Recipe - Red lentil veggie burgers

It's been so long since I've posted a recipe post... so here comes one!! XD

Actually, I've been doing lots and lots of muffins these past semester break ( cause my mum needs me to finish up the two boxes of dates she bought last year) but I haven't posted any...hehe... unfortunately but I'd post them soon... LOL... when I feel like it! XD The last one was really scrumptious using whatever was in my kitchen but hey... I will post it up soon! XD if there is an urge to share my super duper delicious secret muffins... and yeah... they're really healthy and worth it compared to those muffins you buy out there... =P cause mine is super duper delicious and super duper healthy... XD super duper dumb to promote me muffins without proof but yeah... it is super duper worth it to whip it up. Now... drum roll please.... I shall present to you... Red lentil Veggie Burgers.

Why red lentils? Cause it's one of the fastest lentils to cook and I have my stock from six months ago to use before it goes really really old and useless. Just in case you don't know what's lentils... I'll post a picture of it here...Just in case there are people like me who don't know their way in the local grocery store...The cooked and the uncooked kacang dhal merah = red lentils.

I've basically tried to follow the recipe to the letter but ... since I'm dirt poor and stupid at times... I've bought wrong ingredients thinking they were what I thought they were... haha... and used them instead! XD

the Chinese Celery ( I didn't know such a thing existed until I read the label... XD ) I used it instead of Parsley leaves.

wait... I did quite a few changes to the recipe... so I'll just post my adaptation here...

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups red lentils

Cooking oil to stir-fry vegetables and bast the burgers

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

a few shakes of white / black ground pepper from the bottle if any... at hand

3/4 cup of instant oatmeal (my 'healthy' sister bought them but didn't even touch them)

1 packet of chinese celery, chopped to the approximate length of your palm

2 large eggs, lightly beaten (to hold the burgers)

1 tbsp of salt 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. In a large saucepan, cover the lentils with cold water by 2 inches and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are very tender, about 10 mins (maybe earlier). Look at my picture to gauge whether yours is cooked. Drain well.

2. In a medium frying pan, heat some oil to stir-fry onion, garlic and carrots over moderately high heat. When carrots begin to soften, add in ALL the Chinese celery (otherwise the celery would be too tough to form into balls/ patties since they'll be sticking out). If not... just follow the lady's example and use a soft vege whereby you can add it later while you're mixing all the ingredients. Stir in the cumin and cayenne and remove from heat.

3. In  a large bowl// the large saucepan you used earlier, combine all of the ingredients. The lentils, breadcrumbs, eggs, SALT, pepper and vege mixture. Mix them well and form it into burgers. Ball them up into small balls and press them down on the pan.

4. Line a baking pan with foil. Brush the foil and tops of burgers with oil and let your oven do the magic for 15-20 minutes.

This smart alec was too lazy to foil up the last pan since this recipe made me about 30 burgers... and guess what... the ones in the pan (fortunately only five) not foiled up broke apart upon removal. This went to my tummy straight/ or the doggies. Not only that... since I forgot to add salt... it smelled fantastic but tasted bland (stupid WC) so they were salvaged by dipping them in chili/ tomato sauce. Last picture courtesy of Damari.

Money, work and life - KID's view

I've started working the week after returning from Singapore. So I'll share a little about what I've gained, emotionally and intellectually. Since I began working without having money as a motive, my views and your views may differ, so if there is any against my view, I'd love to discuss!

As I started work in the first week, I realized I lost my drive to exercise. Then, in the next week, I realized my purse was getting fatter. In the following week, I realized the expectations and mentality of worker bees that run the hive. Therefore, in this post, I hope I'll be able to sufficiently muse about these matters.

Working reminds me of a machine with interlinked screws and connectors that move to perform a certain function; the job/the work. So, other than the job, since the job already makes you mentally, maybe even physically tired, you do not feel like doing anything at all. You'd rather spend the rest of the day lazing around, being a couch potato, going shopping to 'destress' especially if it's a fixed job. HOWEVER, is this how life really should be? Is life for a mouse really limited to the wheel in a cage? The wheel being the job and life being the cage? I hypothesize that many believe that it is so otherwise no one would working their life off!

Today, I had the experience of recording the punch cards of working adults (not students). Unlike what I have always known, I have seen records of working hours of almost twenty four hours by a handful of people in a group of less than ten. Then, with my eldest sister's job as another reference, I believe that it is the norm and expectations of superiors (after speaking with a few) for people to be overworking themselves for the company. HOWEVER, I'd like to raise a CONSIDERATION for these people working their ass off, is it really worth it?

As I was driving home from work one day, I noticed this. The traffic light, thoroughly broken down but cars move on, everyone still goes back home/ to work. Why? Because there is still another traffic light (so replaceable) up ahead that was giving the same instructions for the same traffic. So... what happens to this traffic light? The poor person (probably the lorry driver); if caught will have to foot the bill. What bill? The bill to repair/replace (his and the other) and the bill for troubling others. However, what the heck was going on the mind of the driver when he banged this? Probably, something about WORK since I was working in the port, there can be nothing else but work. LOL. So will he ever be rich; taking the extra mile, working overtime and receiving a minimum of 1.5 times per hour pay than the agreed wages? HONESTLY NOT!

The above is what can be found in my purse right now. Looks just like bills and receipt being strewn around, right? On sight, it seems like a pile of cash and receipts however, as I was musing these thoughts these few weeks while watching my purse, this is how I interpret this picture. The money is so bright, so colourful, so big, so thick; beautiful compared to the dull, smooth, thin white and black receipts. The pile of receipts in fact is actually much thicker compared to the pile of cash but cash seems to be occupying a larger space. This is my observation, my thoughts? I spent so much. Receipts are cleverly made to be thin and not occupy much space in your purse. With it's smooth texture, it feels great to the touch. Though dull, it saves on ink to use black and white. It also does not tear as easily as cash. Cash is made to be thick, so you think you still have lots of it even when you really don't have so much vice versa goes gor the receipts. It's colourful so you'd like to constantly see it and use it. It's big so it's easy to take out.

Conclusively, money has been made enticing compared to receipts. Receipts continue collecting but money never collect itself in my purse; sadly. So, even if I had more money, the pile of receipts will continue to grow and my cash will continue to deplete. **many forget this since they either don't take receipts/ throw them away

Therefore, with man spending time working ungodly hours to earn more money, will it pay to do so? Those cards that I've recorded the working hours and overtime, these people were working for (obvious reasons due to background facts) more money, however this money will not stay with them for long. Why? Because I did a background check on these people and I've grasped that they've been working in the company for years and yes, they've often work these hours. Hence, a smart guess would be that they will continue to work more hours to earn more cash. Consequently, the next question that arose is, how much cash will one ever need to be satisfied? With more cash, more demands... more "needs" from what was previously "wants". Thus, leading to a never ending cycle.

Unfortunately, this isn't what I want; or what anybody wants for that matter. So......How to begin a change? LOL, path a way to make it. Don't just dream or want it, MAKE IT HAPPEN the best way you think will work. Find a solution, this is a life problem so if you never solve it you will constantly have to work on it till you get it. So nostalgic, reminds me of doing my additional maths homework... XD.but this is life and this is reality, if you don't work your way out of this problem, you will have to remain stuck in the problem because money is a need to sustain a person living in a city. **yes... I am being specific just in case some smart Alec caught thought about Tarzan. LOL...

Till I feel like musing more, see you blog.