Cooking with Hemp

[Dr. Greenthumb]

Ruth's hemp burger

Makes: 12 medium-size patties.

1/2 cup ground flax ( buy it ground, or put it in the coffee grinder )

1/2 cup water ( room temperature is best )

2 1/2 cups cooked rice

1 cup Ruth's SoftHemp seeds

2 cups frozen mixed veggies

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup flour ( I like buckwheat, but have also successfully used chick pea )

1/4 cup oil ( I use sunflower, but any GMO-free oil that can withstand heat is good. Do not use hemp or flax oil in this recipe )

3 tbsp chopped garlic

1 tbsp tomato paste ( ketchup will work in a pinch )

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Cook rice in advance so it has time to cool.

Mix flax and water in small bowl. Set aside while mixing everything else. Do this first as it needs a few minutes.

Mix all other ingredients. Mix in flax, which should be quite gooey by now.

Blend well.

Chill for at least 15 minutes. This is really important.

Form into patties. Cook in skillet.

These burgers will freeze well and hold together on a barbecue. Experiment with spicing and different types of flour. I often substitute two tablespoons of the flour with nutritional yeast, but many people don't have that in their kitchens. The burgers are vegan, soya-free and can be gluten-free depending on the flour used.

Ruth's hemp and lemon loaf

Makes: 2 loaves

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups demerara sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup buttermilk

grated rind of one lemon

1 cup SoftHemp

Glaze

1/2 cup honey

juice from 3 lemons

Heat oven to 350 C.

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, beating after each one.

In separate bowl blend all dry ingredients.

Add these to butter-sugar blend, alternating with buttermilk.

Add lemon rind and SoftHemp.

Pour into two greased and floured loaf pans.

Bake one hour.

Just before they're ready, heat honey gently and blend in lemon juice as soon it's warm enough. Don't let the honey get too hot.

Drizzle over loaves after removing from oven.

These keep well for several days in an airtight container. They also freeze well, but need about two hours to thaw at room temperature.

Hemp pesto

Makes: about 1 1/2 cups.

2 cups fresh basil, tough stems removed

1/2 cup SoftHemp

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic

3 tbsp hemp oil

2 tbsp fruity olive oil

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Clean and dry basil. Chop basil in food processor. Add SoftHemp, cheese, garlic, hemp oil and 1 tbsp olive oil. Process in short bursts until you like the consistency.

Add rest of olive oil optionally, depending on preferred taste.

Add salt and pepper.

~ Recipes courtesy of www.ruthsfoods.ca