Carrot Rice Sunshine Burgers / Meatballs

Early TED

Give me a protein and some basic pantry ingredients and I can make you a vegetarian meatball or patty. I was unable to eat rice at the beginning of my TED, so had a difficult time coming up with something. However...I have succeeded! These are AMAZING! Really delicious and versatile and I have thoroughly enjoyed them almost every day. I plan on making a sweet and sour sauce to cover them and baking a small dish for my Christmas dinner.

1 cup raw sunflower seeds, ground well in food processor (never use roasted, blagh!)
1/2 cup rice milk
2 cups brown rice, cooked and cooled, roughly ground in food processor. Add in 1/2 cup of rice milk, and the cooked rice should start to form a ball and roll around the bowl. This serves as the "glue" or egg replacer to hold the balls together.
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder
2 tsp. sea salt
5 medium (six inch or so) carrots, steamed al dente, finely ground in food processor (I just toss them in the microwave with a Tbsp. of water and cook for several minutes, covered.)
4 - 6 cups crispy rice cereal, pick one free of corn syrup
1 Tbsp. ketchup * optional, tastes great without
1 1/2 tsp. kitchen bouquet sauce * optional, tastes great without

Mix all but crispy rice together in a large bowl until the mixture is evenly combined. Add in the crispy rice and incorporate to form a moist, but slightly sticky mixture that holds it's shape well when formed into a ball. I just use my hands and squeeze everything together.

Grab a fist-full of mixture and squeeze into a tight ball. Then begin to flatten the ball into a patty and round the edges to keep them smooth. I make about a 3 inch patty that is about 3/4 inch high. You should get around 12 patties out of the above recipe. Heat a skillet and add a good 1/2 inch of olive oil. Once really pipping, add in the patties. Cook until browned and almost crispy on each side, then drain on a paper towel.

Make balls the size of a large walnut if making meatballs, and fry well on all sides.