Mama says, 'Eat your veggies!'

I waxed lyrical way back how I could never understand why veggie patties were called 'veggie burgers.' They aren't burgers, and the worse kind are the ones that try to look and taste like burgers. Tom writes in the Junk Food chapter how his version of the patties are called 'cutlets' because that is how they are referred to in India. And I've come to learn they are a far cry different from the pseudo-burgers plaguing the frozen food aisle of health food stores!

48. Vegetable Cutlets - *Junk Food*
49. Cured Cucumber - *Junk Food*

Tom includes a recipe for Cured Cucumber for people that often find gherkins too sweet for their sandwiches. I am not much of a lover of pickled stuff; though my dad is the ultimate kind. I think it's a Russian thing as there is nothing in this world he and my uncle wouldn't pickle. In fact, my dad is so proud of his pickled tomatoes he brings it along with us to restaurants. (I can't believe I ever owned up to that in something so public as a blog!)

But I decided to make the cucumbers tonight as Tom notes they mesh well with the cutlets, so why not?! I mean, I'd have to eat them eventually!

The cutlets involve a lot of steps -- this is not something you could whip up at a moment's notice when you are starving, but these do freeze well, so are perfect for advance cooking.

First, I boiled a potato whole -- Tom stipulates a waxy one. To this day, I am not sure what that means but got some russet potatoes as they are the ones that you end up with the gunk on your fingers.. is it wax?? So the potato boiled until tender, and I let it cool slightly so I could peel it. Meanwhile, I grated a carrot and put it into a pan with some water and thawed frozen peas. These cooked down for about 20 minutes until soft.

To the pan I added the potato and mashed the whole darn thing together! I seasoned with ground ginger and cumin, and then some salt and pepper. I let the whole thing cool for a bit, and then let it harden for a bit in the fridge.

While all this was going on, I got started on curing a cucumber. I halved a cucumber and scooped out its seeds. Then, I sliced it into diagonal crescents and sprinkled it with salt. I let it sit in a colander while I was making the vegetable cutlets.

Once it was done curing, after about an hour or so, I sprinkled it with white wine vinegar and chopped dill.

I got on with frying the patties. First, I coated the mixture in breadcrumbs. (I had asked Rafa to get polenta, which is quite close to fine cornmeal around these parts, but he got coarse instead, and I didn't want to spend dinner making crunching sounds! -- anyway breadcrumbs were another option.) I used butter to fry the patties, as Tom indicates it is the tastiest option.

I am really rubbish at flipping burgers, or really flipping anything, so I was not too excited by the soft texture of the mixture. But I managed to work it out, and the patties stayed intact. I served up the cutlets with the cucumber.

This was really good, and much better than I had expected. I had a bad experience with a veggie burger in the past as the texture was just way too soft for me. But this cutlet worked really well, especially with the cucumbers. It was perfectly seasoned, and quite lovely and filling. I had made two, one for me and for Rafa. Of course, I should have realized, Rafa's appetite usually equals two servings, so he could have done well eating two burgers! Who would have thought he was such a fan of veggie....cutlets!