Being Thankful and Mung Bean Kale Patties

 Lately I've been focusing my thoughts on being thankful rather than thinking about what I wish I had or wish would happen.  No matter what your situation is, there's always something to be thankful for.  Even events that seemed to be negative at the time might have brought about positive changes in the end.  I've heard of some people writing in gratitude journals, so I thought I'd share some of the things I've been thankful for this week, along with a recipe, because I'm always thankful for food!

1.  Where I live - Portland, Maine:  This August marks my fifth year living in Portland.  It's a small city that fosters a local community and supports a great art scene.  Set on the coast of Maine, you're never far away from the sight of water.  Portland has been a great place for me to grow as an independent young adult, to nurture my career as a teacher, and is where my love for food really began to flourish.  I'm thankful for the friends I've made here, for the many art shows that I've had in various galleries and coffee shops, and for how walkable this town is -- I can never get enough of walking around Portland!

2.  The thankfulness of others:  A few weeks ago our upstairs neighbors were traveling abroad and asked us to water their garden.  It was a small task that we happily did, expecting nothing but perhaps a verbal "thank you" when they returned.  I was surprised when the other day I opened my front door to discover a sweetly handmade thank you card, a lovely bottle of French red wine, and some hand picked flowers in a vase with super smooth stones on the bottom. I'm not saying that being thankful needs to come in the form of gifts or objects, but the gesture was so kind and made me happy every time I saw the flowers or had a bit of wine with dinner.  It means a lot when people reach out to show their appreciation.  

3.  New Clothes:  I don't really buy clothes, especially new ones -- I tend to go to the awesome second-hand and consignment shops in Portland or Goodwill, or make use of hand-me-downs.  However, there's something really confidence-boosting about donning a new shirt or skirt.  Before Andrew and I moved to the farm, I got rid of a lot of my clothes, and some got ruined in the farming process.  Anything new brightens up my wardrobe and makes me feel great.  These clothes are also extra special -- my in-laws got them for me yesterday while I was looking around EMS.  Their thoughtfulness was for no special occasion, and I'm really excited to wear my new clothes to all the new teaching/tutoring opportunities that I have coming up.

 4.  Being given the opportunity to have a kale-licious garden:  One of the families who I work for as a teacher offered Andrew and I a spot in their lovely garden to share this summer.  Of course, Andrew and I filled it with kale, and it's producing a great harvest.  We're saving so much money growing our own kale rather than buying a bunch of it every day at the market, and it's so peaceful to go there and be surrounded by green vegetables and glorious flowers.  I feel so lucky to have a small space to grow food! 

photo by the lovely audrey hotchkiss

5.  My husband, Andrew:  I am so very grateful for having met Andrew and am so glad that he is such a positive part of my life.  Since we first met, I have felt so lucky to have someone so caring, kind, compassionate, and honest as my partner.  I love being in love with him, and love sharing our lives together.  It feels really wonderful to have his support in all of my endeavors, and I love having him taste test all of the recipes I make.  I'm also very proud of him -- he's going back to school this autumn to get his second degree - in Electrical Engineering!  This whole summer he's been working hard, studying algebra and trigonometry to be prepared for his calculus and science classes.

Today marks the first day of Andrew's summer cleanse -- he's going to do a kitchari cleanse, which is great for "cleansing the system and helps to strengthen memory," according to Vasant Lad in his book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies.  Along with mung beans, vegetables, and ghee, Andrew is planning on including nuts and seeds in his diet.  He is choosing not to have much rice, focusing mostly on the beans for energy and protein.  This morning I made him a huge pot of mung beans to mix in with vegetables throughout the day and into tomorrow.  To keep things interesting, I also made him mung bean kale patties to snack on or eat with a raw salad.  I was pretty close to making mung bean kale cookies, but resisted the urge.

Topped with paprika and spiced with ginger, these patties have the feel of a veggie burger with the delight of luscious bites of kale inside.

Mung Bean Kale Patties

• 2 cups cooked mung beans
• 12 leaves kale, cooked with 1 tablespoon ghee, 1/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon ginger for 10 minutes
• 1 tablespoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon paprika, reserved
• 2 tablespoons ghee, plus extra for greasing the sheetpan
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup millet flour
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a baking sheet with ghee.  Combine the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and stir until everything is fully incorporated.  Using an ice cream scoop, place the patties onto the baking sheet, flattening them out a bit with your palm to form a patty shape.  Top with a sprinkling of paprika, and bake for 15 minutes.  Turn the patties over with a spatula, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until firm to touch in the center.  Makes 8 patties.

What are you thankful for?