dill

Dill We Beet Again..

Sometimes genius strikes when you least expect it - tired, without a plan, too lazy to drive to Publix... All we knew though was that a) time to try out that fancy expensive vegan nut cheese our Whole Foods recently started selling b) use those gigantic n gorgeous beets from E's super garden c) get as close to a sloppy joe as we possibly can.

Thus we found ourselves with the ever elusive "beet ball", loosely adapted from about 20 different random online recipes but with possibly the most flavorful results we've yet encountered.

This recipe is super easy, so delicious, and while is better considered a starting point for a more full dish (ie beet burgers), these lil fried balls we ended up with were clearly nom enough to post on Bloom.

With beets already in the equation, we had a serious 'aha' moment when we found that one of the only two cheese flavors (does it even need a flavor?) came in truffle, dill, and chive. ALSO pickles were buy one get one, clearly steering our palate towards Polish cuisine. 

Unfortunately we were kinda disappointed with the cheese... It's consistency was almost identical to tofu, it tasted good but not great, and doesn't really melt that well. So we basically just smashed it into the beets balls - which of course added great flavor, but just things to keep in mind if you plan on cooking with it in the future.

Fried these lil' suckers up in some coconut oil - ours were pretty moist so the final consistency wasn't that solid but still worked out. And last these make great fillers for a bread n butter pickle sandwich.

Final result is super healthy, easy, packed with flavor, and ingeniously versatile. Don't think we'll throw down all those dollas for the cheese again, but definitely was worth a try!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cooked and mashed medium sweet potato
2 packed grated medium sized beetroot
½ cup finely chopped red onion
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
¼ tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup corn flour
salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat a teaspoon of coconut oil in a cast iron skillet and add in the chopped red onion and garlic. Saute until the red onions are translucent.

2. Add in the grated beetroot, sweet potato, cumin, salt, chili powder, thyme. Cover the pan and simmer on low heat until the beetroot and sweet potato have turned soft. Then crumble your cheese into the mixture.

3. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely. Once cooled, add in the corn flour and keep the salt & pepper levels in check.

4. Make small lime sized balls or go big with a burger. You can cook them by baking for 30 minutes at 375 degrees or pan fry them up in a low heat.

Roasted Salt, Vinegar & Dill Chickpeas

in

 Sometimes we’ve just got to satisfy a craving for crunchy, salty foods. Our usual go-to is old school popcorn, popped in a pot. The amount of popcorn that we eat is almost borderline embarrassing.. but we couldn't probably survive on it alone. Roasted nuts tend to have the same effect. A great alternative that often gets overlooked for a bowl of hummus, is oven roasted chickpeas. Especially now that the temperatures are dropping and some nights all you want to do is cuddle up with a warm bowl of whatever snack what-have-you. This high protein, low fat, fiber filled snack will do just the trick to ease your conscience and get your crunchy fix. You can literally throw whatever combination of spices you’d like onto these guys, toss 'em into the oven for a short amount of time, and then, BLOOM, i mean, BOOM: you’ve made yourself a healthy and satisfying snack attack. 

Enjoy hot, or if you can manage not to eat them in one sitting (unlike us), store in a an air tight container. Like popcorn, the chickpeas are never as good the next day- they tend to loose crispy-ness after 24 hours.

We went with a salt, vinegar and dill recipe to thrill our taste buds. Why? Because we are suckers for VINEGAR EVERYTHING. Great way to get that salt and vinegar fix without chowing down on a bag of chips. Chickpeas will take on any flavor you give them so go on with yo bad self and get creative. Grab a bowl of roasted chickpeas the next time you’re on your way to watch Breaking Bad (RIP) or replace them with croutons and sprinkle on top of a salad. Oh and in all seriousness, we highly recommend having different options (sweet, spicy and savory) at disposal for your next happy hour.

Ingredients: 

2 cans of cooked organic chickpeas (drain & rinse)
2 tsps olive oil
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dill

Method: 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Drain the can of garbanzo beans in a strainer and rinse with water for a few seconds to clean off the beans. Shake and tap the strainer to rid of excess water. Pat dry with a towel.

3. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss with all your spices so they are well coated. Make sure chickpeas are in a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes, toss well and flip, then bake for another 15 minutes until the beans are a deep golden brown and crunchy. Let cool and munch. Easy chick peasy ya'll.