Recap: Try Something New Tuesday 139
Hello there!
How are you this morning? I’ve got lots to tell you about today so I’m going to jump straight into this week’s Try Something New Tuesday recap. Here we go!
1. Recipe of the Week. I’m super excited to bring you this week’s featured recipe because it’s one that I perfected two weekends ago. I originally made these Herb Quinoa Patties with Lemon Dill Sauce over the holidays at the request of my mum. This past summer, she was traveling with her girlfriends and she came home raving about these ‘amazing quinoa cakes’ that they ate at a restaurant they visited in BC. She bought a ton of quinoa knowing I was coming for the holidays and asked me to re-create the cakes while I was staying at her house.
I’ve made various patties before with enormous success, like these Lemon Dill Salmon Cakes and Curried Tofu Patties, so I figured this would be simple. I adapted an old recipe and when the final cakes came out of the oven, they looked marvellous. The problem? When we sat down to dinner a couple of hours later, they were hard. Really hard. Like “give me more dill sauce because I need to soften this baby up” kind of hard. Back to the drawing board I went. This time, with just 1/2 cup of grated zucchini and a little less time in the oven, they were perfect.
One of the questions my mum had about the patties was about their shape. How to restaurants get them looking so perfect? Well, I’m not sure what they use, but my trick is a little ramekin. Simply press the quinoa mixture (which contains all sorts of goodness like shredded spinach, fresh dill, onion and garlic) into the oiled ramekin with the back of the spoon, flip it out onto parchment (with a bit of a forceful whack) and voila!
If you’d like to incorporate these into a complete meal, I’d recommend serving them with the lemon dill sauce on top, a golden baked or grilled fillet of salmon, a green salad, and some lemon wedges on the side.
Click here for the recipe!
2. A new kitchen gadget. By now, you guys know that I’m a kitchen gadget junkie. From fancy expensive ones like my Vitamix and my juicer, to my spiralizer, to cute little whisks and flippers, I’m a sucker for them all. My sister is well aware of this, and she also knows that I go through more carrots than anyone else we know. Because she’s a clever and very creative present shopper, she knew this would be a very fitting Christmas present for me:
At first glance, you’re probably thinking, “It’s a pencil sharpener. What does that have to do with carrots or kitchen gadgets?” But look a little closer….
Notice how big it is?
That’s because it’s for peeling veggies, especially carrots!!
Thrilled by this gift, I couldn’t wait to rip it out of the package and make an enormous salad beast with as many curly veggies as possible. It’s got the ‘sharpener’ hole, as well as a slice/peeler blade on the bottom, so as you can see, hours of fun can be had from this fantastic little tool!
I haven’t had a ton of practice with it yet, but have a look at this video to see the Karoto in action:
How cool is that? While I still have lots of experimenting to do, this was the salad I enjoyed for lunch:
I’m still working on making the flowers as shown in the video, but with a little more practice, mine should be looking just as good.
If you have a veggie lover in your life that just can’t go another day without being able to sharpen their veggies, you can buy the Karoto peeler/sharpener, designed by Avichai Tadmore here.
So tell me…
- Have you recently eaten anything in a restaurant that you’re dying to re-make at home?
- What’s your favourite small kitchen tool? (I probably shouldn’t ask this because you’ll only give me ideas about new ones I need to buy, but tell me about them anyways!)
- Did you miss my giveaway announcement on Monday? Check it out and join me in making small healthy changes each day this month! You could win an awesome Sport Chek prize pack full of goodies to keep you motivated in your fitness adventures this year! Get the deets here.
Alright, have a wonderful day lovelies, and I’ll see you back here on Friday morning! 
that is a GREAT trick re the ramekin!! thanks for the tip! quinoa cakes sound really neat…glad the 2nd attempt was a great success!
and the giant veggie sharpener – very fun! what a neat idea! that would be a good gift to give to someone to encourage them to eat more veggies because it would be fun to play with!
Absolutely! I’ve tried making cucumber rings with this sharpener as well but the cucumbers were a little too big to fit in properly. I want to get some of those awesome multicoloured carrots and make a carrot flower bouquet next!
Try using the mini cucumbers – I’m sure they would fit!
Yep that’s my plan – they’re on the grocery list for next week!
THAT IS SO CUTE! They literally look like pencil shavings, which is so quirky, but then I saw the flowers, which is even more adorable! Plus that seems like a pretty easy way to “chop” carrots. I typically use a cheese grater, but grated carrot is not as pretty.
I agree – grated carrot never looks as good. This is a lot easier to clean too!
Our first Christmas in our home back in Airdrie, we had over 30 people for Christmas dinner and I thought it’d be cool to make individual fruit crisps for everyone for dessert. Well, that meant we had to have 30 ramekins… I literally have so many they’re coming out of my ears. SUCH a great idea to use them as a mold for the cakes. I will definitely be using this trick for the sweet potato cakes I wanted to make this week. You smart cookie, you.
When you first showed me the pencil shaver I thought it was cute, but wasn’t sure how practical it would be. Boy, do I stand corrected. It’s awesome!
Also, have to say… AWESOME PICTURES!
Oh my goodness, you’re the ramekin queen!! Did you bring them all to Montreal with you? If you did, I think you should bake up individual treats for your yoga class!
PS. Thanks for the photo comment – I’m taught by the best!
Those quinoa patties sound absolutely delicious!! I am definitely going to get the ingredients next week and make a bunch! They seem easy to transport which I need for my school meals!
Also, you’ve made me want the Karoto…
Oh yes, very easily transportable! If you don’t want to eat them on your own, you can also break em up and put them on salads, then thin out the dipping sauce and make it into dressing. I never thought I’d say this but I actually sort of miss packing lunches for school! Work just isn’t quite the same!
Oh, that little gadget is so COOL! Me want. Pretty salads just taste better.
Totally agree with you on that one Jess! I use my spiralizer almost daily to make zucchini noodles and other sorts of pretty looking veggies. It’s a little embarrassing how many slicing and dicing gadgets I’ve got!
how fun! your new gadget is very cool. love new kitchen toys! and quinoa cakes of all kinds too1
Those patties look glorious! I have so many foods I am dying to make at home such as a pesto, veggie, chicken flatbread from kona grill and starbucks cranberry bliss bar!
My favorite, super simple kitchen gadget is the apple corer from pampered chef! They’re cheap so if you don’t have one then rest assured it won’t break the bank
Thanks Carley! Those two dishes sound delicious! I actually came across a recipe for the Cranberry Bliss bars on another blog I read, Averie Cooks. Have a look at it if you like! http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/11/cranberry-bliss-bars.html. Her photos are gorgeous too!
What an awesome idea using the ramekins! I made some amazing quinoa, wild rice & sweet potato patties this week and they were so satisfying! Now I know how to make them a perfect shape!
Ooh they sound delicious Suzanne! Definitely give the ramekins a shot. As long as you keep wiping them out and re-oiling them and giving them a spritz of oil, they work amazingly well!
Looks great! I love quinoa but have never made cakes out it- I bet leftovers would make great sandwiches!
Hey Ange! It has been so long since I commented on your blog! I do, however, keep up with your posts. I read on my iPad so I can quickly read through posts without commenting. It’s efficient but doesn’t allow for much interaction!
Anyway, I wanted to come over and say hi! How have you been?
And your sister is awesome – that peeler looks amazing!
My favorite small(ish) kitchen tools are my cutting board and knife. They’re simple but I use them at least once a day!
You’re BAAAACK!!! I missed you! I’ve been good – busy, but good!! We’ll definitely need to catch up over email soon. Gotta agree with you on the cutting board and knife – I use mine at pretty much every meal!
Have an awesome day!
So many new things in this post! I love the idea of the ramekin and will give it a go next time. And that new peeler? DARLING!
Loving your giveaway because it is all about the journey!
Just found your blog and love it! And omg those patties look AMAZING, I have to try them. Never knew what my little ramekin could do! Thanks for posting it
Aw thanks Megan!! I’m glad you found me. And I hope you try the quinoa patties out – seriously, the ramekin works like a charm!
Lovely quinoa patties!
I am huge on food’s presentation and was looking for somethign that would easily make a carrot slices looking great in salads or as snacks. I am so happy I read your post, where you presented KAROTO and I instantly ordered one.
Thanks for letting us know about this little kitchen gadget
Best regards
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post! Aren’t veggies just so much more fun when they look nice? If you really want yours to look pretty, have a look at the spiralizer I linked to – you can do some very cool things with that too! Zucchini noodles are my absolute favourite!