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Vegan Chickpea Cutlets & The Brilliance of Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer

Cooking for you my love made an incredible dinner last night of Vegan Chickpea Cutlets. I found this recipe in my go-to for great ideas; The Veganomicon Cookbook. Let’s get right to it, so I can bring you up to date on Rick’s prostate cancer treatment. It’s all good!

Vegan Chickpea Cutlets Ingredients

Serves: 4 Adults    Prep Time: 30 Minutes

  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas (1 15 oz.garbanzo beans)
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil, plus more for pan frying
  • ½ cup chickpea flour or white flour
  • 1 tsp. xanthan gum
  • ½ cup plain vegan bread crumbs
  • ¼ cup Swanson Vegetable Broth or homemade broth, or water
  • 2 tbsp. Soy Sauce, (I replaced with Bragg Liquid Aminos)
  • 2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated
  • ½ tsp. freshly grated lemon zest
  • ½ tsp. dried thyme
  • ½ paprika
  • ¼ tsp. rubbed dried sage

Vegan Chickpea Cutlets Recipe

  1. Mash chickpeas together with oil in a mixing bowl until no whole chickpeas are left.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and fold, stir for 3 minutes.
  3. Preheat a large heavy bottom skillet over medium heat.
  4. Flour hands a bit, and with a large spoon, spoon onto the palm of your hand, pat and flatten into a 6 x 4 rectangle cutlet shape.
  5. Add a moderately thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of the pan.
  6. Place cutlets in the pan and cook each side for 6-7 minutes and flip.
  7. Add more oil if needed.
  8. Press down to flatten some. They’re ready when lightly brown and firm to the touch.

I served topped with a fabulous mustard sauce which definitely took the cutlets up a notch and made for an elegant presentation.

Mustard Sauce Ingredients

Makes about 1 1/2 cups of sauce  Prep: 20 minutes

  • 2 tbsp. cornstarch
  • ¾ cup vegetable broth
  • 1 small scallion, minced
  • ½ tsp. dried thyme
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • ½ cup sherry cooking wine
  • 1 tbsp. *Braggs Amino Acids ( or soy sauce)
  • ¼ cup whole-grain Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp. capers (with brine)

Mustard Sauce Recipe

  1. Mix cornstarch with the vegetable broth in a measuring cup and set aside.
  2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, saute the scallion, thyme in the oil for about 1 minute.
  3. Add the wine and Braggs or soy sauce and increase the heat to high.
  4. Once the mixture is boiling, lower to medium, and simmer to reduce for about 4 minutes.
  5. Pour in the vegetable broth mixture, mustard, lemon juice, and capers.
  6. Stir using a whisk.
  7. Once the sauce is bubbling, lower heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes.
  8. The sauce should be on the thick side.
  9. Let cool a bit before serving.

You can serve these chickpea cutlets in a myriad of ways, smothered in mustard sauce, with a side of mash potatoes (last night, I made the Fried Potato Recipe from Symons Dinners Cooking Out from last weeks cooking for you my love blog) but these cutlets could also be packed into a satisfying sandwich. It’s a vegan food that you can eat with a steak knife, and best of all, it is fast and easy. You’ll want to double the recipe if your serving guests.

*Why Braggs Amino Acids rather than Soy Sauce?

(in case you’re curious)

I did a little research for you and found chemistrycache.com where I read this valuable information; “Regular liquid aminos, like Braggs, contain around 16 amino acids and they are derived from non-gmo soybeans. This makes it better for you in a few ways. First, it isn’t genetically modified and it has less sodium than regular soy sauce. Another small bonus on using Braggs liquid aminos is the protein. It has about 0.5 grams of protein per teaspoon. This isn’t a large source of protein, but it is definitely there. Aminos are proteins, which is why this product is called “liquid aminos” These small details make it a better alternative to soy sauce. Anytime I can eliminate a genetically modified substance from our diet, I will do so.” Alexis Rochester

The Brilliance of Radiation

It was a perfect comfort meal,

to serve to Rick with one of his favorite side dishes: peas! He needed some comfort after having undergone his second radiation treatment for his prostate cancer. And that’s not a complaint. We are thankful for these treatments, knowing the combination of hormone treatment for two months followed by the direct beam radiation with its protons are eradicating the dreaded cancer from his body. Yay!

I’ve been imagining little green army men fully armed with ray guns, vaporizing nazi-cancer cells to nonexsistence. It’s a mind game. After I picked up Rick from the first appointment, he got in the car and looked at me and said, the person sitting next to him was a 14 year old boy who was receiving radiation for bone cancer in his legs. You know when you experience a total shift of perspective; I think my heart stopped for a second. “Did you get his name?” I asked. Rick said, “No, but he’s a S.F. Giants fan.” Well, I’m calling him Eddy when I pray for him, and I guess I’ll pray for the Giants too. Eddy needs a win, big time.

So back to the radiation treatment for prostate cancer. 

What a time to be alive and how fascinating the technology behind these futuristic treatments.

Here is some science behind the behemoth machine Rick described to me: “External beam radiation for prostate cancer uses high-energy beams, such as X-rays or protons to kill cancer cells. During external radiation for prostate cancer, the high energy beams are generated by a machine called a linear accelerator that aims beams at the prostate gland.”

Get this:

External beam radiation kills cancer cells by destroying the genetic material that controls how cells grow and divide. The goal of EBR is to destroy the cancerous cells while sparing as much of the normal surrounding tissue as possible. And that’s the beauty of the direct beam, the tumor is the target. Actually, remember the gold beads which were implanted in his prostate, the radiologist told him today, they line the accelerator up with the tattoos, and target the beads.

I’ll spare you the details of the side effects.

Except for one; fatigue. Being the cook of the family I want to make sure I am cooking and serving the most optimal meal I can. All the literature I read pretty much said the same thing; low sodium, (crackers, chips pretzels gone), lean proteins, good carbs ie: whole grains (for energy) vegetables peeled (it’s usually in the skin of vegetables where microbes are found) and of course leafy greens. Which I had in abundance until a freaking deer got into my chard bed and decimated the whole plot. I’ve enjoyed that guy, and even have taken pictures, now I want to put up wanted posters… What I need to put in the ground are my two scarecrows I used in the vineyard. But last year the only thing afraid of them was me. I always forgot they were there, and was constantly jumping when I saw them out of the corner of my eye.

Hence the fabulous dinner of a lean protein chickpea cutlets, new potatoes, peas and one of the last tomatoes of the year. Onward and onward…

BTW; My homemade pickles using the leftover pickle juice are wonderful and really crisp. And remember, I put the sliced peaches in the sweet and sour pickle juice; fabulous! Do it!

And one other thing worth mentioning again, 

Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Power of Positive Thinking. Even if you don’t believe in God, there are such valuable tools to help navigate living a full and happy life. Speaking of books, I have a friend who is really bright, full of life and energy who happens to be 84 years old. The other day, she stopped in with a book for Rick; Breath The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor. Rick is  only half way through it, and told me the other day, Breath is a life changer. I’m ready and willing. And promise I’ll report back after I’ve read it, and have changed some 🙂 Thanks JoAnn Neft.

(Hemis Kachina doll; dancing thanks for a good harvest!)

Hang in there Eddy, we’re pulling for you.

Ciao for now 🙂

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