Granola with Dried Cherries

Driving to a coffee shop to hang out with my Stepmom Maryann, we got to talking about what I had recently dumpstered and how I was going to use it...

"I have no idea what I'm going to do with 6 packages of cherries. Maybe freeze them for smoothies or make cobbler? I have to think fast..."
"I'll take a package," Maryann offered.
"What?"
"I'll take a package" she repeated.
"Wait. Since when are you okay with eating dumpstered food?"
"Since now, I guess. I love cherries. I've been really curious about your dumpstering. Your Dad isn't into it, but I'd love to go with you sometime and see what it's all about as long as we don't get arrested. It's like an adventure...and we don't have to tell your father where the food came from."
"It's mostly late at night..."
"That's okay. I'll take a nap or something."

This is REALLY exciting for me. One of my parents interested in DUMPSTERING? Up until now, the only people I've known who dumpster are under the age of 35. For some reason, I had just assumed older people weren't into it. I assumed they have the luxury of affording store-bought food and aren't as invested about landfill usage (or something silly like that).

So, my mind is blown and I'm completely looking forward to opening the world of dumpstering up to my Stepmom. Keep your eyes peeled for an ultra action-packed SENIOR CITIZEN edition of Trash to Table coming up soon!

In the mean time, here's what my Stepmom Maryann recommended I do with my extra cherries - dry them out. Dehydrating fruits and vegetables is a great way to make them last. In the case of cherries, you can add them to granola, cereal, or trail mix, or just munch on them for a snack! I ended up putting them in some home made granola.

DRIED CHERRIES

Ingredients:

- However many cherries you have

Cut your cherries in half (composting the pits) and put them skin side down on a baking sheet covered with tin foil or an oven rack where the cherries won't fall through.
I have a confectioner's oven (which is ideal for dehydrating foods), since it keeps a constant temperature and flow of air going through the oven. However, if you don't have one, you'll need to get a very accurate thermometer for your oven and keep it at a constant temperature of 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
Keep the cherries in there for 8-10 hours (overnight is usually a safe bet if you rotate trays and make sure things aren't burning about halfway through the night).

GRANOLA

Granola is great for breakfast, or you can add chocolate chips and turn it into trail mix (I did this to take on an overnight climbing job and it was awesome).

Ingredients:
- 4 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups flax seed meal
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (unsalted, unroasted, shelled)
- 1 cup almond slices
- 1/2 cup pecans (chopped)
- 1/2 cup cashews (chopped)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 + 1/4 cup raisins and/or dried cranberries
- 2 cups shredded coconut
- A sprinkle of nutritional yeast (optional)
- (I also added some leftover toasted pumpkin seeds I had)


I ended up putting freshly dumpstered strawberries on top of my granola too!

So, start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and covering a large baking sheet with tin foil.
Next, combine all the nuts, seeds, oats, and flax seed meal.
In a small pot, combine all the wet ingredients as well as the salt, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Bring it to a boil at around medium heat, then turn the burner off IMMEDIATELY.
Pour it over the nut mixture and stir it around, then spread the stuff on your baking sheet.
Bake it in the oven for around 20-30 minutes, until it's toasted and a bit crispy, maybe stirring once or twice along the way. Take it out to cool down (it will get crispier as it cools).
Stir in your raisins and dried cherries. DONE.
Store in a cool, dry place.

Items not dumpstered or donated: Rolled oats (from the Beet Food Co-Op), sunflower seeds, almonds, honey, spices, vanilla extract, coconut

Vegan Quinoa Hippie Burgers

It's not really a secret that I'm a little bit of a hippie dirtbag deep down inside. I was vegetarian for 8 years, 2 of which I was vegan for. Although I now eat meat again, I still have a soft spot for the old classics of my vegan days.

Enter the vegan burger.

There's a lot of different ways to make vegan burgers. Most of the time, changing up the base ingredient is what makes each one special - people use things with lots of protein like black beans, lentils, pinto beans, kidney beans, or quinoa (a grain that is a perfect protein). I like using quinoa the most, since I'll make up a batch as a side dish for dinner and then have leftovers that I want to transform into something else...

VEGAN QUINOA HIPPIE BURGERS

Ingredients:
- 2.5 cups cooked quinoa (I cooked mine with freshly chopped rosemary to give it a little extra flavor)
- 1 cup roasted red pepper hummus (you can also substitute cooked chickpeas and a little water, or any other flavor of hummus, but it's not as tasty) (p.s. EXTRA BONUS PROTEIN!)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2-3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2-3 tbsp flax seed meal (harder to dumpster, but I lucked out with a 3 lb. bag one time, so I'm set for life)
- 2 cloves garlic
- Crap-ton of fresh basil (to taste)
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (this brightens up the flavors of the spices and hummus)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4-5 tbsp wheat flour

Mix everything up in a bowl. Taste it to see if the spices balance in the way you'd like.
Make into big meaty patties.
At this stage, you can freeze the patties for use later by sticking wax paper between them and putting them in an air-tight container - they'll last up to about 3 months.
Fry on high heat in the olive oil so they don't fall apart and get super-crispy (the crispy texture is crucial or else the hummus can make the texture a little weird and the patties will fall apart).
Serve!

Wasn't that easy?

I'm was a total ex-vegan and put goat cheese and spring greens on mine, but you can add anything from avocado to homemade scented aolis (again, bad vegan) to tomatoes. I don't have any bread in my house either right now, so you'll have to use your imagination as to how these would look freaking amazing with burger fixin's on a bun (although, if you're gluten-free, never mind).


These are really great (and easy) to make for BBQs when you have friends who don't eat meat. I can tell you that being on the receiving end of a BBQ that has no substantial food options for you is a bummer ("What?! Just corn on the cob and fruit salad again? Awesome!").

A lot of folks assume that being vegan is really tough, but as long as you have an arsenal of high-protein, nutritionally balanced food, it's actually pretty doable and delicious.

Items not donated or dumpstered: Quinoa (from the Beet Food Co-op), garlic, rosemary (from garden), thyme (from garden), basil (from garden), cumin, paprika, salt & pepper