Over most of my revolutions around the fiery ball in the sky, I knew cauliflower as white, radishes as red, and carrots a bright orange.

Imagine my delight to browse our local Saturday market and see these three veggies in numerous colors. Magnificent, majestic, soft, and bright rainbow shades. I am awestruck every time when I see these eye-pleasing tasty foods.

Today my eyes were drawn to the carrots. I wanted to revise a recipe I saw on a vegan meal kit. No garlic or onion for me. And vegan mayo just gets overused. I had a plan and, per my usual, a non-plan too.

Carrot Hemp Patties: Recipe

Ingredients:

These are for two patties; adjust as needed.

Carrots: 2, or more if they are skinny.

Hemp seeds or hearts: around a ¼ cup.

Chickpea flour: approximately 3/8 of a cup. This needs to be added in a little at a time to obtain the desired consistency.

Spinach: I used frozen and chopped,

(I had wanted frozen chopped broccoli rabe, but I did not want to waste gas to drive 14.7 miles round trip for the broccoli rabe.)

Cinnamon (I prefer Ceylon): as per taste.

Cardamom: as per taste.

Cold water: varies, start with a ¼ cup.

Oil of choice to cook: I used avocado, not too much for me. I add more if needed.

Directions:

1. I like to assemble all my ingredients on the counter in the order I will use them, labels, if any, facing forward. In a large glass bowl, start adding the hemp seeds (I used hemp seed hearts) >> most of the chickpea flour >> spinach >> cinnamon >> cardamom >> cold water.

2. Mix away—I go counterclockwise; it feels better for this leftie. Then grate your carrots right into the mixture. I actually prefer to chop the carrots in somewhat small, uneven pieces to add texture to my patty.

3. Here’s the goopy, messy, entertaining part that reminds me I always wanted to learn to throw clay. I smiled as I mixed the batter by hand and started forming some tennis-ball-sized lumps. Using your hands allows you to decide if you need more chickpea flour in the mix. And, it really feels good to dig in. Probably best now to wash your hands again, and dry them.

4. Add the oil of choice in the pan; I chose avocado for its high heat tolerance. You can skip the oil, and test if these work in the oven, or one of those fancy air fryers everyone is chatting up a storm about on social media. I prefer simplicity, but go for it and let us know.

5. Once preheated, scoop out some carrot stickiness and form into a patty of any size that pleases you. I am still working on my flipping skills and find smaller are meeting with successful flips. Well, usually.

6. Depending on the thickness, cook about 3-4 minutes per side. As a “flipper-in-training,” I tend to let it cook longer so I only flip once.

Cashew Cream Sauce:

Cashews: ¼ cup soaked overnight, or a quick 20-minute hot water soak.

Hippie dust: aka nutritional yeast; I started with a heaping tablespoon.

Lemon: to taste; a ¼ to ½ of a lemon is typical.

Water: usually I do a little less than the amount of cashews.

Salt & pepper: optional; I used a pinch of sea salt. Unusual for me, but I am exploring cooking articles and short courses, and salt, so they say, marries the flavors together.

Directions:

>> If you choose to make the cashew cream sauce first, you can relax a few minutes. However, do not leave the kitchen; 3-4 minutes per side is much better spent at the stove doing balance poses, calf raises, listening to that strange music that sometimes creeps into your head when all is quiet. Or, sing along with the last song that was playing in the grocery store yesterday and won’t go away. Mine was, “This Kiss,” so I was smiling.

>> If you need to make the cashew cream sauce while the carrot patties cook, have your blender ready and add the soaked cashews, hippie dust, lemon juice, and salt and pepper, and water. Blend to the smoothness you like. I check and see if it needs more water, which is why it pays to start with less water than you think it needs.

When the patties are ready, plate them with love: either tenderly drizzle the sauce over them, or place the sauce in a small glass dish to add as desired.

Feel free to add any sides; there is no shortage of ideas. My organic farmer, Kelly, had fresh raspberries and the lovely couple who make the island marinades, hot sauces, and jams had a cinnamon and apple jam. So, I added a dollop of that and some raspberries.

I was happy to get five of the six tastes in this dish: sweet from the carrots and hemp seed hearts; sour from the lemon; salty from the pinch of sea salt; bitter from the cardamom, cinnamon, and spinach; and pungent from the black pepper. Balancing my Vata-Pitta dosha in this early autumn time.

Remember to take time—as much as you want—to give gratitude for this meal.

Fun facts about hemp:

• Hemp has been dated back 10,000 years as being used. It would then make its way into making paper products, clothing, materials used in construction, and as food sources.
• Nutritionally, it is noted to be a great protein source of all amino acids. And with a good ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids, it is considered heart-healthy.
• Derived from the Cannabis sativa plant, it lacks the high-producing agent, THC, so no worries about passing that drug test. The only high you will get from this meal will be the mouth-explosion of sweetness.

Enjoy!

~

Bonus recipe: Gnocchi & Apples: An Autumn Delight. {Recipe}

For a whole bunch of delicious recipes, scroll through my author page.