sweet pea millet cakes

My garden is performing amazingly well this year, the tomato plants are taller than I, baby butternuts and cheese pumpkins are sprouting up everywhere I look and cukes, kale, carrots and peppers couldn't be happier. However this year I do have one garden bed that is refusing to cooperate and it just so happens to be the one I planted first in early spring without amending the soil ( I got a little too excited the first sign of warmish weather I couldn't be bothered to take 1 extra step and add a bit of compost- lesson learned!) So far, this bed has produced a 1/2 cup of spring peas, I have planted Swiss chard on 3 different occasions and for the life of me I cannot figure out where the seeds and or/seedlings are disappearing too. I also planted (after I gave up on the Swiss Chard) a section of green beans and not one has sprouted. At least my oregano and Borage is pretty happy in this bed so I'm not at a total loss.

Herbs are super abundant in the garden, getting their head start in the spring by mid summer I often find myself  with enough herbs to last a lifetime or at least the Summer. You can use any combination of fresh herbs so long as they pair well together. In this batch I used thyme, tarragon, chives and oregano. The ingredients are simple which really allow the fresh herbs and garlic to shine through.

Millet, a pseudo grain which is actually a seed hence gluten free! Is one of my favorite seeds/grains to use. They worked beautifully in these little cakes and there isn't a whole lot of effort that goes into cooking millet. If you have a hard time finding Millet, try subbing in quinoa. Sunflower seeds lend a bit of interest and texture to the cakes, Peptias would also work really well if that is what you have on hand.

With about 5 minutes or so of cooking time left, the sweet peas are added to the Millet pot for a quick steam. All ingredients are then added to the food processor and processed until the mixture just comes together. The mixture will be a bit warm so it is advised to let it cool a bit while you make the aioli.

Can we take a quick moment and talk about just mayo, I mean how amazing is this company spreading the love like wildfire on how tasty ,amazing  AND accessible plant based eating is. The awesome people at Hampton Creek sent us some samples of just mayo and just cookie dough- one word that describes them both: amazing.  I wanted to really showcase the just mayo in a slightly different way than spread on a sammie. These little cakes were just screaming for some type of sauce- an aioli it is! Hampton Creek is taking the world by storm!

Garlic just mayo is combined with dried chilies, liquid sweetener (in my case local raw honey) and a hint of oj. It was so good and added another layer of flavor to the dish which was welcomed.

It has been a while since I last posted- this summer is passing by so quickly. Work has been incredibly busy as has life in general, I haven't had the time to dedicate to this space as it deserves. I am hoping this will change in the coming weeks- the garden is bursting with veggies that will be the inspiration for many upcoming posts in August.

I served my cakes on a bed of locally grown pea shoots- the gentleman that grows the micro greens at Saturdays market plays music to his greens- they love the vibrations!

What has been your favorite dish of the summer season? For me definitely these cakes and straight off the vine tomatoes with salt and pepper!

Sweet Pea Millet Cakes

makes 6-8 cakes 

you will need:

1 cup uncooked millet + 2 cups water
1/2 cup fresh sweet peas , shelled

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds 

1/2 cup fresh Herbs 

garlic 3 small cloves peeled

1/4 cup OJ 

Sea Salt to taste

Coconut Oil for pan frying

Pea shoots for serving

for the "aioli" 

3 tbsp garlic just mayo

Drizzle Honey or vegan sweetener of choice

Splash OJ

Dried Red Chile to taste ( I used 1/2 a small one with most seeds removed)

assembly:

In a medium sauce pan bring water to a boil, add millet , turn down to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes or until water is absorbed. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, add shelled sweet peas.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s blade add sunflower seeds through garlic and pulse a few times. Add cooked millet and peas, run until mixture begins to form, add oj slowly as the processor is running + sea salt.

Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. A generous 1/2 cup at a time form mixture into patties. Add a bit of coconut oil to the pan, enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Add 4-5 patties to the pan or as many as you can without crowding the pan. Cook until bottom is golden brown, flip and repeat. Remove from pan to a paper towel lined baking sheet, keep warm in a 170 degree oven. Repeat process until all patties are cooked.

To make the aioli, combined all ingredients in a blender or small processor and blend until smooth and  well combined.

Serve cakes over pea shoots with a dollop of aioli on each cake- garnish with chives or other fresh herbs.

Enjoy!