inside- what's not to like?  At least, that's what I should have gotten.  Instead my croquettes disappeared into nothingness!  They completely disintegrated into the pan and all I was left with was crispy crumbs and crumbles, but no whole, intact croquettes.  It was a total bummer because the crispy bits that remained actually tasted excellent, so it was a huge disappointment that they didn't work out.  I think the main problem with these is that there is no binder (they consist of black-eyed peas, fresh parsley, sea salt, shoyu, and cumin all processed in a food processor and then formed into croquettes).  I'm not really sure how to fix that problem either.  Egg would be the perfect binder, but is obviously out of the question in a vegan recipe.  So, I don't think I'll be making these again- so sad since this recipe was really promising, it just doesn't work though- don't waste your time, energy, food, and money on it- you will watch it all disintegrate into nothing!

My rating- 3 (the only reason it has a 3 and not a 1 is because it actually would have tasted great and those crispy bits were very yummy- I just used the crispy bits to top our rice- at least all was not lost)

PS- This recipe also had a very simple dipping sauce made from barley malt syrup and Dijon mustard- ick!  Not my favorite by any means.  I think that I'm just not used to the taste of barley malt, it's a very distinct and strong flavor- it's not for me.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Update

Just wanted to post a quick update since I haven't done a post in awhile.  I have been dealing with sickness in my house non-stop for about 3-4 weeks now.  Right after the stomach bug ran through our family my daughter brought home a nasty cold virus from school.  It turned into a double ear infection for my one daughter and pneumonia for the other!  Then, my husband and I got sick too and are still struggling with this illness!  I've been sick for a week now and still feel crappy!  Anyway, because of all this sickness there has not been much cooking going on in my house AT ALL.  I will be back at it and going strong next week though (at least, that's the plan!), so stay tuned everyone, there are some great recipe reviews coming your way next week!  Here's a little teaser- how do these sound?

Mixed Berry Cheesecake
My Favorite Cupcakes (from Alicia Silverstone)
Rhubarb Cherry Berry Crostata
Ethiopian-Style Bread Salad
Green Thai Curry
Lentil Tacos with Fresh Salsa
Black-Eyed Pea Croquettes with Dijon Glaze
Breakfast Bake
Banana and Cinnamon Muffins

That's all to come in the upcoming week- I'm getting hungry just writing this!  YUMMMMMY!